State of the (Connor's) Army - The Impossible (?) Dream!

In honor of President Obama's recent State of the Union address (here it is below in case you didn't catch it);



I have decided to do my own State of the (Connor's) Army.  Its not so much of an address as an update.  Of course in thinking about this post, I wondered who even started the whole concept of a "State of the Union Address".  Well as with most things that made sense, it started with our founding fathers and with our very first President, George Washington.  He gave us the very first State of the Union address and if you want to read the full text you can find it here.

I have a feeling that it was much shorter than one hour and five minutes and he probably was not interrupted by angry shouts of "liar" from members of Congress as our current President has been.  I am going to go on a bit of an off topic rant here and it's really not about politics per se.  I have my political beliefs and you, dear reader have yours.   I have endeavored to come by mine through reading and listening to what politicians have to say as I'm sure you have.  However, it does seem that a vast majority of Americans (politicians included) don't think for themselves and are merely following the party dogma.  Mark Twain had this to say about politics;

In religion and politics people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.

And I do believe that is often the case and that people demonize a President simply becuase he is from the other party.  And why?  Because the leaders of their party told them to, not because the really know (or maybe even deep down) disagree with the man.  It is the most thankless job in the world and as our 33rd President once said;

"All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing and kicking peopel to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway."

While our 36th President had this to say;

"Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm.  There is nothign to do but stand there and take it."

I think it is unfortunate that people from the Republican/Tea Parties seem to think that is what is expected of President Obama - just stand there and take it, we're going to kick you out anyway.  Despite your feelings about Republican or Democratic parties, the man deserve respect for trying to do the most difficult and thankless job in the world - I don't even think Mike Rowe would seriously want this job, despite his Poo Party Platform;



I know I certainly wouldn't want the job - being a teacher is hard enough.

Perhaps we should just all vote for this guy;



At least he wouldn't be afraid to tell Congress to shut up and get to work!

But I do enjoy my job and I have the pleasure of being surrounded by students who (for the most part) are passionate about dancing and acting and who want to be better.  The occasional speed bumps aside, I do get to spend my days, during and after school, with the best kids at Syosset High School.  They are witty, creative, passionate, caring, energetic and I learn from them every day.  The occasional drama from casting aside, mine is certainly not a Dirty Job!

The other "jobs" I truly enjoy are those of; husband (especially being married to my best friend), father, friend, son, brother, occasional little league coach, and chief cycist of Connor's Army.  As chief cyclist, I am required by our constitution to give a yearly State of the (Connor's) Army message to let you all know how things have gone in the past year;

This year has been one of unprecedented growth for Connor's Army.  Although we had received familial support in our earlier campaigns, 2011 saw us reaching far and wide via social networks to spread the word about our mission.  Of course, much of the time our statement of what we were intending to do in the summer of 2012 met with expressions of disbelief;

(You're doing WHAAAAATTTTT??????)



This was especially true of the campers and counselors I worked with at Sunrise Day Camp.  At least twice a week (if not more often) I would ride my bike to camp and many of them would ask me why I was doing this.  Once I started telling them they were somewhat incredulous and grateful that I would want to do such a thing.  But as I started talking more and more about this being a reality, people have been so supportive.  But there is so much more to do - more about that later.  But for now, the state of our own union;

2011 started out rather inauspiciously for Connor's Army as we really didn't have much of a presence.  We had received some wonderful sponsorship in November from the incredible folks at Smiles for Scott and they have since become our major sponsor.  Their donation really made us realize that we could actually do this.  Although we had originally hoped to do the cross country in the summer of 2011, we realized that we just didn't have enough in sponsorship to cover the costs of gas and accomodations for me and a driver.  At this point we weren't sure if I would be doing it alone or with a friend.  We realized this would be too much of an undertaking for me to do solo in the time available so a driver would be needed.  Unfortunately, I don't have any friends who could give up their entire summer to drive cross country with me (where is Benji Taylor when I need her?  Riding across the south in a Volkswagen Rabbit convertible to go to ballet company auditions becuase there was a Greyhound Bus strike that spring!) so we came to the conclusion in January that it would have to be my family going along as my support team.

