Over my first cup of steaming java I caught up on some email correspondence and document drafting. Then, I perused the New York Times online while I finished the pot and waited for Gunnar to call and tell me he's ready for a
walking break.By 8:00am the call came in from the road (would you believe he encountered MORE scary dogs??) so I mobilized into action.
This involves first getting dressed, putting makeup on and doing my hair. Then, it's unhooking the RV's electrical cord and water hose from the park facilities...and finally, it flushing out the sewage drain hose while I hold my breath and grimace.
After the RV was unhooked and ready to go, I rolled out of the park around 8:30am and began tracking the route to go find Gunnar. I caught up with him about 10 miles away where he was conveniently located by a donut shop, so I stopped in for a chocolate glazed and a cinnamon roll.
One thing I have noticed down here is that you don't have to travel far to find a donut shop. They are everywhere! So are catfish restaurants, as well. I confess I've been stopping for donuts just about every day now and I'm afraid it might be starting to become an addiction.
Fortunately, the catfish addiction isn't something I'm too concerned about.
***
A couple hours later we were headed towards the Bethany, OK YMCA for a 12:30pm session with the kids there. We pulled into town around 11:15am, so we were a little early and had some time to kill, but while we were stopped at a gas station to fuel up... it happened again.
I spotted a nail salon across the street that took walk-in appointments.
Quickly, I looked at my watch and realized that if I bolted right now, and they got me in a chair right away, I could get a pedicure before the YMCA activities started. Like deja vu, I jumped from the RV and told Gunnar I'd catch up with him. As I sprinted across the four-lane road I could hear him yelling at me that the Y was two miles away...but it was too late. There was no turning back.
It wasn't easy but I managed to dodge through the heavy traffic and get to safety on the other side. From there, I crossed the parking lot, flew threw the salon door, and before I knew it I was having my feet exfoliated while sitting in a fabulous rolling massage chair. Ahhh.
Okay, I admit that I may have a problem here, but they say admitting it is the first step.
While my feet soaked, I sent a few emails from my phone, and kept close watch over the time. If I could get out the door by noon, I'd have exactly thirty minutes to make the two mile walk to the YMCA. (After the previous nail episode, asking Gunnar to come pick me up in the RV wasn't an option I wanted to consider.)
Unfortunately, the woman doing my pedicure didn't speak much English so my pleas to finish by noon weren't working...and by 12:15pm I was paying my bill and running out the door down the side of the four-lane road leading towards the YMCA.
It was a busy thoroughfare and cars were honking and swerving around me as I ran top speed in my flip-flops (cotton still wedged between my toes) along the curb. I had 15 minutes to go two miles. I admit this was very dangerous, and I would have just run in the grass but that would have made a mess of the wet polish. I had no choice.
Several blocks later I was still running when a woman pulled up beside me in her car and asked if I needed help. She said I looked frantic and was worried if everything was okay. I explained my situation of being trapped in an RV for two weeks, my desperate need for freedom, my fresh pedicure, the grass issue, and that I was about to be late to a very important YMCA appointment.
What a relief when she told me she completely understood! She showed me the pedicure she got yesterday (nice!) and then told me to hop in. She'd get me there in plenty of time.
A few minutes later she dropped me off outside the YMCA door. I thanked her and gave her an ASM4P flier and told her to spread the word.
I just want to take this moment to give a shout out to Kimberly... not only for the ride, but for understanding my entire situation without question. That's sisterhood, no doubt!
***
After I arrived at the YMCA--toenails intact-- Gunnar and I met with about 40 kids and did our usual fun session: talking, collecting letters and being warmly welcomed by all. It was a great afternoon.
July 15, 2009
Today we reached Norman, Oklahoma and had a GREAT afternoon session
with about thirty 10-12 year old kids at the Cleveland County family YMCA. After we finished our presentation, they wrote letters for us to take to the kids in Iraq and Afghanistan, and WOW---did they ever do an amazing job! Here are a few quotes from their letters:"I realize that all you kids are going through a lot...Whenever I heard about your country, people would say bad things. But now I realize it's not like that. Though some people there made bad choices, I think totally different about it now. I am here to help you through all these hardships."
"I never really thought about how lucky I am. You are so much more mature than me...Here in America we think about what we don't have...I feel so sympathetic for you guys. I'm really grateful now, it's like a wakeup call. I'm keeping you in my prayers."
"I am sorry that you are probably scared. It's alright, I'm here for you."
Before we knew it, several of them had already started planning their fundraisers for ASM4P, so we decided to give them all T-shirts to encourage them to keep up the good work.
Go Norman, Oklahoma!!
July 14, 2009
Today was a quiet day with no YMCA stops so this afternoon we pulled into Cedar Blue RV park south of Sulphur, OK. An elderly man named Joe was on duty in the office to check us in and when we told him about Gunnar's walk he was very touched by the project. He shared the story of his own grandson's return from serving in Iraq, and how the stress of the war wears on these soldiers. As we were about to pay him, he spontaneously pulled out his wallet and paid for our night's stay in the park with his own money. It was clear that he not only wanted, but needed, a way to do something to show support for another soldier.
At that moment, I just felt so honored that I was a part of this wonderful project. It is so clear to me how many Americans are out there who want and need this opportunity to do something, to help someone, in whatever small way they can.
***
The day prior, Gunnar shared his story with the woman who checked us in to our RV park in the previous town. Unlike Joe, however, she wasn't as receptive to the project...but I think that was mainly due to the hangover that she was obviously still recovering from.
We left a flier for her to read when she was feeling better. Just in case.
***
In addition to helping manage the walk, my job is also to remind everyone why Gunnar is out there every day in the 100+ degree heat getting chased down country roads by packs of wild dogs. It’s to remind all of YOU GUYS out there in BlogLand that it is because of your donations to War Kids Relief he can help children traumatically affected by war, and make the world a safer place for all of us.
Is this guy a hero or what?!?
For Gunnar to succeed in his mission, War Kids Relief desperately needs your financial support. The truth is, however, Gunnar is too adorably humble to just come out and ask people to cough up their cash.
I’m adorable too, but to be honest...humility has never been my thing, so I’ll just come straight out with it: WILL YOU FINANCIALLY SPONSOR GUNNAR’S WALK??
I know right now everyone is feeling a bit pinched financially, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a huge sacrifice if you look at it the right way. For example, if I were going to sponsor Gunnar on a per mile basis (for 1,000 miles), here’s are some things I could sacrifice for a great cause:
1 cent/mile ($10) = one new lipstick shade…two trips to Starbucks…three tabloid mags in the grocery store check-out lane.
2 cents/mile ($20) = lunch out with my friends…movie for two…happy hour
5 cents/mile ($50) = manicure/pedicure…one-hr massage…nice bottle of wine… that new tattoo I was thinking of getting (no, not really!)
10 cents/mile ($100) = out to dinner at my favorite restaurant…cute new pair of shoes…one of my weekly trips to Target where my shopping cart gets mysteriously filled with way too much stuff I don’t need in the first place.
So those are a few things on my list. What would YOU be willing to sacrifice to help Gunnar reach his goals? Give it some thought today, and when you’re ready…that PayPal button is right there waiting for you.
www.warkidsrelief.org/donate
(How’s that for adorably subtle?)
On that note...I'll sign off for the day! Stay tuned for the next adventure!
Love, Dina
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