Abreu turns wanderlust into trek across America All Through the Town By David Dinsmore ddinsmore@thetowntalk.com August 24, 2008
The Town Talk paused its journeys through town to chat with Manny Abreu, 28, who was walking through Pineville on his trek from Buffalo, N.Y. to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
His journey, however, is kind of a family business.
His father, Gary Abreu, hitchhiked across the country for years in the 1960s.
"No jobs ... I was just a hippie," Gary Abreu said.
Yet, Gary Abreu was not even the first man in the family with a wanderlust. Manny Abreu's paternal grandfather also made his way through the United States as a "free spirit," working as an acrobat, juggler, magician and so forth.
So whether by genetics or by influence, Manny Abreu is walking -- quite literally -- his leg of the seemingly family tradition.
"We're wanderers, I guess," said Gary Abreu, who lives with Manny's stepmother, Diane Abreu, in Monroe.
Manny Abreu conceived the thought of the nearly 1,800-mile trek in August 2007 when talking about backpacking in Europe with a friend.
"But I haven't seen America," he began to think to himself. The trip stuck in his mind from that moment.
His boss granted him a summer leave from the four-star steakhouse where he is working until he finishes a teaching degree at Buffalo State College. He had saved money and drawn a loose route using cities he wanted to visit as hubs.
On June 5, he hit the pavement.
He has walked along the streets and highways of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana with Texas still left in his sights.
Though he realizes "it's a little crazy," the most surprising part of the whole journey has been the outpouring of kindness he has received from total strangers, he said.
His father in particular had expressed concern over how people would respond.
"It was a different time when I did it," Gary Abreu said. "I thought (Manny Abreu) was out of his mind."
Along the way, however, Manny Abreu has received a place to pitch his tent in backyards to museums to churches, and some have allowed him a place in their guest bedroom. People have given him meals, done his laundry and donated some money to his trek.
"It's blown my mind," Manny Abreu said. "Americans are still very, very cool people."
The only thing Manny Abreu said he will not accept is a ride, though he estimates more than 70 people have offered. When people take him to their houses for the night, he has them drop him off at the same place they found him so he can go from there.
"I've walked every step of the way," he said
The experience also has opened his eyes to some people's needs. During a stay in Cleveland, he was "basically homeless" for one night. He said he felt vulnerable and only fell asleep for about 40 minutes.
He realized as he wandered around downtown that the homeless were so used to that feeling that they were sleeping on sidewalks as people walked by them.
Having had a small taste of that life, he said that, when he gets back to his hometown, he wants to help those who have fallen on hard times as a way to "pay forward" the kindness he has received along the way.
