Sunday, April 27, 2008
The curse continues - day 9


My poncho is getting quite a workout. Yesterday there was just a light mist of rain, however today it was raining cats and dogs and cows and horses. On top of that there was hail and lighting too. I was forced (for safety reasons) to sit and wait for the worst of the storm to pass. It was just a yucky day to be out driving the roads today…especially in a wheelchair.

Posted by Rolling Over ALS Blog at 8:48 PM 0 comments
She is not the Good Witch after all - day 8



Just before I fell asleep last night I mentioned to Glenda how we had been blessed with wonderful weather. As any good public safety professional knows you don’t say something like it has been quite or there hasn’t been any rain unless you actually want it to happen. Glenda said “Yeah, there hasn’t been any rain” and that did it. We had rain…ALL DAY!



We pulled into Allendale, SC this evening and I was tired and soaked (thanks G) only to find that the hotel we were scheduled to stay at was shall we say less than up to code. They had a team of cockroaches on staff to carry our bags up…not to mention that I was starving and there wasn’t so much as a Micky D’s to get a bite to eat. So we opted to drive ahead to Orangeburg and tomorrow morning we will double back to ride the route…not practical with the price of gas I know, but I just don’t think I could have slept there.



I had the opportunity to meet a very special family today. A mother who lost her son to ALS 6 years ago read about the Tour in a Savannah newspaper and asked her daughter-in-law to set up a meeting…that she couldn’t explain why but she HAD to meet me. It was an honor to meet this mother and one of her sons and daughter-in-law. She wanted me to have a lap blanket which had belonged to her beloved son. These will be cherished memories of this adventure. Although it gets frustrating out here, especially with all the one-finger salutes and horn-y drivers, a visit like this makes the whole trip worth while.

Posted by Rolling Over ALS Blog at 8:07 PM 3 comments
We're in the Army now - day 7



Upon exiting Hinesville today we drove through Fort Stewart. Military housing has come a long way since my Army days in the late 80’s. Everyone who passed us today was very supportive with friendly waves and thumbs up’s. Even the Ft. Stewart police were friendly and helpful by sending out officers to check on us and make sure we weren’t having any problems. The weather has been good…a bit on the hot side but not raining.



Going into Statesboro I had a few issues with the sidewalks…there were on ramps but I would have to double back because there were no off-ramps. As any of you who have tried to navigate the sidewalks are aware of…there is nothing more frustrating and downright stupid as poor planning (maybe Steve S can get on that one).

Posted by Rolling Over ALS Blog at 7:56 PM 0 comments
The people you meet - day 6
I was not going to have much to tell about the day, since this was a planned non-travel day. We were hoping to be able to visit Fort Stewart; however that was not able to be arranged. I took a much needed nap and tried to catch up on some emails and writing this journal.

This evening we went to dinner and met a family that turned out to bless us as much as they said we blessed them. The restaurant was a Japanese Steakhouse, where they cook the food right in front of you and perform little tricks as they cook. We were seated with a family of three, mom, dad and their little guy that looked about 7 (we later found out he was only 5). During casual conversation “Are you from around here” kind of thing…we had the opportunity to share what we are doing and why. As all you guys know, I am a very shy person, so the conversation was hard for me to carry on. Come to find out this young mother has been battling breast cancer (in remission for 2 years), so she had an emotional connection to the “fighting attitude” I share with them. So as we continued eating and talking (no, I didn’t talk with food in my mouth) the young man got up, to go to the restroom I assumed, and came back about 5 minutes later. As we said our goodbyes the young lady came over and gave me a hug, then her son followed suit and her husband shook my hand and thanked me. When the missus went to pay the bill, we found out that the husband didn’t go to the restroom, he paid our bill. Why couldn’t he be one of Georgia’s finest? Come to think of it, the whole family was Georgia’s FINEST.