Jobless man, pregnant wife and two dogs hit the road looking for work
Pocono Record Writer
July 17, 2009
BRODHEADSVILLE — There was no work in Frank Knight's home state of Vermont, but he had a sure-fire job waiting for him in Florida by the fall.
The only problem was he didn't have a car. Or money for plane or train tickets for him and his wife, Terrie, who is three months pregnant. Or family to help out.
A bus was out of the question — if they traveled that way, he'd have to leave behind his two young Siberian huskies, Maya and Sweetie.
"I'd die before I left these dogs behind," Frank Knight, 43, said.
"So would I," Terrie Knight, 45, agreed.
So they did the only thing they could do.
They started walking.
Two weeks after the couple left Burlington, Vt., they've made about 500 miles, both on foot and picking up rides. They and their two dogs finally rested Wednesday and Thursday nights at the Silver Valley Campsite near Brodheadsville.
Frank Knight, who works as a migrant farm worker, said they travel anywhere from 30 to 70 miles a day, hoping to make it to Florida by mid-September for the citrus-picking season.
"That's all we can do, is walk to the work," he said. "People forget, in the old days, in the Old West, in the Great Depression, this is what people did. And it's what we have to do."
Things have gone from bad to worse for the couple this year. Frank had been employed by a carnival company, but he was laid off in February when the company was traveling through Maryland.
He was forced to go back home to Vermont — only the carnival company had a rule to take back laid off employees to the state where they were hired, so they were taken to Florida.
They walked much of the Appalachian Trail back to Vermont for two months, only to find out the farming jobs in Vermont — including one he had been promised — had dried up because he couldn't get back in time.
Then he got the work offer in Florida, so he and his wife started back out on the road, again on foot, hoping a car or two along the way will help out with a ride.
"As much as this is to get work, it's also a test," Frank Knight said. "I want to see how nice people still are out there."
They haven't been terribly lucky so far in Pennsylvania, which, along with New York, he said are the two hardest states to walk through because there are so few side roads that lead anywhere, and they can't walk on interstates.
They've only been picked up for rides twice so far after getting seven rides through New York.
Terrie has developed some nasty blisters on her feet, but said she's able to "wrap them up and keep going."
Plus, they've lost their traveling companions, two friends who also were making the walking trip with them, but took off in Honesdale while the Knights were sleeping in a tent next to them.
"So if you see a couple walking along the road with an orange tent on their backs and they don't have two dogs," Terrie said, "that's probably them."
Money is an issue. Frank Knight says they live day-by-day, and everything they own is on their backs.
Actually, it's only on Frank's back. He doesn't allow his pregnant wife to carry anything other than dog food.
The money for the campsite was provided by workers at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Brodheadsville, where the couple wandered into Wednesday looking for help, according to church officials.
Workers at the campsite then took the couple grocery shopping Thursday morning.
The two don't have family they could contact because of arguments on both of their sides of the families.
"This trip is by the grace of God," Frank Knight said. "It depends on the kindness of people along the way. Sometimes we have it, sometimes we don't."
There is still another 1,100 miles to go. One way or the other, Frank Knight said, they're going to get there.
"I know people think we're insane," he said. "A teacher who picked us up in New York said that to us, but said 'I admire you, at least you're not sitting around feeling sorry for yourself.' This is all we can do, so we have to do it."
Border Patrol Beats a Pastor. We cannot allow this.....I have found that there are racists people working at the check points. Immature little boys that now have some power. Mr. President there needs to be an investigation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUzd7G875Hc
Just like many of you, I can't wait to see the Palin / Biden Debate. I fully expect her to show her true intellectual capacity and bredth of experience. In such case, the poll numbers for the Republican candidates will suffer.
I feel that Biden is going to completely outclass her and even if he has an off night will look good by comparison. Our favorite ex-Navy pilot really picked a winner in his first executive decision. She did take the discussion away from the issues for a while which was part o the plan. Let's just hope I'm not wrong and she pulls a memorable show stopper that gets everyone riled up against Biden. All we need is a Creationist spoutin, book banning radical in the White House. The idiot we have now is bad enough.
