After rereading my previous blog and receiving an email from Tranquility Base I decided to write an explanation and apology to the towns I dumped on.

Firstly it is a very difficult job crossing Canada away from family and loved ones and our expectations are at times high and maybe not attainable.
Secondly just maybe our lines of communication are not perfecrt and things don’t get done that we thought had been done for us. After reading my blog again it became evident to me that I was unfair to the mayors offices in the larger cities.

The system of contact and meeting arrangements is a lot more difficult than in the smaller communities and the smaller communities can respond with a much shorter lead time. Apparently Calgary required 3 to 4 weeks lead time in order to get a meeting with the Mayors office and this I can respect but I still stand by my position that a councilor could have responded as had been done in some of the smaller communities.

As for the other cities again they required long lead times in appointments with the mayor and did not provide a substitute representative of any kind. Maybe they could in future requests at least acknowledge the messengers with a substitute representative with a sympathetic ear.

After having travelled so far and with such difficulties it was very disappointing for us not to have anyone meet us at all, not even the bylaw officer when we were illegally parked. We felt ignored and rejected.

I was raised in a small community and don’t really understand large communities and I apologize if I have been too hard on you but again all of the small communities we visited responded with something and did not dismiss us entirely.

I know that once you get to the big city phase everything becomes exponentially bigger and more complex. It would do well for the soul of the city to at least acknowledge the presence of four handicapped athletes giving so much of themselves to raise awareness and funds for such an important medical break through.

When I visited Vegreville I made a comment about the Mayor being the politician first in his response to our request and this I did not mean in a derogatory manner. I admired him for his candor and honesty in dealing with us.

He is a man of stature in his community, has lived an exceptional life and has outstanding credentials and putting his community first is a virtue all of us should strive to achieve.

Richard if you are reading this I want to thank you for meeting with us, listening to our story and sharing your hospitality with us and please motivate the community towards supporting this magnificent science so that people tied to their wheel chairs have the chance to walk again. With your enviable career in Teaching and Biology I know you will be a huge asset.

I apologize for my display of weakness in allowing my frustration to show through in my blog and I will attempt to control it in future blogs. It is very difficult to control emotions when so much is happening in such a short time, meeting so many people in need of this medical breakthrough and at times feeling so alone and unnoticed.

It is the many people we meet on the road who are just like you and I that carry our days to a successful completion. The people who voice encouragement to us for what we are doing, motorists stopping us on the highway handing us cash, pedestrians walking along the sidewalk emptying their pockets and giving us all the money they have and the many many motorists and truckers honking their horns and shouting out approval for what we are doing. Thank you for giving us the emotional boost we all need to make this Journey a success and thank you for becoming messengers to spread the message.

 

Jim Anderson, Wheel to Walk Canada, 905 869 6125