Now this of course raises all kinds of questions since many people would be assuming that sponsorship would mean paying for my family.  I have had to reiterated (and I do it here again) that the cost of my family to go along would be born by us.  The only thing that sponsor dollars will pay for is costs of the transportation (gas, tolls, oil change, maintenance) and accomodations for me and a driver (anything over that would be born by us) and parts that I'll need to purchase for the trip (brake pads, cables, extra chain, extra spokes, tires, tubes, etc.). 

So in January/February we received some more sponsor dollars from Alan Rosenberg at Coinland.com and some smaller sponsor donations from Spectacular Smiles.  Things began to look up and it appeared that we would be able to meet our sponsorship goal of $15,000 by June 2012!  But now the sponsorship has somewhat dried up.  I began a program of reconditioning bicycles and selling them by posting them on Craigslist and placing them in front of my home for passersby to see.  We've raised almost $1,000 through that project so we are moving forward but the State of Connor's Army is still seeming short by $2,000 of our sponsorship goals.  We have also gotten lots of support from various alumni who have done fundraisers on their own campuses.  This past fall Jaime Blanch, who is attending The University of New Orleans co-founded a group called "UNO Fights Cancer" and they raised $100 for Connor's Army to help us.  In the spring we also had Sooner Printing and Merelis Productions join us as sponsors.  Peter Haughwout and Damon Tommolino (colleagues of mine at SHS) put on a show April 9, with their group Art Studio 85 at the Walt Whitman Birthplace Museum and in so doing became another of our sponsors.  It was an incredible evening of art and music with part of the proceeds going to help us in our mission.  

But the State of things now is that we still need to find a few more sponsors - we're almost there but we're still working on it.  On the positive side, Amy and I are pretty good at being frugal (she has what she calls her Five Year Plans - I sometimes jokingly refer to our home as the Gulag) so chances are we will be able to take a good chunk of sponsorship monies that have been unused and give them to Sunrise.  So in the end the kids will benefit.

The other part of the State of Connor's Army has been the support.  Here we have grown amazingly, mostly due to ACT students past and present.  I cannot tell you how much they have given of their support on the social networks and helping us get the word out.  To give you an idea of our growth, on January 2, 2011 we had 250 likes on our facebook page (if you're reading this and you've not "liked" our page, do me a favor and like it now!) and now we have 1,336!!!!!  Much of that happened this past fall.  At the beginning of September we had 850 likes so we have gained 486 likes in the last five months alone!!!!  So now, to dream the impossible dream - WE NOW HAVE A GOAL OF 3600 LIKES on our Facebook page! Every good State of the Union address needs to list some goals and this is one of ours! The idea is to have one "like" for each of the miles I am going to ride this summer! If I can get my self together, I'd like to be able to list on my blog every day the people that I "rode for" that day.  If I can figure it out, I'll just go to my list of people that like my page and I'll start listing people on my blog at the end of each day and say who I've ridden for.  That's the plan, not sure if its feasible or if I'll just choose a group of "likers" at random.  Either way, I hope you continue to follow this blog becuase once June 24th rolls around, I'll be posting EVERY day on my way back to Wheatley Heights and Sunrise Day Camp.  If you have a specific area of the country you want to be "virtually riding" with me, let me know and I'll try to accomodate you!  Just so you know, here is a ROUGH approximation of the route;

(C'mon pick a mile, any mile!)

So what you would do is say post to me - "Can you ride a mile from Four Corners to Pueblo, CO for me??" and I will do my best to do so!  I'm hoping to have a small video camera that I can film portions of the ride from the saddle so I can possible post YOUR mile on this blog as part of your virtual ride!  But you have to be a "liker" to know what's going on and follow this blog to see your name in cyberprint!

