COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL NOVEMBER 1, 2017
11A
Man crosses country with extra
something to carry
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
He'd been at the intersection
at Gateway Blvd. for over 30
minutes. By the time tips started
coming into the newsroom, he'd
had at least two people exit their
cars to pray with him and sever-
al others honk their horns, wav-
ing thumbs up out car windows.
When the Sentinel arrived on
the scene, two teenagers were
chatting with him and asked to
sign his cross.
Signature cover the wood,
worn by weather, travel and
time; one of the only things Joe
Shortino carries with him.
Shortino left a job in the oil
business after what he describes
as a command from God.
Now, he travels the country,
carrying the cross he made him-
self and relying on donations
and the charity of the people he
meets.
"I have been doing this for al-
most fi ve years and I have nev-
er slept a night on the street of
gone hungry," Shortino said.
While he travels the coun-
try, he hasn't walked the whole
way. Shortino does not techni-
cally live on the streets. He has
a home base with his wife and
two young children that he re-
turns to for weeks or months at
a time before setting out to walk
again.
Shortino said God tells him
what state to walk in next and
this trip was facilitated by a fam-
ily member in the area. Shortino
prayed briefl y with students in
front of the University of Ore-
gon but says he does not preach
his faith or ask those who stop
him on the street to convert.
Shortino has been featured in
media across the country from
local newspapers to national
outlets that distribute only on-
line.
He says he does not directly
solicit donations on the street
but has met individuals willing
to give him a free meal or pay
for a hotel room while he walks
through town.
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