Day # 110 – September 6th, 1995
Day # 110 – September 6th, 1995
(Ed’s note: At the time I am writing this (Sunday, September 6th, 2020) we are at the eve of World Duchenne Day. This is a day that did not exist on the calendar when I was pushing Jesse across Ontario in 1995. Tonight and tomorrow, hundreds of buildings across Canada, including the CN Tower (and our house) will be bathed in red light to mark the occasion. A lot has happened on the research front since those days on the road twenty-five years ago, and Jesse’s Journey is proud to be Canada’s leader in funding Duchenne research.
But—when it comes to a cure—we are not there yet.
Jesse’s Journey has become a family of families and to see how you can play a part, please visit:
www.jessesjourney.com
In the times we are now living through, there are lots of things that are being done differently—including our annual walk. When you visit our website, you can see where you fit in, and how you can be one of those people making a difference for others. And, it doesn’t matter where in the world you live. At the click of a button you become a part of our story. (And, if you are on Facebook, please hit your share button to give your friends the opportunity to join the family of families in making a difference.)
I have always believed that the best leaders are those who lead by example. Here in London tomorrow, the Executive Director at Jesse’s Journey, Perry Esler (and his wife Niki) will be walking 33 kilometres as a part of the hundreds and hundreds of people across Canada walking to make a difference. This is what I call real commitment.
Yesterday, CTV aired a story setting the scene for tomorrow’s walk. Here’s the link that is your pathway to seeing not just what has been done – but rather, what can be done if you help.
https://london.ctvnews.ca/chalk-artist-draws-jesse-s-journey-mural-in-downtown-london-ont-1.5093994
Thanks for being a part of the family of families at Jesse’s Journey.)
Day # 110 on the road is the first day that has a cool ‘fall like’ snap in the air. The air temperature was great, and we made good time on the road, arriving in Port Hope at 9:30. We did an interview with CHEX TV from Peterborough.
We pushed on to Cobourg which is a pretty little town and we were given a tour of the very English looking courthouse and the opera house on the upper level which has been fully restored.
It’s a fairly quiet day along the road. Perry Esler and Julie Sandiland are with us from CFPL-TV and they have lots of time to talk about where Jesse’s Journey might go in the future.
It also seems a bit funny to see school buses back on the road and it reminds Jesse and me of just how long we have been out here. School buses were still on the road for the final five weeks of the last school year when we started our journey before the summer holidays arrived. There were no holidays for Jesse and me.
Some people brought their little kids out to see Jesse and a couple of women gave Jesse a kiss and said, “God bless you.” We hear quite a lot these days.
After dinner (pizza) I spent a long time on the phone doing a newspaper interview. It took longer than most interviews, but I just look at it as part of getting the job done and it’s going to be a long road ahead.
When we got back to our motel in Cobourg, we got to see the Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken play in game number 2,131. We were seeing a bit of baseball history on this day as he broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak, a record that was set in 1936.
The good news tonight is we have just 14 days to go. The bad news is the weather forecast is once again not looking good. But, we’ve been in rain before and probably will be again. I keep reminding myself every day that we are in this for the long haul. Quitting is not an option.
