The one morning that I venture out on the Bike trail without Steve, I get propositioned. I am not making this up. Steve was golfing with his photography buddies this morning and Kate needed to be picked up from rowing practice at 9 am. Perfect, I thought, I will head to the river a little early, take a quick ride downtown and swing back around to pick her up from practice.
As I rounded the corner from PNC Park to Heinz Field, I noticed this eccentric looking boat moored along the river. How cool, I thought - that boat has every fun piece of outdoor equipment known to man attached to it. A bike, a sailboat, a canoe, a kayak and a grill, paddles and a boat motor. The owner, Warren (not his real name, but that is how I will refer to him) was a few feet away chatting with a couple of police officers that were parked in a van. He looked, well, pretty much like the boat. How much more harmless could the situation possible be, right? Wrong. I made my scheduled turn around at Heinz Field and decided to ask if I could take some photos of the boat, and Warren said ‘Sure’. I asked him where he was going and he said, ‘New Orleans.’ I asked where he was coming from and he said ‘Warren, PA’. (Hence the name).
I snapped a few photos on my cellphone and that’s when it happened. Warren yells at the top of his lungs (cops by his side) - ‘Open the door and go inside - you can take some pictures of my bed - and then get in it!’
‘Nice try, Warren!’ I screamed back -at that same time I jumped on my bike and peddled away as fast as I could and never looked back.
I hope Warren has a safe trek down the river to New Orleans. I am sure he will be fine - since it’s clear that he is one smooth operator.
Julie, one of our brides from 2005, was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disabling disease which attacks the central nervous system. Julie is doing great - there are new therapies available and she is undergoing treatment, but there is no cure.
If you’re like me, you have frustrating days where you might lose a little perspective of what’s really important. Barb and I have had defining moments in our life -our daughter Kate’s near fatal accident and the violent death of Barb’s step father ; these rocky times of our life have brought us closer, made us stronger and given us a little different perspective. But, I still have those “weighty” days….. and I’m really going to work hard to try to limit them.
With Julie in mind along with our friend Steve who is in the later stages of the disease, I’ll be walking to create a world free of MS at the Pittsburgh Walk MS, Heinz Field on April 20, 2008.
Please consider sponsoring my walk with a donation to the Multiple Sclerosis Society which will help fight this difficult disease.
You can sponsor my walk here: Pittsburgh Walk MS
or search for Stephen Barry
Barb and I wish Julie continued good health.
