Fill the World With Love

Getting ready for this trip I was told by several officers from all over the US and world that I have met through LETR(Law Enforcement Torch Run) that this trip would be an inspirational experience, they didn’t tell me that it would be a life changing one. Though we have only been here five days, these officers and athletes each with their own story of how or why they got involved in LETR or Special Olympics have truly touched my life for ever. It has been amazing to watch all the athletes come out of their “shell” and grow. It has been especially moving to me see Chris and Aaron grow as individuals from this experience. I have known Chris for several years now, he is not shy by any stretch of the imagination but I have seen a smile and strut in his step over the past few days that I have never seen before. The same can be said for Aaron, I just met him Wednesday. I saw a very confident young man who wasn’t sure about being away from home with only really knowing one person, none of us here were. He has a constant smile on his face and has a laugh that would light up any room. Sharing this experience with an athlete from Oklahoma is special but to share that as well as being a roommate to Aaron for 11 days and 10 nights has and will truly make me a better person. The simple things in life that we take for granted are such a treat to these wonderful athletes and they have touched every officer and member of the support staff for the rest of our lives.

Saturday was a travel day for the team. Half of the team left early in the morning for a flight from Spokane to Boise, Idaho. Chris and I were with the group that had to go through Portland, Oregon. We had a forty five minute lay over in Portland. I was neat to watch the peoples reaction to see anywhere from 45 to 60 people walking through an airport dressed alike being loud and clowning around like a bunch little kids. Once they figured out who we were along with what we were doing people clapped and came up to us shaking our hands as well as the athletes thanking us. The ability to make more people aware of this wonderful cause is worth every cramp in our legs, sore muscles backache from riding in a bus across Idaho and many early mornings as long as we can begin to change the perception of people one at a time of what Special Olympics is and what LETR believes so firmly in…..

Sunday was a great day!!! We started off very early from Boise with a 2 ½ hour bus ride to the east side of the state. According to the bus driver everyone on our bus was out cold for the entire ride but the last 30 minutes. We stopped at a scenic turnoff for the Snake River where a gorge drops over 300 feet to the Devils Wash Bowl. It was truly amazing site, a portion of the Snake River is very narrow through this area, there was still quiet a bit of snow on the ground. As many of you are thinking, yes cops are big kids and the snow ball fights were abundant. The athletes had the biggest smiles on their faces, especially when they hit the officers with snow balls or stuck snow down their shirts. After we traveled to Burley, Idaho where we ran a little over a mile and a quarter in the cold brisk air to a restaurant called burley that was on the banks of the Snake River where it quiet wide. The view was absolutely amazing. During the ceremony we were introduced to an optometrist who will head up the healthy eyes inative for the world games. This is where every athelete participating in the world games will have the opportunity to have his or her eyes examined as well as the opportunity to receive eye glasses if they are needed. This is done at no cost to the atheletes or their families.

We loaded up and then headed to Rupert, Idaho population 5,600. We ran a little over 1.9 miles on this run where we were greated by several members of the community. This part of Idaho is a very rual farming community that has a diverse culture which was obvious as we ran through town. I remember as we were running through the towns square and we made a circle, I saw the local tavern where two men had stepped out side and were saluting us. They were standing next to their motorcycles both of which were adorned with the American Flag and the POW/MIA flags. This man looked like your prototypical biker that man people who generally judge, but it was obvious he appreciated what the team was doing. The Ceremony was held in the Wilson Theather which was the towns original theather and movie house from the late 1800’s and is going under a massive renovation. The towns people moved into the theather to join in the celebration. The local school’s special education class treated the crowd by signing the entire song “Fill the World With Love.” I don’t think there was a dry eye in the theater when they were done. As I looked up and watch the children, they all were glowing and had smiles that would have lighted up the darkest room. The diversity of this group was an example of the diversity that Special Olympics touches. There were Hispanic, Caucasion, and American Indian in the group. This town is a very lower economic group and towns like this are the ones who benefit the most from Special Olympics by giving the atheletes and families who could not afford to participate the opportunity to. If you are not already a supporter of Special Olympics a day like yesterday would defenitly make you one. BE A FAN OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS!!!