Shallow Cogitations

During my commute home I passed by a boy of about 10 years old sitting along the curb with small cooler and a sign I could quite make out. I usually stop for children when they're selling lemonade and what not because it makes their day. I asked him, "What are you selling?"

"I'm raising money for the poor. I'm selling water for a dollar a bottle."

That sounded like a worthy cause to support. I asked him what his plans were.

"I'm going to find a poor person and give them all the money I raise."

From the look of the cooler, I was his first customer. I bought three bottles of water and told him I'm only taking one and I'd like for him to give two away to anyone he wants to.

I'm sure he's going to he brighten someone's life for a moment. And more beyond that.

St Luke's Rehabilitation Institute holds a Ski Fest every year allowing people with various disabilities to go water skiing or tubing. Employees and interns from St Luke's and a bunch of friends at Clear Lake volunteer their time, boats, and jet skis to make for two days of water fun. I hung out there all day yesterday and took a ton of photos. Everyone was having a blast.

The volunteers have developed an excellent system. One or two jet skis, each carrying a "jumper", follow just behind the participant as they're being pulled by the boat. If the participant can swim then only one jet ski follows. Two follow if they can't swim. Jumpers have one responsibility and that's to get to the participant as quickly as possible and keep them upright in the water. Whether or not the participant has the hand and arm strength to hang onto the pull rope, the boat has a quick release to cut the participant loose in case of trouble. The boat drivers and crew have years of experience and drive according to the participant's physical ability and level of comfort. I noticed that once a new participant got comfortable they asked to step it up a notch. Some things remain universal.



I was talking with Joel, the guy on the slalom wearing a big smile in the photo above. He also plays sled hockey, which piqued my interest since I'm a former C-league recreation league hockey player.

"Yeah, come on out this fall. We can put you in a sled. It's a lot of fun."

He also plays wheelchair rugby and described the wheelchairs as "Mad Max like with bumpers 'n' stuff". Well, that certainly sounds like fun.

I got some practice shooting video with my D7000. Most of it turned out pretty good.

Street Music Sounds from hank greer on Vimeo.

Street Music Sounds from hank greer on Vimeo.

It's that time of year again. The musicians had to brave the heat and will do so again tomorrow. All in all it looks like the week is off to a good start.

We also found this. If you're looking for a sign from God and haven't seen one yet, maybe a sign from Dave will do.

Hector Picard arrived in Spokane around the noon hour today. I and several other cyclists, most of them from the Baddlands Racing Club, met him on South 57th and rode with him to Jameson Davis's house in north Spokane. Hector is a double arm amputee with three Iron Man competitions and a number of triathlons under his belt. The purpose of his cross country trip was to raise money to pay for prosthetics for Jameson. Jameson is 15 months old and he was born without forearms and hands.
Hector said he connected with Jameson through a teammate who went to school with Jameson's uncle. Brooke, Jameson's mother, has a blog in which she writes about her family and Jameson's special needs. Hector said he read it and was inspired to do something so he decided to ride across the country and raise money to help.
He doesn't normally ride with his prosthetic arm attached to his bike, but he decided to during the ride to help emphasize the significance and purpose of the ride. Hector said he likes to stretch when he stops at red lights. "Everybody looks." He smiles. "They can't help but look. And then they go home and talk about how they saw a man with no arms riding a bike."

As if that wasn't remarkable enough. The man just rode about 3100 miles in 36 days. His bike was stolen before he started so he rode his triathlon bike from Miami to Denver. To shift gears, he would unclip his shoe from the pedal and reach up with his foot to nudge the shifter. Arriving in Denver, he received a new bike courtesy of the I Will Foundation. This bike was better suited for him. He presses his thigh against a lever on the right side to brake. He operates two buttons for electronic shifting up or down the front chain ring with his left knee. He uses the stump of his left arm to press electronic shift buttons for the rear cassette.
A huge crowd welcomed Hector at the Davis home. TV stations were there, too. Hector met the Davis family for the first time and it was an emotional moment for everyone. Hector spoke about various parts of his trip. There was a fund raiser in Alabama attended by only two families. It was on Father's Day. And yet a 16-year-old young man donated his $500 savings. He saw his first wheat field in Kansas. By the third day in Kansas he was pretty tired of seeing wheat fields. He had five flats on the Sacajawea Historic Byway in Idaho. People all along his route were welcoming and generous.

Brooke Davis, Hector Picard, Jameson Davis, and Jim Davis.

It's a day like today that makes you remember just how small the small things are.

On Saturday July 13th, Hector Picard, a double arm amputee, will complete his 3200 mile bike ride across the country right here in Spokane. He started in Miami, Florida and his goal is to help raise $32,000 for a little boy born without hands and to show him that anything is possible.  Hector will meet Jameson Davis for the very first time on Saturday and the Davis family would love to have everyone come line their street and cheer him to the finish line at 10120 N. Whittier Street, Spokane.

You can also ride with Hector on the way into Spokane. There's supposed to be a police escort beginning at 57th and Palouse Highway that takes him to the Davis house in north Spokane.

Check the Facebook page for the latest developments.