Day 29

Hello again. I, Crystal Baldwin, join you again for a few days as the relay makes its way through the Eastern part of Tennessee. As today mark’s the date of the Cosmopolitan Banquet and Senior Recognition at Berea College, where students, faculty, staff, and friends gather to “share traditions from the four cardinal points of the world,” I hope to share with you customs and culture that I learned about today on the relay in Newport, TN.

As I write this blog, I can still hear the children’s voices hum in my ears. Their laughter, enjoyment, and curiosity bring happiness and instant peace. This morning, Melvyn Megson, the class of 1966, his wife, Iris, step-daughter, Bonnie White, step-son-in-law, Bob White, and all eight of his step grandchildren, Robert, Cory, Augustina, Nicholas, Haley, Charlotte, Ashtyn, and Kallie joined the Great Commitments Relay as we learned about the Japanese Buddhist Religion and celebrated peace. The ages of the children range from two years old to fourteen and half years old. As residents of Eastern, TN, all of the children may be considered for admission at Berea College in the future, provided they apply. Currently, the eldest, Robert approaches his junior year in high school with a hope of admission into Berea College. Melvyn spoke passionately about his desire for all of the children to attend Berea College, as his experiences at Berea have influenced his own life.

I really felt fortunate to spend this segment of the relay with Melvyn’s family, especially since the Megsons are in the middle of a relay of their own. Though once in retirement, since last April, Melvyn and his wife are now in the business of expediting, which involves driving a large cargo van to deliver products. In their travels they have been over 115,000 miles and every state east of the Mississippi river! It seems we should have asked them to carry out the Great Commitments Relay! 1,855 miles would be nothing for them! Adding onto their mileage, Melvyn and his wife drove from Pennsylvania, where they had been working, to Newport in order to support Berea College as participants of the relay.

Today the relay journey began in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express, where Chris Schill and I met all 12 family members. We piled in the relay vans and two extra cars to go to the Great Smokey Mountain’s Peace Pagoda, where a peace ceremony was to be held. On our drive to the destination, I learned a very important lesson; the road to peace is unpaved and very steep. As it turns out, the Peace Pagoda is located at the very top of a mountain! To give you an idea of exactly how steep it is, in the last two tenths of a mile visitors are asked to either walk or use a 4-wheel drive vehicle to reach the destination. The children dashed up the hill as I safely and quietly took photographs from behind. Haley, 9, stopped for a break or two, which made us instant buddies. Ashtyn, only 5, walked the hill like a young hero and Kallie, 2, comfortably glided up the hill in her parent’s arms.

Once the hill leveled, there awaited the most beautiful view of Newport, TN and the Temple where Tutsumi and Denise greeted us. They are Japanese Buddhists who promote peace among people in the world. In their temple, all are welcome and accepted, which created an ambiance of harmony and a safe haven for learning. They invited us to join their Flower Festival Ceremony, which is held to celebrate peace and invite spring. Our group offered magnolias and nasturtiums from the Berea College greenhouse, which Denise plans to plant around their temple. During the service in the temple, our flowers were placed at the alter with many others. Attendees sat with their knees on cushions, each equip with a drum. On each side of the alter were large taiko style drums with the drummers tapping out the rhythm for all to hear and follow along. The heavy pounding sound brought me back to a talent show performance that occurred when I was a Berea College student. A group of students who had studied abroad in Japan during the month of January performed together as a taiko drumming group, sharing the culture they had learned in their abroad experience with others. In this ceremony of promoting and sharing peace, I suddenly became more appreciative of the cultural experiences that I had been exposed to as a Berea College student. I then thought to myself, “Having been a student from a small-town in Vermont, how open to learning about other cultures would I be if I hadn’t attended Berea? Would I be here today?”

I’m not sure if I can answer those questions about myself and my life. But what I am sure about is that today I joined with Berea College alumni, potential prospective students, and current friends to celebrate peace. In doing that we learned a lot about each other, our likenesses, our differences, and we had an enjoyable time.

The Great Smokey Mountain Peace Pagoda is currently under construction, and will be located at the highest point of the mountain where the temple sits. There are two other Pagodas in the U.S. and 80 in the world. All are made as demonstrations where people can gather to promote peace.

May the peace that I feel now as I sign off from Newport, TN be with you all wherever you may be reading this blog.

-Crystal