Minneapolis,
Minnesota to Winnipeg, Manitoba
170
Days on the Road!
Journal
Entry for:
Sunday, August 6 – Sunday, August 13, 2000
Week
24
Total
Miles Cycled to Date: 14,819 km
(9,148 miles)
Community
to Community: Minneapolis,
Minnesota to Winnipeg, Manitoba
–
***we’re back in Canada!
Weather
for the Week: A
lesson in headwinds: On Saturday, Brock cycled 40 miles past Winnipeg and
battling the headwinds, it took him 4 ½ hours. He cycled back with a
tailwind and it was a breeze: he arrived at the hotel 1 ½ hours later! We
are hoping for a headwind-free week to Saskatoon…
Media
Successes:
-
6
Newspaper Interviews
(Total to date: 102 newspaper interviews)
-
7
Television Interviews
(Total to date: 35 television interviews)
-
5
Radio Interviews
(Total to date: 32 radio interviews)
-
1
Speaking Engagement
(Total to date: 21 speaking engagements)
“Even
as a mother protects with her life her child, her only child,
so
with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings;
radiating
kindness over the entire world.” – The Buddha
Wilma’s
Reflections From the Road
“This
week, our biggest challenges turned out to be the wind as well as the
large number of miles we needed to cycle. One way to beat the obstacle of
wind is to get up really early and cycle before the winds start blowing -
which is what we did this morning - but making a wrong turn lost us
valuable wind-free cycling time. Today Janine needed a break from her hard
work and she joined us on the road for a bit; she has brought us good luck
in the past (wind at our backs and great shoulders), but today was
different. We started out with a bit of a break from the wind, but then
suddenly it switched and we were fighting for every mile. Twice the effort
for half the result is very difficult for me, especially mentally.
We
arrived in Grafton - a small, quaint town - and Janine and I decided to
call it a day. Brock confirmed that we should! We sat in front of the
library munching some yummy leftovers when two ambulance drivers pulled
into the parking lot and told us that they saw us on TV last night. They
were so impressed and they wanted to find out more about the trip. Al and
Harlan were so genuinely interested and friendly that all the troubles
with the wind were quickly forgotten. They arranged for the local radio
and newspaper reporters to come down and interview us, which was so nice
of them. The more that Al and Harlan found out about our journey, the more
excitement we all felt. After we finished talking, they invited all of us
back to the ambulance station for fresh baked pie (Brock missed out –
too bad!) and visiting the station gave us an opportunity to find out
about the great work and service they are contributing to society. We saw
the ambulance equipment, we were given a tour of the station, and we
talked about the 1997 flood in Grand Forks - which was devastating for
many communities in North Dakota – but they told us that lots of good
also came out of it in the end.
While
eating the most amazing peach and berry pie made by one of the ambulance
volunteers, Harlan kept bringing out gifts like canvas bags, pencils in
beautiful bright colours, notepads, teddy bears and even a new bicycle
helmet for Brock! We then went to the Heritage service garage in Grafton
to pick up the truck (the water pump had burst and it was being repaired)
and Cory, the Service Manager, charged us only 1/3 of the price for the
repairs! What a great town.
Seeing
Harlan and Al show such an interest and a passion for kindness certainly
made my day. They shifted the frustration caused by the struggle against
the wind and brought it right back to the joining and touching of hearts
– they certainly touched mine. We thank Harlan and Al for all of the
caring and for the time they shared with us - it meant so much. We thank
them for all the great gifts including the donation they made to our tour.
What an inspiring town!”
Jonathan’s
Reflections From the Road
“I
have been feeling like a rock star recently.
On tour, moving endlessly between towns, never quite sure where I
am, being introduced to people I will never see again, seeing little but
the inside of hotel rooms (and our campers), the same routine day in, day
out, and longing for home. But
I ain’t complainin’.