And speaking of this blog, that is another incredible thing that has happened this year!  As of the end of 2010 this page only had 6,752 total views since I began blogging in June 2009.  Since that day, we have shot up to over 12,786 views!!!!  In the last year alone we have doubled our viewership!!!!!!!  That means people are reading our message (or at least clicking on our videos) but I hope this means the word is getting out!!!!  Again, if you are reading this, even if it just means you're looking for pictures and videos of Brian Stokes Mitchell, Mike Rowe, or King Julian please take a moment and add our facebook page to your likes.  Because of your curiosity, you could see your name listed in this blog as one of the people I ride for this summer.

So those are some of the wonderful things that have happened this year and that is the State of the (Connor's) Army!  We've had our ups and our downs.  We've had incredible examples of support and belief in what we're trying to accomplish for the kids of Sunrise and we've had defeats that have left us spiritually battered and bruised to the core of our beings.  Yet we have some great fundraising opportunities coming up which makes us (okay me) very optimistic about the possibility of climbing out of this dark morass and being able to accomplish our mission of sending eight kids to Sunrise Day Camp.  I'll be writing about those soon but so many of my friends and former students are coming together to help us reach our goal that we know it can happen.

What can YOU do?  Its simple - SPREAD THE WORD!!!!  
1) Invite EVERY person you know to like us on facebook!  They can get their name in this blog!
2) Spread the word about our Ride Across America (also affectionately known as CARAAM - Connor's Army Ride Across America) to your friends and family (you can say things like, "I know this crazy %$#%@# who is going to ride a bicycle from San Diego to Long Island to help a bunch of kids" and then answer their questions). 
3)  If you know someone who might be able to help us with a sponsorship (either financial or in-kind donations) PLEASE get us in contact with them!  Whatever we don't use or spend will be given to the kids of Sunrise.  If its supplies, we'll sell what we don't use and give the money to Sunrise!

Let us be able to pull together to say YES, WE CAN!  Together we can Dream the Impossible dream and together we can make a difference!

And now your dessert for staying with me this far.  The incomparable Brian Stokes Mitchell singing "The Impossible Dream" (and by the way, if any of you know him, please invite him to like our page too! - Stephen Mosher, hint, hint!);


Stay well my friends and I'll See You on the Road!

Over the Airwaves Straight to You

(Bicyle Times - A proud sponsor of Connor's Army)

Over the last year we've really been trying to push the presence of Connor's Army as much as we can.  Its hard because there is really only Amy and myself running this group.  Unlike a lot of other charities, we don't have a huge group of people behind us pounding the streets and soliciting donors or sponsors for us.  I really wish we did, it would certainly make all of this much easier and we would probably be close to our goal already.  I was having a "conversation" (I'm really not sure what you call it these days since so much of our communicating gets done cyberly) with Heidi Goodstadt Burian today and I was telling her how difficult it has been for us.  She and a few others (Danielle, Jason, Jamie, Melanie, My Beginning Acting Class, and quite of few of my ACTers current and past) have been helping get the word out and it certainly is reflecting in our numbers.  For instance, if you're reading this right now you have gotten us a step closer to 11,000 views!!!!!!  I'm sorry but that deserves a trumpet fanfare;

	Robert Paterson - Fanfare for Trumpet Sextet .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Okay, so maybe that's a bit of overkill.  And to be honest, I don't know if all of those views are people who actually read much of anything I write since I still only have 53 official followers and no one (except for Jason) ever comments.  But still, 11,000!!!!!!

Anyway, getting back to my conversation with Heidi, its been very discouraging becuase it has just been Amy and I pushing this project along.  We keep hoping and praying that someone will come along and say, "what you're doing is amazing, how can we help you!" and will help us get the sponsors and help us generate the donations that we're hoping to get.  As Heidi said, "just think of yourself as The Little Engine That Could" (WARNING:  THIS IS ONLY PART ONE SO YOU'LL HAVE TO CLICK ON THE LINKS TO WATCH THE WHOLE THING);



Don't get me wrong, we do have some incredible people who support us (Heidi being one of them) and we have some great sponsors.  But times are hard for lots of businesses still and although there are some companies out there that really have the money, we still have yet to find one or two that can help us raise the last $5,000 in sponsorship we think we'll need to make sure we'll be able to fully do this event right.  So we keep plugging along - "I think we can, I think we can, I think we can.......".

