Days 25 and 26-Bullies, Bureaucrats, and Rain…Oh my!
Day 25 was supposed to be the capstone of the legislative bullying awareness with several representatives at the capitol in Raleigh. The early morning hours included an excellent interview on NBC 17 and a fun NC Radio News phone interview. The day in the legislature started with a no show from one Senator due to a caucus call. That was followed up with a nice, but unproductive meeting with Rep. Jeffus, and another no show by one of our newest state reps. The moral of the story here folks is that everything you hear about politicians is true, but maybe a little worse. We need to fix this system. It is broken and beyond repair. The apathy runs through the entire system. Maybe I should run…We followed up with a meeting with the state superintendent of schools. Another bureaucratic grip and grin session. The worst part is that the bullying issue is being tabled here for two years….unacceptable.
Day 26 was another great start with a lackluster ending. A cool interview with the ultimate lenslinger #StewartPittman and then a walk toward Durham. Around 3 o’clock came the great flood of 2011 and it was time for a break. The afternoon came to a close with no more media, but the fundraiser at the 1618 wine bar raised around $1000! A great finish to the last day in Raleigh. I can’t wait to see everyone at College Hill Sundries on the corner of Spring Garden and Mendenhall on Sunday from 4-7pm!
Got great news that we have another speaker coming to Greensboro to talk about bullycide from PA. This rally is going to be amazing!
Day 23-24 No Longer Goin’ to Carolina in my Mind
It is great to be back on red Carolina soil! I can taste Raleigh from where I am and the news media is excited about the walk again. We haven’t had real solid coverage since DC. I have to say there is something refreshing about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I am coming Greensboro! It looks as if the rally is shaping up to be a huge success and we will have a great turn out. There are two major fundraising events this weekend and you should check out www.yesweekly.com to see more details.
The whole dynamic of the walk has changed with my family along for the ride. Everything is happening at a much slower pace, but it is good. Izzy and Gavin both want to walk and I think they will tomorrow after my meetings with NC legislators. We have so many amazing connections now and the list continues to grow. I can’t wait to get back to work, but I know the bullying advocacy will be a major part of my volunteer time going forward. We have too many friends, partners, and resources not to keep going.
There is also the darker connections. I guess it is only to be expected that when you expose yourself to so many people and situations, you are bound to run across some crazy people. I have had one bad expereince with a cyber and telephone stalker and I hope this is the last one. It is difficult to not feel sorry for those who have lost a loved one to bullycide, but when they reach out to you, only to attack you when they do not get what they want, it is sad and a bit scary. Give me the hard streets of Baltimore any day!
It is hard to believe that with 6 days left that we have accomplished more than I could have ever imagined. I have learned who I can depend on, who is truly selfless, and who truly cares about this cause, me, and my family. To all of you who made this possible…thank you for everything.
An update from my logistical nightmare
Hi Everyone, I want to let you know what is going on….We arrived in NC finally, but my cameraman had to leave me after three weeks due to a grave illness in the family. I am by myself again and had to figure out how to complete this journey without a support car and videographer. I am now two days behind and have to make up 40 miles over the next four days. That means close to 30 miles a day. I have done 26.5, but never that much. The good news is that I am in NC.
The bad news is that donations and sponsorships are falling drastically short of our projections and that the programs for our partner schools are in jeopardy.I will be reaching out to the media in Raleigh and on my way into Greensboro to see if we can rally the community to make this happen.
Tara is going to be my support car going forward and we will be doing the rest of the trip together as a family. I will let you know how Raleigh and the rest of this week goes.
Days 18 and 19-Finally Saw a Sign for NC!
The last two days have been the hardest of the trip. US 1 is so long, straight, flat and boring. The amount of poverty in VA surrounding Richmond is remarkable and that has added to my melancholy. In addition, we have not had real media coverage in days. The story has lost its luster with the END OF TIMES coming and so I have been doomed to walk historic Route 1 and learn more about the Civil War than I ever imagined. I made it to Petersburg today and saw a sign for Raleigh, NC! 139 miles to go!
