Monday, September 13th (the second half)
Harrisburg Pennsylvania
After leaving the Penn State Hershey Cancer Center, we traveled to Good Hope Middle School in Harrisburg. Annie Hine is health teacher there and is a Spokes of Hope supporter in Harrisburg – Hershey. A wonderful angel with a smile that comes from the heart. She helped arrange a Spokes visit to her school.
The Spokes of Hope team rode into the parking lot to be greeted by 900 middle school students and teachers, all lined up in 2 perfectly straight lines with a gap between them for us to ride through. They were cheering for us and as we approached, hundreds of small hands stretched out to us, beaconing to slap their hands. To see the joy in the faces of the kids as we made contact with them… the pride they had with each tap of the hand was a joy unfolding. I don’t know if the Tour de France riders ever felt the support we felt on that day, but it was a powerful experience for us to get to live out.
The schedule was for us to speak before the student body in the auditorium, but due to some technical difficulties, we ended broadcasting from the News crew room at the school. We all filed into the small studio and delivered our message regarding how to deal with cancer and how to prevent it, and how to interact with people living with cancer.
Afterwards the entire school exited the building again, each student and teacher banded with a yellow LiveStrong wristband, many wearing yellow shirts or LiveStrong shirts. They headed to the running track and were walking around the track in support of our mission. We mixed in with the students. Some walking with them, others riding amongst them. Every student I saw wearing a LiveStrong shirt I made sure I shook their hand.
Daredevil Patti had a small boy balance d on her bike as she pushed him around the track. Many of the students were wearing shirts with “Briana” written on them. Briana was one of their classmates who was diagnosed with brain cancer. She did not win her fight to live, but she obviously won a place in many hearts at this school.
The spectacle was colorful, effervescent and full of life. The day was bright and so were the kids. They re-energized us.
A very special thanks to Annie 5Hines again for making this opportunity a reality. She can really get things moving… and you should see her on her bike… AND her tandem!
We left good home with hearts full… but tummies were empty. We stopped at the first place we could find near the school to eat. Applebee’s. It was 3:00 in the afternoon and we had not eaten since early morning.
We stepped into Applebee’s and it was nearly empty. Again, we were dressed in our Spokes of Hope clothing and were immediately “noticed”… but we were used to this by now.
Instead of dividing up into multiple booths, we opted to all sit at the empty horseshoe shaped bar. This was excellent, as we could all see each other and talk. After we ordered, the manager came out and greeted us. It appears that he had recently lost his father in law to cancer. He signed our banner, stood with us for photos and took 10% off our bill. He told us that he would be happy to do what he could for the event next year.
We returned to the Duncan Lodge (it is a wonderful home…. Thank you Sandy and Randy!) and got the bikes back out for a ride around Sharon’s stomping grounds. Just for fun! And it was fun. There were a few hills that were a bit of a challenge for those not accustomed to so many hills (sorry Laura from Tampa) and the wind was hammering us at times, but we were there, breathing in the sunshine and the colors together. Shared experiences are much richer when shared with friends like this. A
We were treated to be joined by Annie and her tandem partner Marie. I had the opportunity to ride with them last year on the spoke to the capitol building in Harrisburg. What a strong pair they are on the tandem. It was quite tempting to take off with them and have the thrill of speed on our legs, but I also wanted to make sure that my team was taken care of. They graciously understood and actually took our riders who were not enjoying the thrill of the hills so much to a short cut, and to their home where they got to watch the news were we were featured.
Upon returning to the Duncan “Estate”, we were welcomed by the smells of Lasagna in the oven. We showered and collected in the dining room, where Pete and Karen Collins joined us and brought spaghetti. It was a feast. Everyone was around the table. Nancy Tammi, Amy Rafferty (our newest survivor teammate), Annie and Marie, Sharon and Randy (our hosts), Patti from Pittsburgh, Kathy from Rhode Island, Ken, Jay, Harrison and Gary (the camera crew) and myself. The laughter, conversation and food. Toasts were made and love was shared. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day for the Spokes Team. Life is best when shared with friends… and this life is good.
Annie shared with us that of the 900 students at the school that we met, over 500 of them want to join us on the ride in Hershey next year! That is incredible! She is already organizing the committiees to make this happen. Sharon will have an awesome event next year. This year isn't over and plans are already in place for next. Yee Ha!
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