We've also not really pushed it too hard on the PR front yet though.  We've been using the social network (mainly facebook) to try to get the word out but as of December 23rd we'll be SIX MONTHS FROM THE START OF CONNOR'S ARMY'S RIDE ACROSS AMERICA or CARAAM as I like to sometimes call it.  So we're going to start sending out releases to papers, tv stations, magazines, everywhere we can get the word out.  For instance, the picture of the magazine cover that starts this blog entry is from the August issue of Bicycle Times.  And in that issue are two articles about Connor's Army.  Of course we were hoping that someone would read one of those articles and be moved to come forward to sponsor us but no dice yet.

That's not to say we haven't had some strong advocates pushing for us.  Jason Lederman has been one of the most "vocal" of our supporters.  Some of it has been in his vlog, "Late Night With Jason Lederman";

Here's one from our Victory ride 2010;




And here's a video that he did for Project for Awesome 2010;




And I try to take advantage of any chance I can to get the word out.  This past summer the family and I took a trip to Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT and while we were there they had an attraction called "Tall Ships and Tattoos".  It was great time had by the entire family and at the compound was an exhibit about the development of tattoos as a mode of personal expression for sailors.  At the exhibit they were filming people telling the story about their tattoos and since Sarah thinks my "tat" is so cool, she insisted I do the interview;



And of course I couldn't resist the chance to plug Connor's Army.

And two years ago I relied upon the combined talents of Phil Rosenberg, Dan Kahn, and Daniel Incalcaterra (and I think Saleem Gondal may have had a hand in this) to create a video for Bicycling Magazine's "I Need A New Bike" competition.  Basically our whole gist was, I don't need a fancy carbon racer, I just need something that will get me from San Diego to Long Island in one piece without breaking down;




Unfortunately, it didn't win.  Although I have put the offer out to my brother in law that if he can find a way through his connections to convince Giant Bicycles to donate a cyclocross bike (or even a frame and fork combo) for the cross country ride, I would wear a NEW YORK GIANTS logo on my jerseys the entire 3600 mile ride!  Now for a die-hard DALLAS COWBOYS fan, that is a sacrifice but I will do it for the kids!  (Okay, so are there any big wigs out there with some pull that want to see me humiliated for 3600 miles?)

And jus the other day we started our latest barrage of PR work when Jason (and Justin Tasolides for a small while who admitted he loves my blog but it keeps crashing his browser) dropped by for a visit.  At the end of the visit Jason had managed to shoot some new video footage and using the geniurs editing skills that he has been developing while he's been away at Northwestern.  He really worked hard on it and even though we didn't get it in with enough time to really have people vote for it, it gets us out there and it shows what Connor's Army is about and what we're trying to do and every little bit helps;



What I think it all boils down to is that this process of finding people to sponsor us and to donate is a hit or miss process.  We just have to keep putting it out there and hope that someone will feel called in their heart to help us in some financial manner.  Heidi and the Burian clan have been truly financially generous as have many of my other friends and family members.  Syosset High School is starting to help with various fundraisers and with any luck we'll be able to raise $6,000 through the combined efforts of different student groups. That would be enough for ONE CAMPER FOR EIGHT WEEKS!

And my darling, wonderfully giving Sarah has decided that for her 13th birthday (yes, can you believe it, THIRTEEN!) she wants to to do a Mitzvah project even though she's not having a Bat Mitzvah.  And yes, even though her entire life seems to have been one large Mitzvah, she has decided she wants to throw a fund raiser benefit for Sunrise Day Camp and with any luck we'll be able to raise another $3,000.  She continues to amaze and humble me every day.

Jamie Blanch and her friends at UNO Fights Cancer have been incredibly supportive and have done a few bake sales to benefit Connor's Army.  I'm continuing to sell refurbished bicycles through my RECycle for Sunrise project.  I have a student who wants to sell bracelets for Connor's Army - its all adding up slowly but surely and I'm starting to feel hope that this might happen.

