This is my friend Andrea

I think I really offended her the first time we met. I can never remember what I said to her, but she’s always jogging my memory. She laughs with lingering amazement and reminds me, “All us first years were sitting in a van about to head to Cherry Creek and you and the other senior leaders were all headed to Abbo's. Your stuff was in our van and you walked over, threw open the door and looking at us with an intense stare, said "Any of you touch my stuff and I will kill you." I remember thinking, "who the hell is this guy?"

I swear, I don’t know what goes through my head when I first meet people. Things just come out without even thinking about it. But Andrea is a good sport, and I quickly realized that I would be a fool to let her pass along her way with out becoming her friend first. Andrea is so funny and it is so easy to feed off of her energy. She’s always talking with a different accent and down for an epic adventure. She circumnavigated Santa Cruz Island with me on my boat for a week. She taught me a lot about a lot of things on that trip. Right now she is riding bicycles around New Zealand with her husband Brian. It’s the first leg in their “around the world honey moon.”

When we first met, we were in Colorado for a week or so training for our summer trips to come. There are always so many amazing people in Colorado and we were all having a blast staying at my co-leader Nicole’s house in boulder. This house was anything but ordinary; nobody knew who lived there and who was just passing through. The door was always open and every time you walked in, there would be five new people nobody had ever seen before watching sex in the city on the tube. This was always on because there was no cable and the sex in the city series were the only DVDs in the house.

Six of us ventured out one night and we began to paint the town red. We were all separated amidst the chaos and shenanigans that ensued and that was pretty standard. I will never forget stumbling back through neighborhood after neighborhood at five in the morning with Andrea trying to find our temporary home. A Volkswagen van was stopped at a stop sign and we asked for a lift to the other side of town. It was a young couple and they obliged. We hopped in and sat in the back next to their three year old daughter. What they were doing driving around at five in the morning picking up hitchhikers with their daughter in the back would remain a mystery to us. The only thing we knew was that as weird as it was, it would save us about a forty-five minute walk. They dropped us off a block away. We thanked them again, and walked towards the dawn. As we approached the house, we saw four figures walking in the middle of the street towards us, dressed in bed sheets transformed in to togas! Our band was reunited again! We didn’t even ask how they ended up in togas, for anything can happen in Colorado.

Wednesday, what a day

I slid into the Jacuzzi alone as I did so many times when I lived at my father’s house in high school. The overwhelming heat brought back so many memories. Whitey tighties, bud light, and my old roommate Ernie. I also thought of the first time I stood on my feet after my accident. It was in a Jacuzzi with my grandfather, and it was so much harder than I had anticipated. I always thought I would forget that anything ever happened to my feet, as I seem to have forgotten so many other significant moments of my life. But of all of the things that I could think of on a daily basis, go figure it has to be my feet. Life is like that day with my grandfather sometimes; harder than I had anticipated.

The weightlessness of the water also made me think of Wednesday. Wednesday was pretty significant, and I have a feeling I won’t forget it for a long time. School was cancelled due to the fires, so I went to the beach. As I exited the freeway I pulled over to the side of the road. I stared in amazement. The world in front of me was engulfed in flame. After a minute or so, I continued on, parking where I usually park, and paddling out where I usually paddle out. The sky was raining a dry ash, and I felt like I was fleeing a war zone. The sky was dark; it had an air of seriousness to it. The water was iridescent; a thousand different shades of inviting blues and greens all at once. As I caught my first wave of the day I awoke to the dream that had rolled into reality. All I could see was red. The hillside was directly in front of me and it was so alive with fire that I almost couldn’t handle it. Picture the most amazing piece of art you have ever seen, along with all of the emotions that it stirred up in you. I saw that feeling in every direction; up, down, ahead of me, behind me, all around. It was an epic ride, to say the least.

After about an hour of total bewilderment and spectacular waves, it only got better. A pod of dolphins graced us with their presence. There were about fifty and they seemed to be in a jovial mood. I paddled towards them with innocence and curiosity. They responded with curiosity of their own, surrounding me for about five minutes. They would swim at me and dive at the last second, stopping below me to look at the bottom of my board. I could have reached out and touched them, if my own fear guised in the name of “respect for nature” hadn’t stopped me. The young were also intrigued, though their mothers kept them from getting too close. I paddled into a wave. They were right there with me, playing in the swell.

The colors of this majestic canvas dimmed to darkness and I spent my evening where I usually spend my Wednesday evenings; in LA on a bicycle. It was a good night filled with laughter and friendship. I am very excited to recognize individuals who also recognize me throughout my ride. Developing these relationships to ultimately gain understanding and appreciation is so important to me. This Wednesday was a good step in that direction.

The night ended with heartbreak while beautiful memories filled my head when I should have been sleeping. I am so grateful for so many experiences of my life, and the last eight months are no exception. I held on one last time to what I knew would soon be gone. It reminded me that, like that day in the Jacuzzi with my grand father, things can sometimes be so much harder than anticipated.

Going mechanico

It is so refreshing when you realize that you are able to do something that you always thought you couldn’t. I have recently broadened my mechanical skills and am pretty proud of the results. I just finished a complete restoration on one of my vespas, and have successfully installed two new cylinder kits on the zumas. These sorts of projects never go as smoothly as anticipated, and the most consistent thing you are working on is your patience. Is the end result worth it? I would have to say yes. Even if you break things, you come away with a little bit more knowledge for the next project that is called life. Some might say it’s just a scooter, but I think they missed the point.

My friend Jon

Jon Earle is one of the most natural leaders I have ever had the honor to know. For a man of few words, he knows how to make them count. More importantly, he does what he says, rather than says what he’s done. Jon leads by example and has amazing follow thru. When you look in his eyes, you know he’s the real deal, and if he says he’s going to do something, you know it will get done.

I met Jon in February of ’07 in British Columbia. I almost didn’t know he was there, as he blended into the crowd, trying to make some sense of our situation. We were there with 27 other amazing people from all over the world, trying to become members of a team that would travel the globe in hopes of making a positive impact. At first glance, I didn’t pay him much attention; he had a straight up mullet and a funny accent that told me he was from New Zealand. But as the days went by, I quickly realized that he understood the big picture and, more importantly, was helping to shape the outcome of the week, without even trying. His perspective was always inspiring, and his passion for putting what was best for the group first, moved me. I can not put into words the amount of respect I have for Jon. All I can say is thank you for being such an admirable role model.