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

Although I don't recall our mom verbally telling us to 'pay attention' to all that is happening around us, she helped us see the beauty in our surroundings and shared natural observations with us that cultivated an awe and respect of nature. This influence impacted Chris throughout his life and is evident in his emails and letters to me. In May 2000, he spent time in Thailand. It was there he had a pendant made for me, which I wore daily when he was deployed. During this stay, he also had adventures that were quite different from anything we experienced growing up.  In three different emails, Chris wrote about elephants. Google, in its infinite repository of knowledge, provided great insight into these magnificent creatures. They have close family bonds, are spirited, playful, protective and have excellent memories. Whether my brother knew this or not, he had similar attributes. Since today, September 22nd, is National Elephant Appreciation Day, it seemed like the perfect t...

It's September 10th, and Nels is 3 days into his 'Run Across America'. He is "climbing" Yosemite as I write this! Nels has made reference to this run being "chosen suffering". Although he's been training for a few years now, today he is going to earn his breakfast , lunch and dinner! He has a great support team (Kerrie & Ella) who will ensure his hydration, caloric intake and physical well-being are expertly managed throughout the day. Once he completes his mileage, an R.V. awaits with an amazing massage therapist (Denise), dinner to refuel and a good night's sleep. The routine will begin again tomorrow at 3 a.m. on September 11th. --------------------------------- Emails to me from Chris dated 7/31 & 8/2/00:   "Today, we had a good P.T. (work out). We did a burn-out calisthenic, then a swim/obstacle course. It hurt!! You would jump off this pier, swim about 100 yards, with fins on, climb a rope (using no legs) about 20 ft to the t...