Still,
I have reached the point where thoughts of the future are increasingly
replacing thoughts of the present. With only five weeks to go until the end of the tour, tricky
questions like: ‘what job opportunities are there for me?’, ‘how
will I pay back my debts?’, ‘where will I live?’ creep into my daily
routine.
So
there I am, into Winnipeg, back in Canada, counting the days, projecting
forward to September. I am
sitting in the living room of The Amazing Dickson Family of Winnipeg,
open-mouthed, crying with laughter, in awe at the comic genius of Lexxie
and Sophie, aged 10 and 8 respectively.
They are performing a skit of subtlety and meaning, with panache
and unnerving virtuosity. I
am completely transfixed, and absolutely in the moment.
I look over to Janine, and see her similarly enthralled.
Suddenly,
all the worries, all of the wanderings, disappear.
I am absolutely alive to the amazingness of the world at any and
every moment. And you know what that means is there, sitting between
Janine and I on the sofa: kindness, in all its glory.
Connection, joy, the giving of laughter and claps, the receiving of
the genius of childhood, the fantastic energy, the spirit of sharing, the
perfection of the moment.
Five
weeks to go? No problem.
And I am still a rock star.”
Many
Acts of Kindness…
-
Craig
and Irene from Fargo, North Dakota (yes, just like the movie!) invited
us to their home for a delicious dinner and a good night’s sleep.
Thank you for your spontaneous kindness – we sure enjoyed our
evening with both of you!
-
Stacey,
the manager at the Kinko’s store in Grand Forks, ND donated a $50
gift certificate to our tour. We were able to shop for office supplies
and coloured papers – it was just like being in a candy store! Thank
you Stacey, for this gift – it helped us out a lot.
-
Wilson’s
Grille in Morris, Manitoba is the busiest restaurant in town so we
knew that the food would be delicious! Always eat where the locals are
eating…Pat, the owner, treated us to dinner and Bryn cooked the food
and served us with a huge smile all night. A great meal and the best
service. Thank you for such a great night out.
-
We
mentioned before that John Benedetti from Capers in Vancouver donated
$1000 to our trip. Well, we were able to pick up the cheque in
Winnipeg and John, we just want to tell you how much your support
means to us. You are the greatest - thank you so much from all of us.
-
A
special thank you to Lionel Wilson for sending us all of the wonderful
Phytome skin products – sunscreen, shampoos, moisturizers, and tons
of other great products. Thank you Lionel - just what we needed on the
road!
-
Davina
sent us some USANA vitamins and they traveled all the way from the
Yukon Territories to Winnipeg, Manitoba! Got to get those energy
levels high for the last leg of the journey. Thank you Davina for your
gift sent across the miles - we sure do appreciate it.
-
The
staff at Organza Foods in Winnipeg welcomed us with open arms. Gerry
and Judith Dickson, the owners, treated us to an organic lunch
(created by the amazing Dylan) and we were then invited to their home
for swimming, showers, dinner and a sleep-over! Gerry and Judith also
donated $250 to our tour, which was so kind. We had such a great time
with all of you – thank you for everything.
-
Thank
you to Rev. Tim Peterson and all of the like-minded souls at the
Centre for Self-Awareness in Winnipeg for allowing Brock to speak at
your Sunday service. We really enjoyed picnicking and horseshoeing
with you. Thank you for supporting our journey.
-
The
Hotel Fort Garry in Winnipeg is just a stunning property and Sherraine
took great care of us by setting us up with rooms on a “sold-out”
weekend. Special thanks to the women on staff who saw us on the
evening news and sent a box of breads and muffins up to our room. A
magnificent hotel with the friendliest of staff. Thank you!
-
To
Marjorie Johnston, a friend of Brock’s parents, who ordered pizza
and pop and had it delivered to us in our hotel rooms! What a huge
treat and such a big act of kindness; thank you so much Marjorie.
