2/10/2011
The morning started with bright sunshine and it illuminated my path. I officially started my journey touching the water of the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach, California. There to see me off were a handful of my friends. Dr. Rachel Berkowitz and Shani, Nick, Hanh, Mike Valenzuela, Jesse and their baby Zoe. While I went to scoop up some sand to signify the beginning of my adventure, my boy Donnie pulled into the parking lot and told me I had a speaking engagement at Prisk Elementary school around eleven o’clock. It was only five miles away but my stupid sprint navigation tried to tell me it was eleven miles away. I had already left the parking lot when I spotted the error. I had to run back and see that I had thirty-five minutes to cover the distance. The milage wasn’t the problem. It was the street lights and the lack of familiarity of the city. Yes I did consider hitching a ride then getting dropped back at the starting point but it was only a momentary consideration. I felt like today was a day where things would go very smoothly. And they did!
I ran right into Prisk Elementary sweaty but the scene could have been any more like a script. The kids were just coming out from their classrooms to greet me as I ran up and gave everyone high fives. This batch of third graders were lively and there were seventy five of them. I got to share my book with them and they shared their award winning mural with me. It was titled “Life is Water”. After our little session, they took me to lunch and I got bombarded with questions and requests for autographs. Oh I will surely remember today.
I finished my lunch after the kids returned to class and got back on the road. Did I forget to mention the third graders all wanted to race me. So yeah, I kinda sprinted a few times. It probably wasn’t the best time. Especially since I had to push hard to get to the school on time. It didn’t matter. I spent the rest of the time on a leisurely run.
My mom provided perfect support for me the entire day but took a wrong turn on the very last mile. I ended up getting a bit cold sitting outside the Villa Park High School but it didn’t matter. The first day was done and the ball has been set in motion.
Everyone help make day one rock. The kids, Principal Cindy Young, the teachers, and all my friends. Mad props for Donnie in the clutch. Thank you all!!!
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