Tomorrow should change the mood and tone of the walk. I am meeting with the mother of Christian Taylor (see picture above) about his bullycide and what she is doing to fight bullying. Check her out at RIP Christian Taylor on Facebook.
Today was a great “Last Supper” at Olive Garden. Thanks Olive Garden of Richmond.
We are finishing the last bit of a sneak peek video that we will post to Facebook later tonight. Hope tomorrow is better.
Day 16 and 17-Long Way to Richmond
The long road to Richmond (US1) is the longest most boring stretch of road created by humans. The impending rapture is coming and the billboards and signs along the way referring to it are so uplifting. If it is all over Saturday, I think I made a bad choice…I should have stayed at home with the kids and the wife. If not, there are going to be some very disappointed church goers along Route 1.
Seriously, we are close enough to Richmond to taste it and I am chomping at the bit to get back in front of students, politicians and families to talk about anti-bullying. A “bullycide” mom reached out to me today and wants to walk the last 20 miles to Greensboro. That will be powerful!
325 miles down and 20 tomorrow. North Carolina here we come…
Papa John’s brought pizza and chicken to our hotel room tonight. Thanks Monica!!
Baymont Suites is helping out the NMB walk with employee rates and breakfast.
Day 15-Half Way Home
Yesterday was a real bore…It started with a 5 mile hike in the wrong direction as we realized we were headed back to D.C. Not happy. Then we decided to take a break, regroup, and head the other direction. I should have noticed the signs that said North. It was worth it. I crossed the same dilapidated bridge twice and got see dozens of heron birds fishing in the stream….beautiful. Walking instead of driving has opened my eyes to so much on our roads and in our communities. Stop littering, lobby your representatives to spend more on our crumbling infrastructure, and get off your cell phones while you are driving.
I talked with a speaker, Tony Bartoli, earlier this month about talking at our rally. He has Cerebral Palsy and is such an inspiration. He, along with all the others I have met, have truly made this trip an eye-opening success.
The trailer for our video is about ready for release and we got to see some other trailers last night at the Regal 14 Cinema in Fredericksburg. Their management team gave us 2 tickets to see Thor. Good movie, B-. Then it was off to Golden Corral for a comp dinner and great conversation. Today is looking stormy and there is a ground hog trying to get in our window as I write from the hotel room, so this should be an interesting day.
Day 14-The Most Amazing Footage Yet
What a day…It started as a bit of a break and a visit to the Air and Space Museum outside of D.C. The Chantilly, VA facility has the Enterprise Shuttle, the Enola Gay, and an SR-71. We ended up back near Fairfax just to find a hotel room due to a Marine Marathon in the area over the weekend. The walk took me through hilly areas around Fredericksburg and was mostly unmentionable. That is until my cameraman left the radio on and the car battery died again. I yelled and cussed and asked him to find someone to jump us off. I was hot, tired, frustrated, and ready to flip out. There was a man across the street on US1 checking his mail. We thought he was just a nice guy offering to help us with a jump. We shared our story and he started talking with us openly about his own bullying. His bullying led him down a path of addiction and bad behavior that ruined his life. This candid and emotional interview broke my heart and made me realize why we have to keep on for the next two weeks and then fight the fight forever.
The storms rolled in again just as the walk came to a close. We were invited to the local Popeye’s for dinner and had a chance to talk with the franchisee about bullying in the workplace. It is great to be the catalyst for these amazing dialogues. I am exhausted and need to turn in.
Thanks for your support!
Day 13-Yes Virginia, there is a No More Bullies Walk
This morning started with the usual begging to get the hotel to give us another comp night before we packed up and headed to the great unknown. Of course, they were booked up and we set out to head to Dumfries, VA (the oldest town in Virginia). I walked past Quantico and the Marine Museum and into Woodbridge. Today was a rough uphill climb. The next walk will take place in Iowa or some other flat state. It was on to Dumfries and then we stopped halfway to Fredericksburg. We are now a day ahead of schedule which feels good and we can slow down a bit.
