A Brother's Words; A Sister's Thoughts by Cindy Campbell

"Without the darkness, you would never know the light" -Yogi Tea tab  I AM one of "those" people! I love quotes and bits of written inspiration. The right one always seems to appear at the time I need it most. This one seemed perfect for the moment. Each of us have or will face struggles in life. The challenges will be different, and facing physical and emotional pain can bring you to your knees. Nels has dreamt about and trained for this transcontinental run for four years. Prior to this he has undertaken other endurance events that some would perceive to be crazy. When you are doing hard things (for example, riding a bicycle across the U.S. twice and running from Florida to D.C.), having a why during the darkness can be your guide as you focus on your goal, which at times can be dampened by doubt, hampered by hallucinations and impeded by injuries. Attempting to break a record is no easy task; the percentage of people who have even tried is miniscule....

Most of the posts I have written in this blog have come to me very easily, guided by my brother's words - our shared memories through his writing to me. This one has been difficult. Why? It's the day. What does it mean? Why is this day "special"? It's one I wish never had to exist! It's not the date. Every day is important to someone. It can be viewed with great happiness and, on the flip side, a day can also be one of great emotional pain. That's how life works, right? The Gold Star Flag  The last Sunday in September is of great significance to some. Before I proceed, let me introduce you to Grace Darling Seibold. Grace was a woman and a mother who chose to be a comfort to others by spending time volunteering at a hospital in D.C. Reading her story made her why clear. There was a day when her mailbox no longer contained letters from her son, yet she continued her visits to the hospital. Maybe her son would be admitted without identification; she would kn...

Hello!                                                                                               From Japan, I greet you. I am doing well and trust you are also. We've been on and off the island for about three weeks now and wow, my head's spinning. On the flight over we stopped in Honolulu, Hawaii for the night. Stayed in the Outrigger Resort in Waikiki, was great. I finally got to view the infamous "Pink Panther" that I was [born] in. The next day of our travel our taxi took us to a small island called Kwajalein in the Marshall Island Chain. A small and beautiful paradise that I might actually go and work one day. Interesting story, I'll tell...