Wow, we received an awesome Calgary welcome as some local bikers met us in Red Deer and rode us into town.  This is also where we finally got to meet Tony.  Tony is the son of an ALS patient who passed away 2 years ago.  He had heard about us a while back and started to do some local fundraising while we were still in Ontario.  The whole time we just kept asking ourselves “who’s Tony?”  Once we got to Red Deer, it became very clear exactly who Tony is.  Tony is the kind of person you want backing you up in a time a need – an incredibly genuine, charitable and generous man – in every definition of those words.  Tony was happy just to help us out without ever having met us.  Tony reminded us again of what ordinary people can accomplish if they just try – if you only gave a bit of yourself for someone else.  I can only imagine the things we could accomplish if we all worked together – as hard as Tony did – towards a common goal, whatever that goal maybe.

That evening we went to the ALS Society of Alberta office for some pizza and talk!  We met some of the folks who work there as well as a patient currently living with ALS and also some family members who have lost their loved ones.  We shared stories and told them of our journey and then looked at some ways that we could help out in the future.

The next day we headed out to Canada Olympic Park where Glen and I hit the 90 metre ski jump that is currently being used as a zip line!  It was amazing…not only the view but being able to do the zip line 3 times in a row was totally awesome.  Did I mention the zip line was closed on this particular day, so they brought in staff to help us out so we could have some cool footage for the movie?  The entire staff was incredibly accommodating and tremendously friendly.  We thank you for all your help!!  I really found myself living in the moment as I took in all the beauty that surrounded us that day.  I really enjoyed meeting the staff and learning how to zip as well as just letting go of things that I really have no control over.  I guess maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks!

We also got to go up in a small plane and do aerial shots of us riding the bike down the highway.  Thanks to my brother-in-law Rob and his piloting skills the crew went up and circled us for about 40 minutes.  After we finished, Rob graciously took Lisa, Robin and I up for a spin so we didn’t feel left out!  Thanks Rob for all your help and support and also for letting Glen and me crash at your house!! 

Tony planned a fundraising BBQ for us out in Airdrie, AB at a local bike shop.  It was really cool and we got to meet a lot of locals, including Barry who runs the shop.  Barry is a great guy and he owns a Boss Hoss.  For those of you not familiar with this bike it has a V8 (502hp) for the engine.  It’s a huge bike with lots of power and as Barry puts it, it has 2 gears….1st for up to 140 km/h and 2nd for the rest (that is up to around 200).  He actually let Glen ride it around the block….and Glen actually did it!  Personally, I was scared cuz I know what this bike can do, and I also know just how long Glen has (hasn’t) been riding…so you see how this makes for a terrible idea!!  But Glen did great and the bike was returned without harm!!  Thanks to Tony’s hard work we made $1300.00 from the BBQ alone! 

While at the BBQ, another ALS patient came out to meet us.  His name is Vic and he lives in Airdrie.  He was diagnosed about 2 years ago and has now stopped working due to his illness.  Vic has 4 passions in life:
1. God
2. His wife
3. Children/coaching children in hockey
4. Dairy cows

He and his wife took a trip to Alaska this past spring and are busy planning the next adventure.  What I learned most from Vic is not to just do it, but to do it with passion.  When you sit with him and listen to him talk about his travels and things that he has seen, you will not only hear his words but you will feel his passion and true appreciation for everything that he sees.  His face and eyes light up in such a way that it reminds me of a child filled with wonder and awe on Christmas!  When you talk with Vic you forget that he has ALS, you forget that he is dying.  Either that or you just don’t care because you have trained your mind to focus and really listen as someone is speaking to you.  I find that I don’t worry about what I could be doing, or what I should be doing, or what I could say to make things better, or how I could help.  I’ve learned to simply listen and engage in the conversation at hand.  It’s pretty cool and I am finding meeting with people to be that much more rewarding and fun. 

Calgary has been exceedingly good to us and we appreciate all the support shown to us by our friends, family, new friends, and people we met while out and about!  Alberta is now in the #1 spot for most money collected by any one province!  Way to go Alberta…you really showed the rest of Canada what you are made of!! 

We would also like to thank all of Lisa’s family (once again!) for helping us out.  They not only collected money from their companies but they also let us stay at their house (Lisa’s mom even washed the crew’s clothes!) and they came out to support us at local functions.  Thanks to all the Whitten family all across Canada!!!

-jeannie
 

Last Modified : October 18th, 2007 Filed under : On Location Navigate : Previous post / Next post