The Washington Daily News had a visit Tuesday afternoon from a man who said he had a great story to share.
Jared Outten has not had an easy life. Somehow, that life got better Sept. 3, when he decided to pack up all of his belongings and travel from Burlington, Vt. to his hometown of Norfolk, Va., on his bicycle.
Outten’s life has left him with physical and emotional scars. He was sexually abused as a child, was passed around from one foster home to the next and has suffered from depression when he faced a world full of bitterness and violence. But this bicycle trip of his showed him a different side of humanity.
He left with only $130 in his pocket and has earned or been given at least $500 along the way.
There were bike shops that offered him new tires and inner tubes and strangers who gave him a hot meal and a place to sleep. He picked up odd jobs mowing lawns and trimming hedges.
Outten said he was brought to tears when he visited a church and had people line up to offer him cash.
Those slices of humanity have led Outten to Washington. The trip did not end in Norfolk as planned. Outten now plans to cross the country on his bike, meeting new people and visiting old friend. He has one message as he goes, and that is, if you seek the good in people, you’ll find it.