By JOHN TEEL Special to the Courier & Press Tuesday, September 16, 2008 I shudder at the thought of Sarah Palin as vice president because I live in Alaska and know how violently misaligned Alaskan culture is with the rest of the United States. Not only is there an entire country physically separating Alaska from the United States, but there is a cultural divide just as wide. Palin governs a culture stuck in the 19th century.
Although she has an 80 percent approval rating as governor, keep in mind that most Alaskans are very different from most people in the United States. Nearly everyone in Alaska owns several guns, enjoys trophy hunting, and thinks we should drill for oil anywhere and everywhere. In Alaska many people still use outhouses, rarely bathe or comb their hair, and it's normal not to have electricity and running water. Does this sound like you and your family? If New York City had the population density of Alaska, there would be one person living on Manhattan Island. Alaska is like no other state, and in most regards it's a foreign country with a foreign culture. Alaska was colonized by greedy people who wanted to get rich fast through the consumption of natural resources (minerals, wildlife and oil).
Little has changed in a hundred years, and every industry in Alaska still exploits the land, sea or wildlife. Natural resource extraction is the backbone of Alaska, and it runs through every aspect of Alaskan life. Palin represents the modern face of these pioneer day interests.
Let me highlight some of Palin's atrocities occurring right now in Alaska: Palin offered a bounty of $150 for each right front leg of freshly killed wolves; Palin supports aerial hunting of wolves and bears, even though Alaskans voted twice to ban it; Palin used $400,000 of state money to fund a media campaign supporting aerial hunting; Palin is a champion for big oil and supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; Palin believes man-made global warming is a farce; and Palin opposes listing polar bears as an endangered species and is suing the federal government over it because she thinks it will limit her oil exploitation. The list of her atrocities to the natural world goes on and on.
It is not just a vehement disregard for the environment that makes Palin's policies so horrific. Palin believes that creationism should be taught in public schools; Palin opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest; and Palin is currently under investigation in Alaska for abuse of power. If Palin ever becomes president, we can kiss the natural world goodbye, along with the freedom we treasure so much in this country. Palin is bad for the planet and bad for America.
John Teel of Homer, Alaska, is a native of Evansville. He is an engineer and wildlife advocate. For more information, visit his Web site, GrizzlyBay.org.
Hello All:
If you are not are regular NPR listen you might want to start. Today I happen to be listen to the program called." Here and Now". I am pasting the link in the blog. It is wonderful listening. The discussion is over the ecomony policy from Economicst. I have been emailing to all that I can and after you have listened I would suggest doing the same. You need to hear radio program; Here and now from NPRand pass it around below is link:http://www.here-now.org/Candidates Economic PlanWhich presidential candidate is more fiscally conservative and who would cut taxes more for middle class families? We speak with New York Times Economics Columnist David Leonhardt about the plans that Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed for the economy.
Hello, I'm Barack Obama and I'm running for president of the United States.
Everyone has seen how John McCain has flip-flopped on the „experience“ issue by choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate. We all know it's not his first flip-flop, and we all know why he does this. He was against the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% of Americans before he was for them. He was against running a dirty, mud-slinging presidential campaign - before he turned around and hired Bush's dirty mud-slinging campaign people. And he was against courting the extremist right wing of his party - before it looked like he desperately needed them in order to win.
But calling himself and his running mate „the REAL agents of change“ is more than a flip-flop. He's gone from running on his 26 years of experience to running for the past two weeks on change. I guess he figured it's worked for me, so he should give it a try. That's not a flip-flop, that's highway robbery.
Still, I don't mind. I've modified my opinions on a few issues as well over the years. So John, let's make a deal. You say you're the change we need, and I'll say I'm putting my country first.
I'm putting my country first because my tax plan will put money into the pockets of 95% of all Americans so they can better afford higher gas and food prices and still keep up on the house payments. How is turning the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy into the Bush-McCain tax cuts for the wealthy putting your country first? It's not. It's putting your friends first.