Random Poetic Ramblings
A
life of extremes
From
the tarmac of the
Wal-Mart
parking lots,
To
the plush carpet of the
Marriott
hotel suites
From
the ceaseless rainfall on the
Oregon
Coast,
To
the unbearable heat through the
Texan
desert
Soaked
to the bone by rain,
soaked
to the bone by sweat.
From
the kindness of the Produce Manager
who
fills our camper with fruits and veggies,
To
the grouchiness of the Gas Station Owner who
fills
our heads, briefly, with unkind thoughts
From
the Iowan mother and children who
brings
us ice cold water to quench our thirst,
To
the Louisiana car-full of teenagers who
throw
an empty beer at us and leave us shaken
From
the simply delicious comfort foods
prepared
with love in the confines of the 17’ trailer,
To
the fine-dining feast prepared with love
in
the gigantic kitchen of the Boulders Inn
From
the headwinds that restrict the cyclists’ momentum,
To
the air conditioned libraries which allow
the
support team to work freely and move forward
From
the sweltering hot, hot of the trailers
To
the hot, hot of the tubs that soothe our weary bones
A
life of extremes
A Play Called Life
I am smiling ear to ear and my eyes are dancing with delight as I watch Lexxie and
Sophie perform an impromptu play for Jonathan and I. It’s a comedy about the perils
of popularity and fitting in and we want to burst out laughing every five seconds, but
if we laugh too loud, we’ll miss the next line of this magically crafted play. It is simply
delightful, complete with costume changes, plenty of attitude (what-ever), singing
- the “Happy Days” theme song - and dancing brilliantly, N Sync. We jump to our feet
in a standing ovation: bravo, bravo!!
Watching these two young talents, inhibition-free, reminded me of what can happen
if you allow yourself to let go and tap into your creativity. I hadn’t hung out with kids
this age in such a long time and all day, I found myself getting caught up in animated
conversations about hissy fits, tubing at the lake, sister squabbles and boy bands. My
ears were perked. I was learning many valuable things.
Over the past 5 ½ months on the road, I’ve learned about the importance of letting
go. I’ve had to. Living in such close quarters with Jonathan, Chris, Wilma, Brock and
Winnie, I’ve had to let things slide and I’ve learned to accept my traveling
companions’ idiosyncrasies. God knows they’ve had to accept mine! In order to
emerge a happy camper at tour’s end, I had to learn acceptance and adaptability
at an early stage. If things annoy me, I need to release them, talk about them,
journal through them or think about what role I am playing in my own annoyance.
I’ve also had to let go of several expectations related to the tour. When we
started planning a year and a half ago, we had huge visions, huge plans. We
envisioned hundreds of people attending our Kindness Conferences, huge amounts
of money being donated by our sponsors, one million kindness stories being collected.
This isn’t the picture of our tour.
For me, it was just after New York - our halfway point - when I decided to let go
of all of the original, grandiose tour expectations that were sitting in the back of
my mind. And blimey, wouldn’t you know it…as soon as I let go of those unrealistic
expectations, I really started to enjoy myself and things started to flow much
smoother for me. Not that I wasn’t having fun before the Big Apple, but I was just
so concerned – too concerned – with the numbers. The number of media
successes, the number of people we were reaching, the number of people who
attended our conferences. I realized that our tour is successful regardless of how
high the numbers go. I realized that our original plans for the tour were very
different now that we were on the road. The tour is more grassroots than
we thought it would be. It has grown organically rather than exponentially. We spend
time connecting with people in the communities. We have time to share a homemade
peach and berry pie with some kind-hearted ambulance drivers. Numbers,
schmumbers. As soon as I let go of how I thought the tour should be, I realized that
I was less uptight and a heck of a lot happier. Alanis Morrisette sings her truth: “The
moment I let go of it, was the moment I got more than I could handle”.
So as I sit here in Winnipeg with the glimmer of Vancouver off in the distant horizon,
I remember what a great, laughter-filled day it’s been and how it all began with two
little girls reminding me that the world can be filled with magic if you perform this
play called Life without inhibition, without expectation. Enter bliss, stage left.
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