But Amy and I can't do it alone, we need help.  And no, this is not for my own narcissistic needs.  Honestly, if there were a way to get publicity about htis without ever mentioning my name I would do it.  If someone would donate the $50,000 to me to do this if I would do it without ever putting my name to it, I would do it.  If you could see what Sunrise means to the kids that attend it you would understand.  Its not about me, its not about you - its about them. 

So, if you've read this far I thank you.  I thank you for being supportive enough to "listen" to what I have to say.  I thank you for being supportive enough to help us get closer to 11,000 views, and I thank you for possibly passing on the idea of Connor's Army to others - who knows your mentioning it to someone else may be the spark that ignites a flame in someone's soul - a burning desire to help us help the kids.

And now, your reward for making it to the end, Freddie Mercury and Queen performing "Bicycle Race";



And there you have it - we're coming over the airwaves and we're after sending eight kids to camp!  Help us if you can.

Stay well and I'll see you on the road!

2003 In Review

In 2003 I received the inspiration for naming the black steel bicycle that I will be riding from San Diego, CA to Wheatley Heights, NY in the summer of 2012 - "The Black Pearl" and she was unnamed until I saw this beauty flash up on the big screen;

I then made the comparison that like this gorgeous ship under sale, my Pearl wasn't the prettiest bike on the road but she was fast and she could take a beating!

So this brings us back to what else happened in the year 2003;

One of the most important events in the Connor Family history occured in February of 2003 - William and

   James were born (at 28 weeks) in the middle of a blizzard!  And so began the crazy journey of raising

   twins!  Our family would never be the same again but I wouldn't change it for the world!

The fall of 2003 saw me begin my sixth year of teaching at Syosset High School.

The summer of 2003 was (unebeknownst to me at the time) my last year of directing at Usdan Center

   for the Creative and Performing Arts.  (Boy do I miss that place and all my friends there - yes, I'm talking

   about you Eric Baum!)

The spring of 2003 saw us bring to the SHS stage an amazing production of Macbeth with Alex Numeroff (a

   young lady) as Macbeth and Jackie Silvestri as Lady Macbeth.

But what was happening in the world around us back then?  Here is a potpourri of US and World Events to remind you;



(Elevated home in Belhaven, NC - 2003)

For starters, here's how much things cost;

How Much things cost in 2003



Average Cost of new house $246,300.00

Average Median Income $45,016.00

Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.83 (to quote Adolfo from The Drowsy Chaperone - WHAAAAAATTTT?)

(Making Muppets Adult Friendly for All!)

Because I teach Theatre, here are the shows that opened on Broadway in 2003 (click here for a link that will provide links to all these shows);

Anna in the Tropics
Avenue Q
Big River
The Boy from Oz
The Caretaker
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Golda's Balcony
Henry IV
I Am my Own Wife
Laughing Room Only
Little Shop of Horrors
Master Harold and the Boys
Never Gonna Dance
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells it All
Retreat from Moscow
Sexaholix...(A Love Story)
Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks
Taboo
The Violet Hour
Wicked
Wonderful Town

And as a teacher of Theatre, I'm ashamed to say that I saw less than a quarter of those shows.  Of course, with the boys being quarantined in the house until June, its no wonder that we didn't get out much.  Of these (and yes, I know I'm about to commit a sacriligeous act here) my favorite of that season was Avenue Q - sorry all of your fans of Wicked.  I guess you'll just have to sing this little ditty;



And what else happened in the world around us in 2003?  I'm glad you asked.  You can click here for an in-depth, almost daily rendering of what went on in that great year.  However, for the time-crunched amongst us, here are some of the highlights in no particular order;



(NOTE: this video really doesn't have anything in PARTICULAR to do with the events of 2003, it just is a whimsical look at how consumerism is driven by politics)