I'm putting my country first because my energy plan will bring down gas prices - forever - by helping people use less fossil fuels and switch to alternative energy. We've all seen how filling up your car has gotten cheaper in the past few weeks, and it's because Americans drove billions of miles less than they were driving before. It's simple supply and demand: Reduce demand and suppliers bring down the price so they can sell off what they have. My plan will permanently reduce demand for foreign oil, putting our country's energy independence and security first. How is drilling for a little more oil, which we won't see a drop of for years, putting your country first? It's not. It's putting the oil companies first.
I'm putting my country first because I will bring back our American sons and daughters from Iraq, where they have done a magnificent job - but where their effectiveness will soon be seriously compromised because the Iraqi government doesn't want them there anymore. And once they're rested and taken care of properly, I'll send them to defend American security where they are truly needed: Afghanistan. How is destroying our armed forces by sending exhausted soldiers back to Iraq again and again and again putting your country first? It's not. It's putting your own smugness about the surge first.
I'm putting my country first because I've chosen a running mate who is eminently qualified to take over the presidency at a moment's notice. Joe Biden has faced down some of the greatest tyrants of our time and told them to their faces what he thought of them. Now, I don't know know Sarah Palin at all, and I don't know why she thinks she's qualified to become the leader of the free world when she just got her first passport a few months ago. But I do know that if John McCain really believed in her, if he really thought she could stand up to Vladimir Putin and Mahmud Ahmedinejad, he wouldn't be hiding her from the American press. He won't even let her take questions from her own supporters at rallies! How is picking a running mate who said just last year that she hasn't really thought much about Iraq putting your country first? It's not. It's putting your own ambition first. Worse than that, it's an old sexist tactic: It's cynically using a talented and capable woman in order to further your own ambition.
So let's see now. What does McCain put first? The Bush-McCain tax cuts for the wealthy. The oil companies chomping at the bit to drill right off our beautiful American shores. His love of hearing his own voice saying „I told you so“ about the surge. And most of all, his own political ambition.
Sure, John. Let's trade places. You just keep telling the American people that after all these years of voting in lockstep with president Bush, you're the real agent of change. And let me put our country first.
If you haven't noticed I am rarely answering messages. It is not because I don't care, but because I have too much of a good thing. Yes, I have too many friends to be able to open my home page some days. I thought it was the fault of my dual core processor in my Compaq laptop.
Well, i got rid of it and got a very nice Macbook hoping to speed things up. That did help, but no matter which computer or high speed connection I use, I still have time to go get a cup of coffee and start drinking it before I can get a new page to open.
Caution: If you do not have many hundreds of friends in your network, you are better off leaving it that way. Always do accept new friends when they send a request, but cut back on inviting everyone who seems interesting. Somewhere 1000 or 1500 friends my computer began to lag. It only got worse from there. I am now at over 2,300 friends and still do accept new invitations because that is the right thing to do. I have learned my lesson though, i do not invite new friends lightly. If I have 20-25 invitations waiting on acceptance, I can easily spend an hour accepting them one at a time and waiting for the page to reload.
I love this network, but I spend much less time here because of my abundance of friends. i guess I will never make my $1000 personal fund raising goal if I don't blog, but I can still work for Obama in other ways. You friends are great and I enjoy talking with you. I now spend more time at the National Democratic Party "Party Builder Website". Here we preach to the choir. There some former Hillary folks still need convincing to accept our fantastic candidate.
I'll still be around, but probably won't be able to answer your messages. Remember, don't add too many friends or you may have problems with your computers due to the size of the files required to hold lots of friends.
Bob
Dear Susan,
Tell Congress to pass the National Park Centennial Fund Act
With very little time remaining before the end of this Congressional session, the time is now to get the Centennial Challenge passed! The National Park Centennial Fund Act is one of the best ways to get some of the funding the parks so desperately need. The bill could ultimately provide up to $100 million in federal funds each year for ten years, to be matched with a similar amount of financial support from the community.
This bill helps us take a critical step towards restoring the parks--but only if Congress acts on it soon.
For nearly 100 years the parks have been inspiring visitors. Let's make sure they are there to continue to inspire Americans well into their second century. Urge your Senators and Representatives to pass the National Park Centennial Fund Act now—this may be our last chance during this Congress. Take action!
http://ga1.org/npca/join-forward.tcl?domain=npca&r=e7xZCz61M-er
http://ga1.org/campaign/Teddy_for_President/forward
Thanks for all you do,
Blake SelzerLegislative DirectorNational Parks Conservation Association
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. Tell-a-friend!
