They walked briskly in single file, smiling down the highway as the trucks whizzed past, waving to children and dogs along the roadside, handing out flowers to the pilgrims who waited on the shoulder — many of them weeping.
Nineteen Buddhist monks strode down U.S. 64 to Pittsboro Wednesday — some shod in Hoka sneakers, some wearing only thick socks — having already logged 88 days and 1,187 miles on their interstate Walk for Peace.
The cars stretched for miles ahead of them, lined with people offering bouquets as gifts, spreading rose petals on the asphalt to soften the monks’ path. They graciously accepted the flowers but passed them out to hands further down the line.
Then, when the monks reached exit 378, they stopped alongside a woman waiting in a wheelchair, looping a peace bracelet around her wrist and chanting aloud while she broke down crying, moved beyond speech. All around her, people marveled out loud at the hope they felt…