London and the US. 10

Networking # 2

We were walking along the road prong trail, close to the Sugarlands entry to the Smokies, just like - or almost - many other americans. The trail was a 2m paved strip that meandered up to a small waterfall; as people crossed each other in opposite directions, casual greeting were sometimes exchanged. I remembered the "Berg Heil" story from another mountain range...and how mountains have the curious effect of making man feel smaller and closer to his creator.

Up ahead, as two parties were crossing each other along the path, I heard one young american ask out loud "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?"; the other one answered "Yes, I'm a born again Christian". I noticed how the question had been triggered by a conspicuous tshirt. "Me too. Where are you from?"; "Minnesota".

Back in Cleveland, I gave up trying to keep track or distinguish between the various churches that line up the roads. My uncle told me that there were maybe two hundred churches in Bradley county alone...an average of 185 inhabitants per church. Just maybe...this is stout Republican ground, sure enough.