Another sunny day on my Walk Across Connecticut filled with inspiring conversations and roads without sidewalks!

This is a quick recap from my third day of walking:

I started my day walking through mostly rural parts with very narrow shoulders on the highway. When I’m done with this walk, I’m calling Senator Blumenthal and telling him he needs to work on getting more federal funding for sidewalks.

Stopped for breakfast at this hidden gem on Windham Road - Egg and Cheese. Highly recommend checking them out!

Mark saw me walking by and stopped to say hello. He is one of many who left New York City in the past few years to come live in Connecticut. He’s a big booster of his new home, Stonington.

I stopped into the Franklin Town Line Diner. These guys were talking about building new waste to energy capacity for farms in eastern Connecticut. They were eager for more federal help for small farms.

Later on, I ran into Norm. He wanted to talk to me about guns. Such a nice guy who was so interested to talk to me. He supports background checks on all gun sales but doesn’t want an assault weapons ban. We politely disagreed. See - it’s possible!

Climate change really disrupts the northeastern winter economy. On my walk, I met Chris who runs a snow plow repair business. But with no snow, there are few repairs. But he’s a third generation entrepreneur in Franklin, so he adapts - he customizes and rehabs vintage jeeps.

At the Slater Memorial Museum at Norwich Free Academy, I learned the amazing story of Ellis Ruley, a Black American mid-century painter. He was a construction worker who painted gorgeous folk art and sold them around town for $15. He died suspiciously in 1959, found frozen with a gash on his head. It’s one of the great unsolved mysteries in Connecticut history. Some say he fell, some say he was murdered. Today his paintings sell for $50,000. Later on during the day I passed a park named in his memory.

Libraries are so vital right now as we struggle to keep alive places where people can find community. A little further down the road in Norwich, I stopped into the Otis Library to take an impromptu tour and say thanks to the staff.

3 days down. One to go. See you out there today.

Every best wish,

Chris Murphy

Chris is up for re-election this year, and he is counting on people like you to power our grassroots campaign. Small-dollar donations help Chris keep his time fundraising to a minimum so he can focus on the work we expect him to do.

If you can afford it, please consider making a donation today. We’re going to send Chris a list of everyone who donated during the walk, and it would mean a lot to him to see your name on it.

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