Dear List Members

Just wanted to share this email which describes the last few
hours of the PPAA bike ride across America. Donna Kos and
Wallace Teal, who both have lost loved ones to the PD fight,
cycled from Loma Linda CA to St. Augustine Fl., just over
3000 miles. Any words that you might have acknowledging
their accomplishment I'm sure would be appreciated. You can
learn more about their trip and the return trip that begins
next week by a different group at:

http://parkinsonspower.org/

The e-mail addresses of Wallace and Donna are:

[log in to unmask]
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Big Trackers is the name Wallace gave to his friends, family
and elementary school students who have followed his journey
across the country and offered encouragement and prayers.

Regards,
Bob Martone
http://www.kingwoodcable.com/martone


Dear Big Trackers:

Thanks to everyone that has tracked me during the past ten
weeks. This was
such an exciting and wonderful ride. In Paltka we were well
received and were
guest of the fire department in a beautiful motel
overlooking the St. Johns
River.
I received many e-mail letters on the last night. One from
my personal
coach/adviser/ and trainer. The message was simply, most
games are lost in
the final two seconds of the game, don't loose your
concentration and keep
focused until the finish line is crossed. You have come to
far to loose this
one now. And I say, thanks Coach Rankin. The last days ride
was to be short.
Andrea and Christopher had come to join me. We rode to
within 10 miles of St.
Augustine and staged at a small cafe for two hours. During
this time we
decorated the van with banners, flags, more flags, and had
blue and gold
ribbons all over the van. It really looked good and the
excitement was
flowing through me and the heart hate was racing away. At
11:20 three bikers
came out from the city to meet and escort us to the finish
line. My comment
was I can't be early and I can't be late I gave my word to
Charlie Chisholm
that I would be there at 1 P.M. I had called Charlie the
night before to
synchronize our watches and told him to look down the street
at 12:59 and he
would see me coming. So the mood was right for the finish.
We proceeded to
ride the final 10 miles and staged again at a fire station
in the city for 45
minutes. We are now only 15 minutes away. At 12:40 we began
the ride again,
now being escorted by a police car and stopped two blocks
from the finish. At
12:59 I hit the side of the patrol car with the, let's get
moving. By now my
heart is up in my through and racing away. As we approached
the plaza and
could hear the crowd cheering I could see Charlie and Mary
standing there
with my blue and gold ribbons stretched across the street. I
turned the final
corner and not had my two large flags, US and Panama,
stretched over my head
as high as I could hold them. Rolled up to the ribbons and
made a sudden
stop, reached in my back pocked, pulled out the scissors
with the blue and
gold streamers attached to them, stretched out my arm, snip,
the ride was
over. It was truly the feeling of success, victory,
accomplishment, triumph,
the end of another ride. Charlie and Mary had a wonderful
reception planned
in the plaza. I was pinned with the city pin, presented a
Connondale Team
riding shirt because of the bike I was riding, I special
message read from
Panama, Message read from NY PDF, speech by doctor from NPD,
greetings from
Ken Younkin, son Kevin waiting at the finish line to greet
me, a banner that
people later signed and gave to me, bottle of rum from
Paradise Avenue, hugs
and kisses from many well wishers, greeted by PD friends
from Miami that came
up to greet me. Matt Drayton, the young man that starts his
trip back to the
West coast this week was there to greet me. He gave such a
touching and
wonderful speech. How he was so honored to receive the blue
and gold and
would proudly take the colors to his team mates and they
would honor and
proudly take them back to the West coast. We then went to
the fire station
down the street for refreshments and food. Charlie and Mary
had done a
wonderful job, something that anyone would have been proud
of. Everything I
received at the finish line was so great but to top them all
was when a PD
man came shuffling up to me in the fire station, not able to
speak a word but
held up three fingers to me and his wife replied to me, that
is his sign for
saying thank you. Ripped my heart out and yours to. So many
stories to tell
if only I had the time. That night Charlie had rooms with
neighbors for six
of us to stay but I told Charlie that we needed to stay
together as a team so
guess where we all stayed, that's right, all over Charlie's
house. Matt and I
talked until 1 AM. He is truly prepared and ready for his
challenge and they
he said the wrong thing. "Mr. Teal, you are more than
welcome to join us and
if you say yes, I can make it happen. What is running
through my head at this
point, the adrenaline is pumping and what the hell my bag is
already packed
and ready? I'm sure that I will join him at a later date
during his trip,
they range in age of 19 - 27 and will average 90 miles per
day. So I said if
you see someone ahead this summer with blue and gold
streamers flowing in the
breeze it just might be someone you know and if he falls in
line when you
pass him by don't look back for the ol man is good to go.
Trackers it has
been a great trip with many more to come. This ride is over
but the Janet
Johnston fights Parkinson's will not end until the cure is
found. Thanks for
everything, you keep tracking and I'll keep trucking. I love
you.
Love, Wallace