Wheels for Wheels/60 for 60

Sixty years ago today, three weeks later than expected, my mother gave birth.  To me.  I am told I had to be induced.  Apparently I wasn't in any hurry to leave the warm comfort  . . . well, you get the point.  I was late.  And, as some who know me well will tell you, my birth set a precedent that I have followed most all of my life.  I'm often like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, rushing in at the last minute!

This year, though, knowing I would be hitting this major milestone in my life, I did a fair amount of advance planning.  I wanted to be sure that I marked the occasion in some way that would celebrate my good fortune when it comes to my health, and in a way that would be of some service to others.  So I decided to take a bike ride.  A long bike ride.  A ride that would stretch out for three days, cover 180 miles (sixty times three--very trinitarian, I suppose!) and cover some beautiful terrain.  And so next week, July 31 through August 2, I'll be riding from Fort Lauderdale here in Florida to the southernmost point in the continental United States, Key West.

Over the last six or seven weeks I have been soliciting financial pledges for the ride.  The cause I am supporting is the Wheelchair Foundation.  It is a favorite charity of my Rotary Club, and the club has put up a $3500 matching grant.  The Foundation purchases wheelchairs for those who have none.  They work domestically and around the world.  The recipients have often spent their whole lives being carried by others, or dragging their bodies across the ground.  The gift of wheelchair literally lifts them up from the ground.

Over twenty years ago my Dad was struck by a hit and run driver.  As a result he spent the last seventeen years of his life paralyzed from the waist down.  He had a wheelchair.  It allowed him to be moved around the house, so he wasn't confined to bed.  He could be wheeled to concerts and plays at the college where he had taught before the accident.  And perhaps most importantly, he could go to church on Sunday mornings.  A dear and faithful friend would come to the house and literally wheel him down the street  five or six blocks to get him there in time to sing hymns (despite brain damage from the accident, he could still sing!) and be present with his fellow parishioners.  It is because of Dad that I chose the Wheelchair Foundation.  I can't imagine how much poorer his life would have been had he not had his own personal chariot!

So Wheels for Wheels.  I had hoped to raise enough to buy sixty wheelchairs (hence, sixty for sixty)--but the generosity of my congregation, my fellow Rotarians and my family and friends, means that we should be able to purchase and distribute at least twice that number!  All I can say, is thank you!  What a nifty way to celebrate a birthday!

I got a call from the bike shop just a few minutes ago--I had to leave my bike with them so that they could look it over and make sure it is ready to go.  They found I had broken two spokes on my Saturday ride to San Carlos Boulevard.  But they'll get it up and running today, and I'll have another training ride tonight.  Maybe I'll hum "Happy Birthday" as I ride along the bike paths here on Sanibel.  Or maybe I'll sing a few lines from Dad's favorite hymn, "A Mighty Fortress"--or maybe I'll just keep still, and be grateful for the first sixty years of what has been an amazing ride!

Thanks Dad!  Thanks Mom!  I may have been late, but it doesn't mean I didn't want to come to the party!

PS:  If you are one of the few people I haven't hit up for a donation yet, your support would be welcome.  Checks should be made payable to Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ and marked "Wheels".

The church address is 2050 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, FL 33957.

(Photo:  Howard Danner (my late father) in his wheelchair enjoying the morning sun nin front of his home.)