Today was a pretty tough day for the team. We had to overcome many obstacles during the course of the day really challenged the resolve and attitude of this team. We left from Sedalia early in the morning and there were plenty of hills along the route. The day before was probably one of the hottest of the trip so the team was still feeling the affects from the ride the day before. Even though the ride was about average length, rolling hills and tight traffic made it for a pretty difficult day. To top things off, Matt Ratliff got into an accident with his van on the way to Jefferson City. Thank God that no one was injured. We had to go get a new van in Columbia, MO and cancel our plans to go to the Lake of the Ozarks with Nick Cloud’s friends.

After the wreck and the long day on the road, we finally arrived at the capital building where the mayor’s assistant read a proclamation declaring July 21, 2005 PUSH America day in Jefferson City. After the arrival, the team headed back to our lodging at a local college. That night some of Nick’s friends drove an hour and a half to bring a nice home-cooked meal that included barbecue chicken, green beans, sweet potatoes, and rolls. After the dinner, we had a team meeting to discuss the events for the upcoming week and go over safety issues. Finally at the end of the night, some of the team members took some time to find some much needed relaxation by going to see the movie Wedding Crashers starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

I am extremely proud to be a part of this team because we did not let some of the negative events of today affect the moral of the group. Everyone was really supportive and just thankful that we had arrived in Jefferson City safely. Even though it was one of the hardest days for me personally, I am very proud to be a part of such a cohesive and tight team that is willing to go the extra mile for a team member in need. I’m sure the hot weather will continue but the team proved today that we are are very strong group that can overcome many things to reach our goal.

Side note-there was no programming events or friendship visits today but in St. Louis we will be visiting with the St. Louis society at the City Zoo.

Will White

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 21st, 2005 at 4:00 pm and is filed under JOH2005. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.