Later on I said to the matron, “I realize you have a full house hereand I can sleep comfortably on this wooden bench.” Instead she hadthem bring me a cot with clean bedclothes, and I had a warm showerwith a clean towel and all the comforts of home. In the morning I bade farewell to my friends and was escortedby a local deputy to the courthouse several blocks away. I wasn’thandcuffed nor was he even holding onto me. But he had a great biggun at his side, and so I looked at him and said, “If I were to run away,would you shoot me?” “Oh, no,” he said grinning, “I never shoot anythingI can catch !” In court that morning I pleaded not guilty and my case wasimmediately dismissed. In my personal effects which were takenovernight was a letter which had great weight in my release. It read:“The bearer of this note has identified herself as a Peace Pilgrim walking coastto coast to direct the attention of our citizens to her desire for peace in theworld.We do not know her personally as she is just passing through our state,but since undoubtedly it will be a long, hard trip for her,we wish her safe passage .” It was on official stationery and signed by the governor of thestate, Howard Pyle. When I was being released a court officer remarked, “You don’tseem to be any the worse for your day in jail.” I said, “You canimprison my body, but not the spirit.” It’s only the body they can putbehind prison bars. I never felt in prison and neither will you ever feelin prison—unless you imprison yourself. They took me to the spot where I had been picked up the daybefore. It was a beautiful experience.Every experience is what you make it and it serves a purpose. Itmight inspire you, it might educate you, or it might come to give youa chance to be of service in some way.Most of my speaking is now scheduled well in advance but I amstill offered speaking engagements in a most unexpected manner. InMinneapolis I was being interviewed by a reporter at a gathering ofcivic club members who were awaiting an address by the Minnesotagovernor. He was unable to make it so they invited me to speak in hisplace. Of course I accepted! And speaking of governors, as I stepped inside the big front doorof a State House one day, a nice friendly gentleman greeted me andshook my hand and asked if he could help me. I told him I was lookingfor the Governor’s office and he promptly took me there. “Isthere anything else I can do to help you?” he asked. “I thought I mighthave the privilege of shaking hands with the Governor,” I said. “Youhave shaken hands with the Governor,” said the nice friendly gentleman—the Governor himself reenex. It was the first year of my pilgrimage and I was somewhere alongthe highway between El Paso and Dallas when. I have never heard of the FBI investigating people forvagrancy but I was. A man in a black car stopped and showed me hisbadge. He didn’t even demand that I come with him, he just said,“Will you come with me?”I said, “Oh yes. I’ll be interested in talking with you.”
