Great Weekend!
The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer was incredible. It rained. It was cold. It was muddy. It was windy. And yet, I never heard a complaint. Seventeen hundred walkers, and I never heard a bitch about the puddles in the camp site or the leaky tents; I saw nothing but smiles and cheerfulness. I’ve just never seen anything like it. Those walkers slogged through the mud, lost their shoes in the mud, danced in the mud. I am humbled and awed.
I am so proud of my Team Wench teammates, too. Jamie, ocin , o2bacelt and webqatch walked with courage and grace in terrible conditions. webqatch walked every step of those 39.3 miles, and it was a joy to see the triumph on his face as he crossed the finish line. pubwench did a superb job as route marking team leader. (She told me that the staff couldn't get over how efficiently her team had done their job. They just don't know our pubwench .) I understand electricsoup was her usual effervescent self, and helped feed, hydrate and cheer the walkers through two grueling days of multiple pit stops (where she gets the energy I just don't know). We only saw each other once over the weekend, literally like ships passing in the night.
I love crewing Gear & Tent. It's not so much that I love the people on Gear & Tent, although they're all wonderful and we work really well together, but I just like the duties. There's hard physical work, which I like, with a lot of down time where I can go and cheer in the walkers, have dinner with my teammates, and just soak in the atmosphere. Plus there's that added benefit of being able to sleep in the truck if the weather is bad!
Being on crew gives you a view of the inner workings of the event, and the massive logistics nightmare it is. And when you consider that the crew teams are led by volunteers, some of whom have never done that job before, it just boggles the mind that it runs as smoothly as it does.
Some random thoughts and experiences:
*My only complaint: The coffee sucked. Thank heaven for Seven-Eleven.
*GoreTex is worth every penny.
*When you're the navigator on the lead truck, you'd better make sure you know where you're going. :blush:
*I learned that one reason for the long lines at the priv...I mean portajohns on Saturday was that the walkers, once they got in there out of the rain, didn't want to leave. How bad must the weather be if you'd rather stay in a portajohn than go back out into it???
*"Tent Angels" are worth their weight in gold. We had wonderful volunteers this year!!!
*You would think, after four years, I'd know how to pack. I didn't bring enough warm clothes, and had to buy a fleece jacket from the Walk Store. Best $55 I've ever spent. Every time I put it on, the rain stopped.
*It's funny how, when you've been wet all day, getting even wetter can feel so good. Those showers are a gift from God.
*Rain beating on the roof of a truck is damned noisy (but I'll take it over a tent any day).
*Freight trains shouldn't be allowed at 2:30 a.m.
*Oatmeal made with cream, with brown sugar to top it off, rocks my world.
*Did I mention the coffee sucked?
*Wet gear and wet tents weigh a lot more.
*Cheering in the walkers was the best part of the weekend.
I didn't sign up (yet) for next year -- every time I thought about it, I didn't have my wallet with me. But I will. And I'm definitely going to walk next year, preferably the 3-Day, preferably in Seattle. As Vanessa Carlton sings,
And I still need you
And I still miss you
And now I wonder
If I could fall into the sky
Do you think time would pass us by?
'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles
If I could just see you...
I would gladly walk a thousand miles if I could just see my mother again. But maybe, by walking, I can save somebody else's mother, or sister, or daughter, or friend, or brother, or father, or son. That's why we do this. That's why we walk.