Tommy Dellinger is not quite home yet, but the sight of a sugary citrus soft drink in a distinctive green and yellow bottle, spotted in a rural convenience store, let him know he’s getting close.
It will be weeks before the former Highway Patrol state trooper arrives home, but the Sun Drop he purchased at a gas station in West Memphis, Arkansas, on Friday is another sign he’s getting closer.
“If they got Sun Drop, it’s close to home,” he said.
The Gastonia man, who retired from the N.C. Highway Patrol in 2013 after Parkinson’s disease symptoms grew too debilitating, is walking across the country in an effort to raise funding and awareness of the illness. He spent Thanksgiving holed up in an Arkansas Cracker Barrel. He enjoyed a traditional holiday feast of turkey, ham, dressing and sweet potato casserole, but missed out on spending the day with the familiar faces he loves most.
But he was there in spirit — and on his wife’s phone screen as the family gathered at Shelly Dellinger’s mother’s house.
“As we all sat down to eat, we video called him and had him with us, talking with us as we ate dinner,” she said. “That helps tremendously.”
The couple has been married since 2009 and together for 10 years in total. Never had they been apart so long, so Tommy’s decision to begin walking from California in September — to raise money for Parkinson’s research — wasn’t an easy one to digest.
“We didn’t speak for quite a while about the trip, just because I was not happy about it,” said Shelly, a nurse. “The closer it got, the more I saw him work on all the routes. He spent hours and hours going through each map and planning it all out. He was serious about it and he’s going to do it.”
Tommy has now set foot in the Volunteer State. On Monday, he was walking along U.S. 70 east toward Jackson, Tennessee.
The slight change in geographic location made a big difference to Shelly. The couple spent many fall Saturdays in Knoxville in years past, cheering on their beloved Tennessee Volunteers.
“Now that he’s in Tennessee, I’m ecstatic,” she said. “I knew once he got there that he was close enough where I could rescue him myself (if I had to).”
Early travel difficulties forced Tommy to Uber through parts of California and the Arizona desert. He’s maintained a steady pace since and is expected to arrive at the Gaston County Police Department on Jan. 13, two months ahead of schedule.
“For the most part, it’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s been a long trip but it’s been a lot of fun.”
Tommy expects to find himself in Knoxville around Dec. 15 and could walk across the border into North Carolina around New Year’s. His 26-year-old son, Ryan, and other family members and friends will join him to walk parts of Tennessee.
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/20171129/trooper-reaches-tennessee-home-stretch-of-cross-country-trip
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