We have switched gears a bit and are focusing on the story of the walk as much as the fund-raising and the awareness campaign. I have a lot of ideas that I want to share when I get back to Greensboro and I want to share them with all of you. The first is working on getting the right legislators into Washington….more to come.
We were invited to Tim’s Rivershore Restaurant & Crabhouse for steamed crabs and beer….awesome! The clouds began rolling in and we headed to find a hotel. Monica Thomas, my cameraman’s mother, has worked and worried herself sick trying to line up food and shelter for us. Today, we decided it was time to pay for a night and the hotel comped us two. Not bad, 13 days of lodging for $70.
Joey, the cameraman, and I have finally gotten into a groove. He is growing up on this trip and this month is as much about him as it is me, the “bullycide” victims and moms, and Win-Win Resolutions. He needs to gain m0re confidence and this is helping him do it. Also, I am learning about patience with others outside of my family. Tomorrow is Fredericksburg and a mad dash to get media exposure for our upcoming visit to Richmond. It is storming as I write. Soothing, but I hope it is gone in the morning. For all of you that have called, emailed, and tweeted me, thank you, it means so much!
Day 12-Friday the 13th (cue scary music….)
Today is the day I decided to quit the “No More Bullies” Walk. I woke up after a frustrating and sleepless night following my DC meetings and I was sure that it was time to stop. My son and daughter both were with me this morning and it was difficult to even think about leaving them behind in Maryland. The fact that our government is so out of touch with the bullying issue has made me doubt everything I thought I knew about how and why people choose to commit to public service.
We were slated for another day of begging for hotel rooms and food and it seemed like time to just stop and work for advocacy and not the walk. The hotels were planned and supposedly taken care of. I should have asked for confirmation numbers. No one was donating to the Win-Win site, the team seemed disengaged, and I was honestly just tired of sinking my personal funds into this campaign.
Then there was inspiration. Izzy, my daughter, told me I needed to keep going “for the kids, so they don’t get hurt”. How does she know this? Then Monica Thomas, being the bulldog she is, started calling hotels and making it happen. After dozens of calls for a complimentary hotel room, we found one that would listen to us. It was on Brandon Avenue….thanks Brandon.
I made my way from DC across the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge into Virginia. I made it into Alexandria’s old town and walked past the jogging James Carville. We exchanged pleasantries….so cool!
Towne Place Suites by Marriott put us up for the night and we just got back from a recharging dinner and drinks at Kate’s Pub. I am working on media contacts for tomorrow and I am relaunching the walk with a new fire in my belly from Mt. Vernon.
Day 11-D.C., the Hill, and the Administration
Today was a great start….so I should have figured. I met with Brandon Bitner’s mom, Tammy Simpson, early in the morning and headed to meet my cameraman and the P.A.S.S. (Parents Advocating Safe Schools) team. We started out at the Capital with Senator Robert P Casey Jr.’s office and had a great meeting about the proposed national bullying legislation. This legislation does not have the program initiative we wanted to see, but it is a start. Still not a bi-partisan level of support. Shocking!
Next stop was Congressman Brad Miller from my home constituency. I expected a lot more from my hometown Representative, but we had some other great meetings.
Of course, our Secret Service security clearance did not come through and we had to resubmit the info only hours before our meeting. It was pretty exciting to go through the Secret Service checkpoint to enter the Executive Office campus. The meetings with the Administration were informative and we met with 5 policy experts in the bullying field. Tammy had the chance to share Brandon’s story and we let them know what we have found in the field the past few weeks and what we would like to see as a part of a national bullying agenda. I was shocked to hear that our Administration is still trying to develop a good definition for bullying. Now is the time to strike while the iron is hot and move on this issue!
No, we did not get to meet the Obama’s, but I learned a great deal and I have come to the conclusion that our solutions will not come from Washington. They will come from the Administration, our communities, our schools, and our corporations working together to stop bullycide and slow bullying incidents. I expected more to come from the “No More Bullies” Walk visit to DC. The most amazing things during this trip happened in York and Baltimore. I think the best is yet to come….we are coming Richmond.