World Events 2003

•The new United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation
•United States plans for an invasion of Iraq due to an imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction
•The United States and the United Kingdom start with their shock and awe campaign with a massive air strikes on military targets in Baghdad before the invasion of Iraq by Land Forces.
•Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq, is captured in Tikrit by the U.S. 4th Infantry Division.
•A major severe weather outbreak spawned more tornadoes than any week in U.S. history. 393 tornadoes were reported in 19 states
•Earthquake in Boumerdès region of northern Algeria - 2,200 killed
•Lance Armstrong wins his fifth Tour De France
•Do Not Call List starts providing consumers with an opportunity to limit telemarketing calls.
•Armed undercover "sky marshals" are used on Aircraft to prevent terrorist attacks following 9/11
•Americans rename "French Fries" to "Freedom Fries" in protest to France's stand on Iraq
•Toyota overtakes Chrysler to get the number three slot in US Car Sales
•Ex-soldier John Muhammad is found guilty of the Washington sniper shootings
•10's of thousands of Harley Owners gather in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to celebrate 100 years of Harley-Davidson Motor Cycles.
•The last old-style Volkswagen Beetle rolls off its production line in Puebla, Puebla, Mexico
•Italy suffers a near countrywide blackout when electricity supplies fail
•The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK - 38.5°C (101.3°F) at Brogdale near Faversham in Kent
•A car bomb attack in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq has left nearly 100 dead including a leading Shia Muslim politician Ayatollah Hakim.
•Voters recall Governor Gray Davis from office and elect Arnold Schwarzenegger to succeed him.
•The wanted terrorist Abul Abbas is captured in Baghdad
•Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch is amongst those captured US Troops free her 9 days later
•A massive earthquake devastates southeastern Iran. Over 40,000 killed
•In France a 104 degree heat wave kills approximately 5,000
•Dafur Rebels begin attacking Sudanese government targets, bringing a swift military and police campaign to Darfur causing millions to flee their homes.
•President George W. Bush on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln announces major combat in Iraq is over
•US Interest Rates at 45 year record low of 1% and core inflation rate of 37 year record low 1.3%
•Justice Roy Moore, is suspended when he refused to take down the Ten Commandments from an Alabama state justice building.
•Hurricane Isabel claims 40 lives and leaves six million people without power
•Kyoto Protocol in danger of failing following International Climate Conference in Moscow
•Terrorists bomb the United Nations Baghdad Headquarters
•Terrorists from Al-Qaeda drive two trucks packed with explosives and bombs into the Bet Israel and Neve Shalom synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey killing 27
•Suicide bomb attacks on British interests in the Turkish city of Istanbul kill 27 and injure 400

(to keep this in the bicycle theme, I was actually riding home from Usdan to Smithtwon as this was happening.  I was riding on Jericho Turnpike and I couls see the traffic lights slowly going out down the road in front of me - one by one.)

Technology 2003

•The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas upon reentry, killing all seven astronauts onboard.
•The highly infectious disease SARS ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ) spreads from China, Singapore and Vietnam, Worldwide nearly 9,000 People are effected in 15 countries and over 800 die from the effects.
•Human Genome Project successfully completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy.
•Secretary of State Colin Powell urges the U.N. Security Council to move against Iraq due to possession of weapons of mass destruction
•In the biggest blackout in the history of the north America some 50 million people in the northeastern states of US and southern Canada lose power.
•The birth of Prometea, the first cloned horse by Italian scientists.
•The space probe Galileo makes a fiery dive into Jupitors atmosphere it was launched in 1989 and is one of the most successful NASA Projects.
•Concorde makes its last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonic travel to a close, at least for the time being
•Libya agrees to give Up Chemical Weapons
•Concerns continue to grow over possible Asian bird flu outbreak also known as avian influenza




(One of the original commercials used by Apple in 2003 to launch iTunes)

Popular Culture 2003

•The ABC's 20/20 airs the controversial Granada Television documentary Living with Michael Jackson
•Keiko the Orca made famous by the "Free Willy" movies, dies
•The Recording Industry Association of America (or RIAA) files copyright lawsuits against Internet users for trading songs online
•Apple launches Itunes which becomes a major success selling 10 million songs within 4 months of launch
•A white tiger attacks Roy Horn of the duo "Siegfried & Roy" leaving him partially paralyzed
•Michael Jackson is booked on suspicion of multiple counts of child molestation ( later acquitted )
•JK Rowling's fifth Harry Potter book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released



(There were so many incredible movies this year but my kids love this scene and so do I!!!)

