Day 82 – August 20, 2014
The first night I stayed at Theresa’s home she made me a chocolate and peanut butter smoothie. (Two of my favorite foods, in one drink!) She made me the same smoothie for breakfast yesterday. This morning she made me a fruit smoothie. As much as I liked the chocolate peanut butter one, I liked the fruit smoothie even more. I had another couple of mongo lunch meat sandwiches for breakfast today as well.
Theresa needed to head out of town at 6am for work. She arranged for a man named Brent to pick me up a little after 8:00, take me to the track, and run a few miles with me. Brent told me he is just starting to run to get into better shape. We did a mixture of running and walking, which suited me just fine.
As we ran, Delane Cleveland from 12 News community television arrived at the track. He interviewed me, then Brent. He said he likes to interview multiple people to make the story more interesting. I could not agree more. I always prefer to have other people interviewed along with me. Especially if they have a connection to cystic fibrosis and can provide some perspective on how the disease has impacted their lives.
After the interviews, Delane filmed Brent and I running around the track. I think Brent could have done without that part, but he was a real trooper. I think he was tuckered out after the run. To see the 12 News story click here.
As he was leaving, Brent saw a small building with an open restroom right next to the track. He came back and helped me figure out a route so I could get to the restrooms on my own. He fully understood how I use my white cane to feel for surfaces and landmarks. Brent solved my restroom issue, and I can’t thank him enough for being so thoughtful.
It really has been nice to listen to the Champlin Park High School Band practicing on the field in the middle of the track these past few days. Some of the pieces they’ve played sounded really great.
At 11:10am it was once again time for the CNN HLN interview. Right on time, the same woman from yesterday called and patched me through to the man who connected me to Mike the interviewer. I heard Mike begin talking about me, and the run. I was listening very carefully to every word he said, but the volume was extremely poor, and I wanted to make sure I could hear him ask me a question. Then, I heard my own voice. They were playing part of another interview I had done with someone else. This was unexpected, and threw me off.
Then, that interview sound track stopped and Mike asked what my granddaughter was like. However, as I began answering , I heard another voice, and I stopped talking until I realized it was mine. Then I began talking again, trying to ignore my own voice feedback. It was really hard to do, especially since I had never had that happen before. The sound of my feedback was much louder than the voice of the man interviewing me.
I answered the question about Kylie by saying that she likes doing crafts, and loves her little dog who is always attached to her at home. Then he asked a couple more questions, and the interview was over.
To me, the HLN interview had more of a circus feel to it, rather than a professional one. I couldn’t even tell when the interview was over. I said, “Hello, hello, several times” Hoping to talk to the man who connected me with Mike. The guy was there, and I told him about the feedback problem. He was surprised to hear that I had a problem, and quickly ended the phone conversation.
So, I called the station back. I wanted to know what I should do if I ever have that problem again. Should I say something about it while I am live on the air? Whoever answered the phone patched me through to a phone menu. Since I use an iPhone 4 and am blind, I do not know how to get to the button panel on the phone to press a number. So I called back and explained my dilemma. They patched through to the same phone menu. I called back. This time a man asked who interviewed me. “Mike” I said. “Which Mike,” he asked. I told him I didn’t know. “Then I can’t help you ,” he said. I asked him if he could connect me with anyone who could answer my question about what is proper interview etiquette when dealing with feedback. So, he transferred me. Guess where? Yep, the phone menu. Here is what HLN ended up running, they didn’t use the interview at all.
Approximately an hour after the HLN interview, I received a text from a friend of mine who lives in Los Angeles saying he just saw the interview about me. I called him to ask which network it was on. He said it was on HLN. Imagine that.
I didn’t know this, but Theresa told Brent to bring me back to her home after he and I finished running. The idea was that someone would meet me at Theresa’s home and have a nice lunch for me. The woman was there waiting, and she left after a while. I felt badly when I learned that she prepared something for me, and she was waiting around.
Theresa came to the track to get me, and told me about the lady I was supposed to meet for lunch. I told her that if I had known that she planned for me to go home after only a couple miles at the track, I wouldn’t have agreed to it anyway. I like to get in most of my miles for the day first, then I’m all about being pampered.
Theresa brought me back to her home so I could rest a little. I had a run scheduled with two women later in the evening. Theresa had to work leading an aerobics class.
Around 4:30, Morgan picked me up and we went to her friend, Corrie’s house. From there we ran a little over four miles. Some of it was on sidewalks, but most of it was on a paved trail in a wooded area. Boy oh boy, the humidity was a killer. Our clothes were soaked within the first half mile. It was a lot of fun running with those two. Afterwards, Morgan drove to the McDonald’s drive-thru so I could get my favorite after-run fix, a mocha frappe with no whipped cream. I think I am becoming addicted to those things.
24.4 miles
1478.18 total miles
$5,488.41 total funds raised
It's All I Can Do 