When I took on this challenge, talking about it with a good friend months ago, I was oddly confident that everything would fall into place. Making the decision took a lot of faith, not knowing the weather, the costs and delays. But thanks to some miracles great and small, I stood outside the Ballpark at Arlington on day 30, accomplishing the task and challenge.
Those miracles seemed to happen on a daily basis. From the Canadian pilot who gave me a $20 C bill, to the rain that somehow either held off until after the game or stopped just before the game started.
I better just go down and say thank you to everyone...Thank you to..
1. Thank you to my mom and dad, you two have been a great support and were watching out for me.
2. The Canadian WestJet pilot who gave me a $20 c bill to help me get to Canada without having to change currency, allowing me to take the subway, grab a hot dog and still have a looney and a tooney left over.
3. Thanks to Al and Faith Harris, Steve Core and Erick Pauley for inviting me to come of KUGR 1490 and 104.9fm and KFRZ 92.1 The Freeze to talk about my adventure.
4. Thank you to my sister Andrea for taking me to the airport to start the adventure.
5. Thank you to my sister Susan and her family for allowing me to decompress in Texas after the journey was over.
6. Thank you to Renee Lewis Flask, Adriana Michaud Eldred, Lauren Wilkins, Kelly Miller, Becky Ortwein, Terri Reddout, Mariela Salido, Kirby Ann Misurelli, Jackie Hales, Sarah Volk, Kaye Richardson, Shannon Johnson, Courtney Leal, Carl Volk, Michelle Healy, Veronica Bradford, Diana Camargo, Elisabeth Beardall, Jessica Oliver, Tami Lee, Rachel Harris and Angie Webb for being my wonderful dates, so accommodating and beautiful.
7. Thank you to Courtney Schilling of the Cleveland Indians for being so kind to invite me to the social suite at Progressive Field.
8. Thank you to Debbie Gallas of the Oakland A's for making accommodations for my date and me.
9. Thank Jeffrey Lantz of the Orioles for also making accommodations for my date and me.
10. Thank you to Marty Maloney of the Chicago White Sox for being so kind at the last minute and making accommodations for me.
11. Thank you to the countless cities that had public transportation to make the ride easier for me to get from ballpark to ballpark.
12. Thank you to the blonde girl on the flight from Orange County to San Francisco for moving over to the middle seat so I could get the Aisle seat.
13. Thank you to my great Bishop, Bishop Denton Haight for supporting me and looking out for me and helping me progress
14. Thanks to my great home teacher Nick for dinner and support...
15. Thanks to the numerous people on planes who helped me with my luggage.
16. Thanks to the numerous ushers at baseball games who were kind enough to take pictures for me while the game was going on or trying to direct fans.
17. Thank you to Martha from Southwest Airlines who somehow made it possible for me to catch my flight from BWI to ATL with just 30 min left.
18. Thank you to New York for not eating me alive and having a solid transportation system to get me around.
19. Thank you to the countless wake up calls that helped me get to the airport on time.
20. Thanks to Apple for the invention of the Ipad that directed me in traffic, help me look up phone numbers, take photos and never need papers to carry around.
21. Thank you to the great friends I made in Cleveland who could have not been more hospitable, kind, generous, talented and fun to be around.
22. Thank you to Jay Heater of The Republic newspaper for taking the time to write an article about my journey.
23. Thank you to Mark Pillar of Columbus Rotary for allowing me to come to meetings and be a part of Rotary.
24. Thanks to Southwest Airlines for NEVER losing my bags. That has to be some kind of record.
25. Thanks to Ben, Marge and Rachel Harris for housing me in Houston and treating me to dinner...what great hospitality!!!!
26. Thanks to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Bryan White for allowing me to step onto the field and take photos.
27. Thanks to the hotels who managed to get me into a room well before Check-in time so I could get a nap.
28. Thanks to Sexton and Associates in Seymour for not only making great business cards and shirts at a reasonable price, but for also getting the order done so quickly!!!!!
29. Thank you to the people who didn't lie and told the truth.
30. And most importantly, Thank you to a kind and loving Heavenly Father. I have been truly blessed. From the rain that somehow avoided the games, to the beautiful sunsets, to the miracles of making my flight with only 30 minutes left...the list goes on and on..on how I know that angels were watching over me and that He was aware of me and knew who I was.
Thank you to everyone, I'm sure I'll have a part two of thank you's. But a unique, magical, fun and once-in-a-lifetime journey. MORE to come..even bigger and better blog entries!!!
Jon Schade
It was too bad I had to take the day off for my niece's baptism -- I hope you enjoyed the social suite and the ballpark! Looks like you've had a blast on your trip. I see we did not make too many of your top recommendations...so you'll have to come back!
ReplyDeleteCourtney Shilling
P.S. Surprisingly, my name is not spelled like my Uncle Curt :)