Sunday in Winnipeg

Hello everyone,
Did I mention I love our crew??? I hope that I explain this next story properly and in the fashion it is intended.
Pat and I plan to get up early grab a cab and get to the park by 7 to get an early start to the day. We leave the jackets, long sleeve shirts and my extra pair of shoes in the hotel room today. We get down to the lobby at 6:45 and our bell captain whistles a cab for us. We jump in, eager to start out the day because we know that this day is easier. It is a beautiful sunny morning but it is going to be even hotter than yesterday. That's Ok though because we have packed much better today. We are excited because once we have finished today we would of done two in a row and that is a big lift for us. So the cab pulls into the front of the hotel, we wave to the bell captain, wish him a good morning and jump into the cab as "fresh as daisies". I lean halfway into the front seat the way everyone does and tell the cabbie where we are going. In my cheeriest voice (as much as I can be at that hour of the morning) "Assiniboine Park by the Pavillions please" and as he is pulling on to Main St and Portage he replies to me in his best english "new driver".....I smile at him and realize his is a "new Canadian". So I repeat to him slower "Assiboine Park by the Pavillions" and he smiles back and in his best english again..."new driver..." and tries repeat what I have just said. I feel a bit of panic raising in me because we are 20 mins from the park and we have to leave the park by 8 at the latest otherwise we get "swept" to either the first rest spot or maybe even to lunch. I can not "be swept". It is a walker's greatest fear! So we do have some time to spare but not a lot. So once again, I repeat where we are going and he smiles and nods his head in agreement. I sit back and think that we have managed to communicate enough to understand each other. So I try to relax and enjoy the sunny day and regain some of my excitement. This is a little hard to do when you are a tourist in a city that you have never been to and do not have a real good sense of direction. I admit it and I am OK with it. I have now come to realize however that my driver has a worse sense of direction than I do or maybe my communications skills are not as good as I previously thought they were. I guess the driver sensed my panic level because time was becoming more of an issue while he was going the wrong way and I now felt like I was stuck in an episode of "The Amazing Race." I found myself using one word sentences like...."hurry" or "rush" with hand gestures. Well this seemed to work because he was now running reds for us. Problem was I wasn't sure where the heck we were going. I think I caused enough panic for him to pick up his cell phone and call his dispatcher. The dispatcher was able to talk him all the way to the front door of the Pavillions and we arrived with time to spare. As I got out of the cab I turned to him and gave him two thumbs up and he smiled back and gave me a thumbs up too. At least I think it was his thumb? I understand that everyone has to learn and he is working hard to make a better life for him and his family. I truly respect that. In the end it all worked out. Besides, it makes for a great story and I am sure he had a story for his wife and kids that day too. It may have been a different version though. So to our cabbie on Sunday morning, I apologize for scaring you. Thank you for running reds and getting us there on time. Welcome to Canada. You could not of picked a better country to start your new life.
So it is just before 8 and we head out of the park and it is going to be very hot today. Once again, we are walking through the neighbourhoods of Winnipeg. It was a fantastic walk. Very different from Ottawa. In Ottawa, much of it was along the river and through parks which was fantastic. This was a really nice change to see the neighbourhoods of Winnipeg. We met up with lots of people and met up with three nice ladies who I hope I can now call friends. I would like for you all to meet Barb and her friend Shelley and her other friend Shelley. Pat and I had the great pleasure of finishing the last 25 kms with these three characters from Winnipeg. Their pictures were in the Winnipeg Free Press and we recognized their hats in the picture. No matter how hard these ladies tried to shake us, Pat and I would not lose them. It was someone new to talk to which makes the time go by so much faster. One of the ladies told us about the new Cancer Care buddy system that Manitoba has started. When someone is diagnosed they are given a "buddy" to help them through the whole process. Someone to talk to, ask questions and knows what to expect. I think that is a great system. I was lucky because I had been through all this with both of my parents. Fear of the unknown was not a factor for me. I knew exactly what all the steps were going to be. Having a "buddy" would take much of that fear out of the equation and reduce some of the stress that you feel after the diagnosis.
As we went along one of the neighbourhoods, one of the ladies (I am not naming names for reasons seen later) had her grandmother living on one of the streets close by so she called her on her cell. Her grandmother lives on her own, in her own house and is 91 years old. Last year she was diagnosed with breast cancer and her granddaughter was walking for her. Her grandmother was doing great and takes a new type of pill once a day that battles the breast cancer. In fact, after 40 kms of walking her grandmother was doing better than her. Remember I mentioned we recognized these ladies from the morning paper. Well, here is the one sided conversation I could hear:
Granddaughter; "Hi Grandma, it's.... I am just walking by your house right now and I was thinking of you and wanted to call you to say "hi"..... (just hearing this has brought tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat...then I hear)

