How it was possible for me to circle the landmass of the earth on foot

When I told my brother John about the idea to walk around the world he said, "We're going to do it aren't we!"

When John was murdered by bandits while walking across Afghanistan, my brother Pete told me he would follow in John's footsteps to help me finish the walk.

It is probable that I would not have attempted the feat if John had said no and it is also probable I wouldn't have finished the walk if Pete hadn't taken over when John was shot and killed.

The walk probably wouldn't of been completed

• If a lady in Minnesota hadn't said, "You guys need a mule because then you won't be just two guys walking down the road, the animal can carry all your gear, you won't have to carry a pack on your back and people will know you are doing something extraordinary."
• If the mayor of Waseca hadn't suggested we carry a scroll and have it stamped and signed by an official of every city, town or village that we spent the night as a documentation of our odyssey to get into the Guinness Book of Records.
• If John hadn't come up with the idea to tell people who offered us money to instead send a donation to UNICEF because we were walking around the world.
• If Hubert H. Humphrey hadn't met with us and given us a wonderful letter of introduction to officials around the world. Humphrey also notified all the American Embassies and Consulates of all the countries we walked across asking them to help the two world walkers from his state.

The mule, the scroll, Senator Humphrey's help and the UNICEF idea made the difference between success or failure...

The mule got people's attention and caused them to ask: What are you guys doing with that mule? More often than not that lead to an offer of a meal or a place to spend the night or both.

The scroll was the device we used as a reason to meet city officials.

Senator Humphrey's letter of introduction influenced officials to meet us and that usually lead to an offer of a meal and a place to stay or both.

Telling people to send money to UNICEF also induced offers of a free meal or a place to stay.