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The reporter met with Williams two days before this year‘s hike. At "I feel I owe something to those people," he says. Williams says that he also feels an obligation to the people who accost him on Kerr Street and even on the golf course (he works at Glen Abbey), who know him only as ‘the guy who walks from Toronto to Oakville on St. Patrick‘s Day.‘ _ He declares: "It‘s just a shame he never had the chance to complete his mission. If ever there was a man with courage and a strong mind, Terry Fox was that man." Williams thinks Terry Fox is the greatest man who ever lived. The trekker cracks a bashful grin, "When I first started I never dreamed I‘d be doin‘ it 17 years later." Ask him why he does it and he tells you straight out: "I do it basicalâ€" ly for the people who can‘t do it for themselves. I‘m a very emotional guy," he adds. "I feel for people who are handicapped or elderly or sick." This year he was heading for the pub called the Bearded Collie on Lakeshore Road just down the street from the Halton Inn which closed for renovations three years ago and has not yet reâ€"opened. "I warn people to expect the worst," he admits. ‘You will have pain,‘ he tells them. The weather can be cold and unpredictable on the 17th of March. One year he walked through four solid hours of drenching rain, he recalls. Snow flurries are not uncommon. There have been times when my feet have been one solid blister," he says matterâ€"ofâ€"factly. Not surprising. It is a gruelling test and Williams does not minimize the discomfort. "No matter how hard I try," he says solemnly, "I can‘t get people to walk on a regular basis." (Continued from page 3) ber of years but was reported to be on his last tour of duty in 1976. The call went out for fresh legs. Williams was 24 then, had been an outstanding athâ€" lete in high school, and was a natural crossâ€"country runner. So he took the torch and all the other baggage tradiâ€" tions bring. He carries it still. "I‘m going to do this as long as I possibly can," he vows. His only fear is he will be the end of the line. Williams carries on tradition Williams says Christianity helped him turn his life around and for a time he was quite a religious zealot, passing out leaflets as he walked from T.O. to Oakville. More recently he has found a middle ground. It was the early ‘70s, his life was a washâ€"out, he thought. His friends were overdosing on drugs and booze. Lost and desperate he planned to drive his bike off the end of the Bronte Pier. Then he found The Lord. Ed Williams made some mistakes when he was a young man; like burrs he can‘t seem to shake them off his jeans. After high school where he was an outstanding athlete, he became rudderless; got sucked into alcohol and drug abuse; got caught dealing. ""You get yourself involved with the police and they never let you forâ€" get it," he says bitterly. "Your record stays with you for the rest of your life." Unmarried, no children, his candy apple blue Harleyâ€"Davidson is his passion. He‘s pretty much of a loner though he enjoys a good game of chess. For nine months of the year he works at Glen Abbey Golf Course. "I like to point the bike and go," he says. "It‘s hard to explain the feelâ€" ing of having all that power on two wheels, the open highway with the fresh air in your face... it‘s like being on the edge." He strums a guitar to soothe his nerves; his soft brown eyes are clear behind wireâ€"rimmed glasses. He is a ‘biker,"‘ as his tâ€"shirt suggests, and proud of it, but no outlaw. He belongs to a club in Milton but mostâ€" ly he rides alone. He‘s not looking for a lot of fanâ€" fare, he says. Doesn‘t need that kind of pressure. His plan is to show up at Toronto City Hall at 9 a.m. Wednesday, as usual, the way Barney Heard always did and walked the disâ€" tance. As far as he knows, he‘ll be alone this year. 41, the intrepid walker has a full beard and long dark hair like the Beatle George Harrison in his psychedelic days. The smell of incense lingers in the air of his tidy Normandy ‘Place home. Sitting relaxed on a sofa wearing jeans and a black tâ€"shirt he looks like a holdâ€"over from the counterâ€"culture of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Minus the beads. He is polite and oddly subdued. (True to his word Ed Williams arrived at the Bearded Collie at about 5 o‘clock Wednesday afternoon. Stiff, sore, blistered and weatherâ€" beaten he was alone, wearin‘ a green toque and leanin‘ on a tall hiker‘s staff, Number 17 was in the books. Congratulations boyo!) Valid March 20â€"27 93. "I love my job, now," he says of his position at the Abbey. "In the summer I get up at 3:30 (a.m.). I‘m on the golf course by five â€" before the birds are even up â€" cutting the grass and getting the dew off the greens. I‘m out there 10 hours a day sometimes â€" which doesn‘t leave much time for riding." Still, he says, it‘s an excellent job. "The only walls are the trees." "Like a lot of guys I was sure I . would play hockey one day for the Toronto Maple Leafs," Ed says. "Never really thought past that. Just took life as it came. The way my dad did." u With coupon With his three brothers and two sisters, Ed was raised in a house on Pine Avenue, built by his grandfather. With his chums he remembers as a kid playing sports â€" football, baseâ€" ball, hockey, from dawn to dusk; he was quick and he was tireless. But, he lacked direction and discipline. "I guess I‘ve mellowed," he says with a smile, "I‘m pretty relaxed and enjoyin‘ life. I believe in God and I believe the Bible is 100% true, but my feeling now is that people should believe what they want to believe. It‘s personal." Valid March 20â€"27/93. W With coupon pack Valid March 20â€"27/93. With coupon Valid March 20â€"27/93. 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