Granddaughter: "no, I can't come in right now I am walking. No not by your house just around your house. I am at Country Club Rd and ....."

Granddaughter: "Yes, the walk was in the paper. Yes, there were pictures. No not of us, of the walk. Yes grandma there were pictures of walkers in the papers......... Me? There is a picture of
me?!? I am in the paper?! Ok Grandma...love you"

She hangs up and says "hey we were in the paper!" and we are killing ourselves laughing because her grandmother is probably thinking what the heck do I have to say to that girl to get her to understand what I am talking about!! Not to mention the fact that we told them 5 Kms ago we recognized them from the paper that morning! See why I am not naming names!
We can't just pick on her though....because at some point during the 25 kms we are doing that day that one of these ladies admitted she has parked in a "moms to be" spot once because there was no other parking. She was with one of her fellow walkers going to the mall. She parked in the spot..."struggled" out of the car (to make it look good) pushed her tummy out...put her hand on her hip and "waddled" into the mall. As her and her friend were leaving the mall about 100 yards before the exit she "assumed" the position again and her friend asked her what she was doing and she said "I got to make it look good!" I don't think I will be ever able to look at a Mom-to-be parking in the spot again without wondering......(hey you....be thankful I don't mention the sledgehammer!)
So the laughter and chatter kept us going a long way. In fact all the way to the end. We were fortunate enough to meet some of their families too. One of our new friends, her family met us about 10 kms from the end. Her sister had just been diagnosed 10 days after giving birth to her daughter. I am not sure how old she is but she is doing great and her daughter is as cute as a button. Very nice family.
Somewhere around the Assiniboine River, our fellow walkers were getting tired. Their feet really hurt and there lots of aches. Pat and I kept trying to encourage them on because we knew how great it was going to be at the finish line. We kept saying it, trying to keep their spirits up. Problem was that I think I may of said it one too many times because if one of them could of stopped and taken some "precious steps" backwards to hit me they would of! I teased her and said "you are thinking that aren't you....yup". I laughed while keeping my distance just in case.
I am very proud to say that we all made it. We entered Assiniboine Park around 2 and just past the gates was one of our friends parents. Her dad came up to her and gave her a great big hug and then she saw her Mom and for a moment you could tell she let herself collapse a little bit into her mother's arms. She was doing the walk for her mom who was just diagnosed last year. I thought of my mom and how much I missed her. Then I thought of something else....how "neat" is was to walk in another province and raise money for people that I was now watching. How that same feeling came over me when I listened in on the conversation with the grandmother. And again, when I offered to take a picture of the whole family in the school yard 10 kms ago.
Our new friends said they could not of done it without Pat and I. I think it is the opposite. Barb, Shelley and Shelley inspired us. They let us into their lives for the day to see what the people and their families of Winnipeg are like. It is just like the license plate.... "Friendly Manitoba" and it was a fantastic experience. Thank you ladies, you have only proven what I know to be true.....Canadians are genuine people.
Two down five to go. Look out Calgary....you are next!
Thank you Mom and Joanne for giving me the courage and inspiration.
With love and thanks,
M.J.