Popular Films

•The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
•Finding Nemo
•The Matrix Reloaded
•Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
•Bruce Almighty
•The Last Samurai
•Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
•The Matrix Revolutions
•X2: X-Men United
•Bad Boys II
•Lost in Translation

Popular Musicians

•Amanda Perez
•Elton John
•Beyoncé
•Christina Aguilera
•Travis
•David Gray
•Limp Bizkit
•Evanescence
•Coldplay
•Sheryl Crow
•Hilary Duff
•Norah Jones
•blink-182
•Pink
•Shania Twain
•Madonna
•Avril Lavigne
•50 Cent
•Clay Aiken
•Kylie Minogue
•Stereophonics
•Kelly Clarkson
•Blur
•Ashanti
•Fleetwood Mac
•Eminem
•Nelly
•P. Diddy

Of course this is only a small sampling of what happened, there were still so much more that went on in the world in 2003.  But isn't it fun to go back and walk down memory lane and remember?  To say to oneself, "oh, right, I remember that!" 

But why this walk down the memory lane of 2003?

TODAY I HIT 2003 MILES ON MY ODOMETER!!!!!!!

Yes, Connor's Army fans, I have already ridden over 2000 miles on my bicycle and its only the middle of October!!!!  I have ten more weeks of riding to do.  If by some miracle of modern time-crunchedness I am able to ride an average of 160 miles a week (I really don't think that's possible) I will be able to ride 3600 miles this year - the same amount that I will be riding across the country this year.  Basically the route we will take will look something like this;

This is the actual route that I created on Google Maps.  It looks like it would be doable since I programmed it in using the bicycle directions feature.
I am feeling much more optimistic about the ride now.  I know that I'm committed to finishing what I started (and some people think I should be committed for doing what I'm doing).  But I do still feel frustrated because I can't seem to get the support.  I see people everywhere starting wonderful foundations for their family members and entire communities getting on board to support them.  Yet, I can't even get my school community on board with it.

Now granted, I haven't tried to get my ACTers really into fundraising for this because of the entire political aspect of it.  I don't want to have any kid put into the position of things being said behind their back that the only reason they got a role was becuase they (or their parents) gave a lot to Connor's Army and to the cross country trip.  I would NEVER allow anything like that to enter into my casting of a role.  Accusations like that were made in the past which is why I'm really not leaning on those kids for help.

However, I am going to start appealing to the other clubs at school for their help in fundraising for this.  They fundraise for a variety of other charities.  I'll let Breast Cancer month wind down and then I'll ask for their help.  Its the only way I can think of doing this.

In the meantime, I've sold about $250 in bicycles through what I'm calling RECycle for Sunrise.  I take used bikes that have been donated or that I find in the trash and I refurbish them.  I then place them out in my yard and/or list them on Craigslist.  So far I've sold two kids bike, a ten-speed racer, and three mountain bikes with more on the way.  If I have to do that to get the money I need to pay for the cross country then I'll do that.

But there are some former ACT alumni who have really been so incredibly supportive in these endeavors.  Mel Mednick helped organize a comedy improv night to help raise money for Connor's Army last spring.  This fall Jamie Blanch and her fellow warriors at UNO Fights Cancer have held bake sales and are selling ribbons to help raise money for Connor's Army and ACS.  I am so incredibly grateful to them because it does remind me that people out there do care about what I'm trying to do for these kids and believe that I can make the 3600 miles to bring some attention (and hopefully donations) to Sunrise Day Camp.

If anyone else out there wants to help organize a fundraising event either here or where you are at school (ALUMNI PLEEEEEAAAASSSSSSEEEEEEE???????) let me know and I'll do all I can to help you.  Remember - its for the kids of Sunrise!!!!!

Stay well and I will continue to see you on the road!!!!!!