Doing media and settling in.
5:47 a.m. CST – This morning I had and interview with “Today in St. Louis” on KSDK NBC Channel 5. (www.ksdk.com) We discussed the basic points of the Tour, including how I’m pushing across America paralyzed from the chest down to inspire and motivate the American people to get fit and meet with city and community leaders to provide tools and resources to create lasting health and fitness initiatives for all citizens. And as always, I welcomed any support from companies or individuals who wanted to help support our efforts and help us continue to bring our grass roots initiative to communities across America. Morning and early afternoon – After the interview, we spent the first part of the day unpacking and preparing for all the events we had lined up this week. It is going to be a long week, but I am ready! St. Louis is very supportive of the Tour and everyone wants to be involved.
3:30 p.m. CST – We left the hotel and headed for Tony’s house. Tony works for The Visibility Company and he helped plan most of the events this week in St. Louis. Before dinner, we talked a little business. Tony went through the week’s scheduled events to make everyone was up-to-date. It was soon time for dinner, or maybe I should say it was time for the party. Tony’s family, the three of us, and Brian (the head designer for one of our sponsors www.ImShapingUp.com) were all there. I really enjoyed sitting down for a family-style meal. Being on the road 24/7 makes it hard to do that. It was very thoughtful of Tony and his family to invite us. Unfortunately, a bad thunderstorm came through the area around 9 p.m. and ended the party. It knocked the power out of a large part of the city including Tony’s home. We stayed a few hours later than we expected to at Tony’s house. By the time, we were able to return to Baymont, it was late in the evening. We drove back in the darkness past blown over tree limbs and power lines. Tony’s house was without power for several days.
The whole situation made me think of how ironical people are. Almost everyday individuals face emergency like the one the storm presented. They do whatever it takes to overcome the crisis. However, an emergency like the nation’s obesity crisis, causes damages everyday and there are no signs of it slowing down. Why are they not approaching this situation the same way? I felt a renewed sense of determination for my mission. I MUST do whatever it takes to help America overcome the obesity crisis. Every city I visit and every person I talk to is a step in the right direction.
