The End of the Road

When I first met Noah Rattler, I was sitting outside the SEARCH building waiting for a ride home from work. In the August heat, I did not even consider walking the two miles home. Much less across the country. Noah sat outside waiting for the Mobile Outreach team. I learned he had degrees in physics and engineering from Prairie View A & M University. As we spoke, he mentioned wanting to walk across the country. My response: "Why on earth would you do that?" I think he must have gotten that a lot.

Over the next six months, I would hear his name bounced around among our Development team. His experience with our Mobile Outreach Unit had struck his heart. His desire to walk across the country had found a purpose. Through an uphill battle just to get people to take him seriously, he pieced together supporters, believers (and some curious, yet supportive non-believers), media, and sponsors. SEARCH was one of those sponsors.

While the details were ironed out, Noah kept training. Over the next few months, I saw him everywhere. I would go to my local coffee shop, miles from where he lived, and see him walking, with backpack and walking stick in hand. I would take a friend home in another part of the city, and there he was, strolling along. Finally, after some strategic planning, the date was set: On March 24, 2007, Noah would begin his journey across the country.

In early March, I had the pleasure of attending a workshop with Noah on Ending Racism. Noah spoke about his beliefs in the equality of all men (and women), whether different in race, creed, or economic class. He spoke about his impending walk, at that time only a few weeks away. Everyone there was awed and supportive, but slightly puzzled, saying to themselves “Does this kid understand what he is getting himself into? Has he considered the risks?” Whether he knew it or not, the answer was: Yes. And what he did not know, he would figure out along the way.

Noah was not going to be eating out of garbage cans or asking for spare change, but he was going to face the elements, physical exhaustion, and, except for a few passing cars, solitude. To travelers, Noah would be a speck on the road at 60 miles per hour. To him, they would be racing to reach a destination in twenty minutes what would take him an entire day. His feat was for the homeless and those in poverty. What is easy for most of us to come by and pay for, is a slow, arduous process for those who live on the street. SEARCH Homeless Center helps make the walk to self-sufficiency a little less challenging and a little less lonely.

The send-off for Noah was full of smiles and tears. Everyone there paced around in front of SEARCH’s building, hopeful and concerned. Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee presented him with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition, yet his journey had not even begun. He had 1,800 miles to go. When Noah was ready to say his farewells, he walked down the line of supporters, hugging and talking to each one, whether he knew them or not.

He walked his first mile into Downtown Houston, surrounded by friends and family. As the hours fell away, so did his companions, going back to their lives of automobiles and air-conditioned comfort. But none of them forgot what Noah was doing for those who do not have the bare necessities, much less the luxuries of life.

Amarillo. Flagstaff. Kingsman, Barstow, San Bernadino… His route reads like much of Nat King Cole’s Route 66. I had the privilege to update Noah’s location on a map of where he was going. The little red lines grew longer, the days went by, and every time I checked off a new city, I had to sit back and look at what Noah had done. It was amazing. Noah did not passively walk 1,800 miles. He got involved. In every city along the way, he met with public officials, visited shelters, gave interviews for newspapers, radio, and TV. He was spreading the message. He was walking for a reason. He was doing what he set out to do, not only for himself, but for those he met on the streets of Houston who had touched his life.

On August 4, 2007, Noah safely completed his journey at the famed Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, California and will travel back to Houston in the RV donated by singer/songwriter Steve Goad.  Watching the same road he slowly endured on foot fly by at 60 miles per hour, Noah will arrive back in Houston a changed man. As I look at pictures from the past 19 weeks, I see a young man about to embark on a journey of the unknown transform into a more composed, more thoughtful, and more mature human being.

Noah is a shining example of dedication and perseverance. At every step of the way, he faced a sea of doubt, numerous obstacles, and physical exhaustion. Throughout, he believed in himself enough for everyone, found solutions to every problem, and pushed himself to endure in the name of his cause. Noah Rattler would not give up. If he has taught us anything, it is that where there is a will, there is a way. And that there is always a solution.

Kara Smith, Development Associate

SEARCH is proud to have been a part of Noah’s journey, and we thank him for selecting us to take this life-changing journey with him.