If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for NPCA.
180 days until Barack is inaugurated!
Pack your stuff George!
George W. Bush wants to give the oil companies a huge gift that threatens our environment -- while not doing a single thing to lower gas prices. Urge my colleagues in Congress not to lift the Congressional moratorium on offshore drilling.
Click here to sign our petition!
I've been working with many of you to protect our coasts for decades. Now, after today's shocking news from the White House, I'm outraged. It's time to take our fight to the next level.
Today, running contrary to every shred of common sense, President Bush lifted the presidential moratorium on drilling for oil off our precious coastline -- a moratorium his own father put in place. And now he wants Congress to lift our own moratorium as well.
It's unbelievable. In the final months of his failed presidency, George Bush wants to give the oil companies a huge gift that threatens our coasts, our economy, and our jobs -- while not doing one single thing to lower gas prices.
Tell my colleagues in Congress to stand firm: Sign my petition to the House and Senate leadership, urging them not to lift the Congressional moratorium on offshore drilling!
There is absolutely no reason to lift the offshore drilling moratorium -- not one. It's just the latest example of President Bush trying to shift the blame for the 300% increase in gas prices from himself to the Congress.
You would expect such a policy to emanate from the CEO of an oil company -- not from the President of the United States.
After all, oil and gas companies already hold leases to 68 million acres of federal land, where they haven't yet even begun to produce oil. The oil companies have been derelict in drilling on the land they already have access to -- and now they just want more leases to add as assets to their corporate balance sheets.
Why do we need to open our sensitive offshore areas to drilling when the oil companies don't drill on the land they already have -- and when the impact of any new drilling won't have any effect on gas prices, while putting our coastal environment at risk? It's ridiculous -- and President Bush should be ashamed for even proposing it.
The President didn't follow his father's policy on Iraq and now he's not following his father's policy on offshore oil drilling. It's time for Congress to stand firm.
It's time to protect our thriving coastal economy, worth $70 billion and almost two million jobs.
It's time for real solutions on gas prices, not political posturing and last-minute gifts for President Bush's big oil buddies.
Congress should be going after speculators, urging oil and gas companies to drill on the leases they already have, and releasing some oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve -- not lifting the offshore drilling moratorium.
I really need you now. Please take the time to sign this petition and forward it to your friends, so I can share it with the House and Senate leadership in Congress.
Thanks so much for speaking out.
In Friendship,
Barbara Boxer U.S. Senator
P.S. After you've signed my petition to Congress, urging the House and Senate leadership to stand firm against lifting the Congressional moratorium on offshore drilling, please forward this email to everyone you know. We need to get tens of thousands of Americans on record, opposing President Bush's ridiculous proposal.
P.P.S. The other day, Senator Durbin, Senator Whitehouse, and I were talking. We came up with this appropriate equation: 8 years in office divided by 2 oil men in the White House equals $4 gas. I guess it's no surprise that George Bush is so desperately looking for a scapegoat for his failed policy.
Sign The Petition!
191 days until Barack is inaugurated.
Organize, Donate, Organize!
How does drilling appear to wildlife? See video footage taken last week of a drilling field in Wyoming, just outside the Western Governor's Meeting.
We now need to ask U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to support our governors in their attempts to control drilling and protect wildlife.
Ask Secretary Kempthorne to support protections for the West's wildlife corridors now!
Oil and gas drilling has exploded across the West, disrupting the lives and traditions of people and wildlife here. It is time for some balance to be restored in managing our lands and resources.
Send your message now!
Sincerely, Greg HaegeleDirector of Conservation
My email to Secretary Kempthorne:
I have received letters from my Senator and Representative. I live in CA and my responses were from Diane Feinstein and Lynn Woolsey. They suport keeping our pristine wilderness protected from those who have ulterior financial motives, detremental to this BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY!!! Last week the Western Governors Association held its annual meeting in Wyoming.
