Day 13 I hit the 100 mile mark today! I started the day with a grueling 4 mile slope to the summit above Fairfield. I wasn’t really feeling at the top of my game. My muscles were aching and my underarms felt like I had been wearing a t-shirt made of 50-grit sandpaper, and I had the internal grumbling machine cranked up to max volume. I was nearly 3/4ths of the way up when I noticed a woman had stopped for a moment and had been talking to Kara, who was following in the car behind me. She soon continued up the hill, only to stop ahead of me and walk down toward me. She stopped about 10 feet away and explained, “I just made a big donation so I could take your picture.” I smiled and thanked her for stopping. I continued to walk up the hill and when I came to where she stood I noticed she was crying. She told me she had a 22 year old son who was in jail and on drugs. She hoped that by telling her son about me and showing him my picture it would help him make the change that he wanted to make. She said she would gladly give anything to help her son. Her sincerity was unquestionable. We talked for a few more minutes before she gave me a hug, wiped the tears from her face and went back to her car.
As she drove off I wondered at the implication that what I was doing to help kids without limbs had such potential to help other people in other ways as well. A little pain for me in exchange for alleviating a lot of pain for someone else. It is an interesting proposition, but not really different from what I am asking of others as I go on this journey. I know that it is a bit painful to give when money is tight – but a little pain from a lot of people is a good exchange for the amount of pain that can be prevented for a child like Kevin and his family. Suddenly, finishing the walk to the summit was not such a challenge. My burden was lightened by my encounter with this caring mother and the hope that what I was doing could help her son.
I was barely past the summit when two cars pulled off the road in front of me and Gene and Joni Hatch and Joni’s daughter Chelsea piled out to greet me. They were on their way to Joni’s parent’s cabin at the Skyway resort when Chelsea recognized me. We ended up joining them at the cabin after we finished walking for the day. We enjoyed their company as well as a great meal.
The radio had announced I would be walking into Fairview and as we approached an older woman stopped her car and with obvious difficulty walked over to me with a donation in her hand saying, “I heard about you on the radio this morning, can I give you a hug?” Soon after I was greeted by Karl Anderson and his son. Turns out Karl married my next door neighbor from my childhood days, Cathee Frankos.
No comments:
Post a Comment