Ready?

The "Ready?" is something I'm being asked these days so I thought I'd write a little about it, but first I want to talk about some connections made again.
It's been great hearing from New Iberia and the friends of my youth. Don Shoopman, the editor for the Daily Iberian evidently wrote a great story about the trip and project. I haven't seen it, but 3 different people have told me they are sending me a copy. Again, this project has been about connecting people from all over the map who have been touched in some way by the stories being told. Received an email from Craig G, a long time friend from way back in 9th grade. He lived across the coulee from me. For those not from Louisiana, a coulee is a a big ditch with water in it. We use to camp, shoot BB guns and generally do what most 15-16 yr olds like to do. I haven't spoken to him sine I was about 20. Today, I had a phone call from Robert, or Rowbear, if you use the correct cajun french pronunciation. Robert and I raced marathon canoes together from 1976 - 1981. We went everywhere to race and had a blast. He and I spoke for a good half hour and it was like we were just catching up after a few years. We talked about my dad following us during a race on the White River in Arkansas. This race is a 3 day 120 mile relay event usually having 4 people with 2 racing at a time. My dad was there to provide cold drinks and support after each leg. Robert caught a ride with him on a couple legs while my partner and I were paddling. That meant a lot of long, dirt and dusty roads and some fast moving to get the next vantage point. Robert remembers my dad "drifting" around some of the turns on those dirt roads and having a blast. Now, my dad was a former Air Force pilot and liked to see what his machine could do. I'm sure he was having a good time with the boys in the back of the car. Great memory. Here's a picture of Robert and some of our other teacm members...thats me in the Blue and white trucker hat.

And another of us getting our gatorade out of my dad's trunk.


Now, back in Bryson City...am I ready? I'm as ready as I can be. Food needs a little organizing and I'll do a pre-pack check, but I'm pretty much there. The only other bit is to go to the ATT store and get my USB 3G connection set up. Should go smooth, but most of you know how computers can be at times. Please be smooth!
Only thing left to do is to get my brothers tent and make a stop in Atlanta to see Mom. Besides are you ready, I'm also getting the "are you nervous". Not nervous at all. More like anxious to get work/school finished and move on to this project I've been working on since October. I'm curious more than anything. Curious about what I'll see...about how my body will hold up over the course of the trip...curious about the weather. Ready to get on with it!

One more thing to add. Roz Savage has started on the second leg of her Roz Rows the Pacific. She wrote something I read at the beginning of this project that has stuck with me. Sometime, I go back and read it just to reinforce my thinking and purpose. I believe it readily supplies me with clear thoughts on what and why I'm doing this project. I've been a little testy lately and I think it's in part due to the anticipation of launch. Reading this definitely helps settle that part of me down. Here it is again:

I AM WHAT I AM By Roz Savage
http://RozSavage.blogspot.com

As I was rowing across the Atlantic I had plenty of time to think about life, its purpose and meaning, and to figure out what could be learned from my ocean experience that would be useful to me in the future. I jotted down these insights in the back of my logbook. On my return home, the Sunday Times (the top-circulating Sunday broadsheet in the UK) asked me to produce a list of life-learned philosophies to share with their readers. The article appeared on 23 April 2006.

People cut out the article and put it on their refrigerator or in their wallet or on their pinboard. They told me how my words had helped them through tough times or gave them the courage to try something new. They wrote to tell me how I had inspired them. Here is what I wrote.

I Am What I Am
o Don't waste mental energy asking yourself if you CAN do something. Just do it. You'll surprise yourself. I did.

o Be clear about your objectives. Ignore others, stay true to yourself and measure success only against your own criteria. I was last to finish the race - big deal. I went out there to learn about myself, and I did.

o The only constant in life is change. So don't get depressed by the bad times, and don't get over-excited by good ones. Accept that things are exactly as they are, and even bad times have something to teach us.

o Life can be magical, but magic only gets you so far. Then you need discipline, determination and dedication to see it through.

o Hope can hurt. The danger is that you hope for too much and set yourself up for disappointment. Be optimistic but realistic. Nothing is ever as good or as bad as you expect it to be.

o Be mindful of the link between present action and desired future outcome. Ask yourself: if I repeat today's actions 365 times, will I be where I want to be in a year?

o Decision-making: act in faith, not fear, and don't worry about making a 'wrong' decision - the way you implement it is more important than the decision itself.

o Be your own best friend. The more you rely on other people, the less control you have over your destiny.

o Be proud of your own obituary: a few years ago I wrote two versions of my obituary, the one I wanted and the one I was heading for. They were very different. I realized I needed to make some big changes if I was going to look back and be proud of my life. I am making those changes, and now I have a life worth living.