At this meeting the governors addressed concerns about oil and gas drilling disrupting wildlife habitat, and pledged to work to protect the important wildlife corridors in their respective states. THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!! WE CAN'T KEEP DISREGARDING WHAT IS LEFT OF OUR WILDLIFE HABITATS AND LOSING THEM TO ENERGY DEVELOPMENT. WE NEED TO HAVE THESE MEETINGS TO FIND ALTERNATIVES TO FUEL THAT DO NOT INVOLVE OUR WILDLIFE!!!!! SAY NO TO OIL! THIS DISGRACE MUST END.
WHAT WILL BE LEFT?? When and how do we stop the big money lobbyists for SHAME? Shame on us, as a voice of the wildlife if we cann't stop this voracious appetite that is chewing up our planet!!! Now poorly planned oil drilling and energy development is threatening to cut off travel routes for elk, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and other wildlife and destroy their habitat.
I would like to know what position Governor Schwartzenager will support on this vital issue of the West's wildlife. How can I find out his intentions?
Susan K. Federighi
A LETTER FROM MY U.S. SENATOR WHO I CONTACTED ABOUT FIREARMS IN NATIONAL PARKS. I HAVE ALREADY POSTED A LETTER FROM MY CONGRESSWOMAN. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES ABOUT THIS IMMEDIATE AND VITAL ISSUE TO PROTECT HUMANS AND ANIMALS. YOUR VOICE CAN MAKE SUCH A DIFFERENCE. I RECIEVED AN IMMEDIATE RESPONSE FROM BOTH. THANK YOU.
Dear Ms. Federighi:
Thank you for contacting me regarding firearms in national parks. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.
Like you, I am strongly opposed to loaded firearms being carried and used in our national parks and national wildlife refuges. As you may know, reasonable restrictions on loaded firearms in our sacred national parks are nothing new. Such regulations have been designed to support public safety and the protection of wildlife. And those goals have been achieved.
In addition, as you may be aware, current regulations do not prohibit the possession of any firearms in our national parks and wildlife refuges. Visitors may freely possess and transport firearms in both our national parks and wildlife refuges as long as they are unloaded and rendered inaccessible. In other words, the firearms must simply be unloaded and placed somewhere that is not easily reached, such as in a car trunk.
Please know that I have read your letter with interest and value your thoughts. I have already let the Secretary of Interior know that the current regulations prohibiting loaded and accessible firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges should not be changed. Be assured that I will keep your concerns in mind should the Senate debate right to carry laws or related gun control issues during the 110th Congress.
Again, thank you for your letter. I hope you will continue to write on matters of importance to you. Best regards.
I wanted to share with you how vital it is to communicate with your senators and representatives on issues that are upcoming and that you want them to address. Please help us fight for protection of people and animals from gun-related violence!!! Please persuade people on your friend lists to help us in the fight. I wrote to my Congress representative and recieved this response. You can do the same!!
Susan
July 8, 2008Ms. Susan K. FederighiSan Rafael, California 94903Dear Ms. Federighi:Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about H.R. 5434, the Protecting Americans from Violent Crime Act. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me on this issue.Every year, more than 800 people are killed, and thousands more are injured, in unintentional shootings that take place across the country. We need to pass laws that will keep our communities safe instead of catering to the wishes of the gun industry. While we must protect the rights embodied in the Second Amendment, I believe that limits on firearms not used for hunting or other sporting activities are consistent with the Second Amendment. As you may know, H.R. 5434 would allow visitors to National Parks and Wildlife Refuges to carry loaded and operable firearms on trails and into campsites. Although people with proper permits can currently carry a firearm in a national park, that firearm must be rendered inoperable with either a trigger lock or by disassembly. Like you, I believe we must be careful not to endorse any proposal that could jeopardize the safety and well-being of park visitors and protected wildlife. H.R. 5434 has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. Be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind as I continue to fight in Congress to protect our families from gun-related violence.Again it's good to hear from you. The people of Marin and Sonoma counties are the most important voices I listen to as I serve in Congress.Sincerely,Lynn WoolseyMember of CongressPS - Visit my web site and sign up to receive e-mail updates on legislative issues that are important to you. The address is: http://woolsey.house.gov/emailupdates.asp .
