Right around a year ago, Bill and Jane Monreal invited me and my wife, Sheila, to a baseball game. Among their invitees was an energetic lady named Cassie. The meeting was not by chance. Bill and Jane specifically wanted us to meet and interact with Cassie. They knew of Cassie's ambition to ride and win RAAM 2012 and instinctively felt that we would be able to help her in her quest and take her desire to help veterans to a new level.
Today, Cassie speaks glowingly of that first meeting but back then I could tell right off the bat (we were, after all, at a baseball game) that she really didn't quite know what to make of me, especially after she watched me convince a police chief in attendance that she was going to ride across the country on a unicycle!
In spite of her initial reaction, the Monreals had read us both correctly and we bonded. The fix, as they say, was in. The bond was, at first, tenuous until the day that Cassie asked for help in taking to fruition an idea she had to raise money for vets. The bond strengthened at our organizational meeting in November of 2011and has grown stronger ever since.
Several months later, she asked me to be part of her crew for RAAM 2012. I knew how much this race meant to her and so promised her that I would make every effort to clear my schedule. The schedule is now cleared and I will soon be on my way to participate in this great adventure.
Having been around the block hundreds, nay, thousands of times, little excites me. I'm excited.
Next up: Putting it all together
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