Day Nine; Somewhere in northern Texas

Some wise person once said that life is what happens to you when you have other things planned.

At the moment, it sure seems that they were right.

It wasn’t long ago that I was running my own fashion business, traveling to and from New York, staging fashion shows and scheduling model fittings; the dream job I had been pursuing since birth. Right now, however, I am writing a blog from a campground somewhere in Texas, at the beginning of a 10-week road trip with a soldier named Gunnar…who also happens to be my new business partner. I know. It sounds crazy.

For those of you who I communicate with on a regular basis, you pretty much know what’s going on…but for those who are reading this wondering who the hell is Gunnar? I will back up a bit.

Gunnar Swanson is a 31-year old Iraq war veteran who unexpectedly appeared in my inbox last December. At that time I was getting War Kids Relief back on its feet as an in-house CCC program and hoping to find someone with enough determination and skill to run it. Gunnar Googled his way to WKR and wrote a very long and emotion-filled letter (longest email ever written by a straight guy), which explained that although he was no longer in the army and was currently working as a dolphin trainer in Florida, he desperately wanted to help the Iraqi children he had seen victimized by the war. He offered to do a walk to raise funds for WKR and asked for my support in coordinating it. Not being one to pass up an interesting opportunity, I told him I was happy to help…and from there it didn’t take long to realize that this was the guy to lead the program into the future.

By February, Gunnar said adios to the Florida sunshine and hello to the Minnesota winter. Since then we have been hard at work developing both the organization as well as the walk.

Gunnar is an interesting guy in every category. He’s got a heart the size of Texas and is as honest as they come. He’s passionate about whatever he sets his mind to, and he can go from well-spoken leader to total goofball in a matter of seconds. He also does a spot-on imitation of me that makes me laugh until I can barely breathe. He stands about 5’11”, has blue-eyes, and keeps his would-be blonde hair buzzed down to about 1.5mm in length. A bold fashion move, for sure, but paired with his body-builder physique and the mirrored wrap glasses, it works for him. Stylish, in a bad-ass sort of way. (A side benefit of the hairstyle is that I always know when I’m irritating him because I can see the pronounced veins springing up across his head. A handy warning signal that lets me know when it’s time to make myself scarce. Or, if I’m feeling antagonistic, it’s a clear indicator of my success.)

We come from different worlds, for sure. I’ve been married for 17 years with two kids, and my happiness staples are bubble baths, lattes and manicures. Gunnar is single, is into hard rock music and body building, and he breaks into a cold sweat when my kids start whining. But, we both have an unwavering commitment to help children impacted by war, so we manage to work together no matter how bad my PMS gets. Or when his music begins to give me eye twitches.

Most of the time we get along pretty well, and we are both teaching and learning from one another on a daily basis. Up until I turned 40, my entire life seemed to be dedicated to my fashion career, but after Daisy and Coco came along my priorities shifted hard, and caring for disadvantaged children took the place of determining next season’s hemlines.

As a veteran who has seen the effects of war on children, Gunnar wanted to make a symbolic sacrifice to show his commitment to the cause, so he is walking 1,000 miles from Texas to Minnesota. While I may not be walking with him (I’m managing the communications center from the inside of the air-conditioned RV), I will be going 10 weeks without a bubble bath, hair foil, or privacy.

We all make sacrifices in our own ways, you know?

So here we are, about to spend the next ten weeks on the road together for our fundraiser: “A Soldier’s March for Peace.” www.warkidsrelief.org/march

A 1,000-mile walk organized by a fashion designer and a dolphin trainer. What could possibly go wrong?


July 9, 2009

Well, unfortunately, it has been so hectic this past week getting everything underway that I haven’t had time to start blogging until now…so, in an effort to catch up, here are a few highlights from the first week:

-After I packed the RV with computer equipment, office supplies, lawn chairs, sunscreen, clothes, manicure essentials, makeup, cookware and a blender, we drove out of my driveway on July 1. I left enough space in the RV for Gunnar’s army duffle filled with assorted T’s and muscle shirts, walking shoes, and his Ipod. Gunnar wonders why I would pack an entire set of dishware. I’m sure he’s curious about the balsamic vinegar as well.

-We met up with Anne Steeves, our summer St. Olaf intern, and Kathy Braga, our route coordinator, who followed us down to Dallas (with Kathy’s two daughters, Sophie/10 and Natalie/6) to get things organized for the kickoff and get us off and running for the first week. These women are amazing, and Gunnar and I would be a hopeless mess without them.

-Our tire blew out somewhere in the middle of Missouri where we met the first of many toothless, yet friendly, auto mechanics.

-We spent Friday night in a ghetto trailer park in Missouri. The rusted out trailers parked there had a creepy graveyard-like atmosphere, and there were signs posted in the bathhouse saying “No smearing feces on the wall.” Apparently, this has been a problem. (Funny, I used to think that ‘roughing it’ was staying in a hotel without cable TV, so this ranked high on my list of life adventures.)

-The generator in the RV conked out so, unfortunately, we don’t have air-conditioning when stopped. Somehow, Gunnar and I are still getting along with one another.

-The July 4th kick-off in Dallas was a great time despite the 100+ degree heat. About a dozen or so little sweating kids showed up, as well as a Channel 8 news reporter, so we made the Dallas 6:00pm news. Yee haw!!

-After the kick-off, Gunnar spent four hours in the parking lot of our hotel helping a nice guy named Josh, who was determined to fix our RV generator (to no avail). On the bright side, I made an excellent batch of margaritas and my famous guacamole in the hotel room for the rest of the team to enjoy while we waited for Josh and Gunnar to give up.

-In the past four days we have met with youth groups at three area YMCAs to rally the kids. Gunnar is amazing and the kids love him to pieces! Check out his blog: www.warkidsrelief.org/march/blog

-So far my do-it-yourself leg-waxing kit seems to be working out pretty well.

-Within the last seven days, our RV nightmares include replacing one blown out tire, a bum carburetor, a dead battery, and a GPS that kept sending us to all the wrong addresses.

-On the upside, we are getting a steady stream of walk sponsors and donations from people around the country!!! So far so good!

Okay, I’m signing off now, but will report back again soon.

Love, Dina