September 2013 Letter |
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Friends: We've been busy since
our last email. Two weeks ago Lee and the "Two Craigs" took five
of the older kids to see the Dodgers clobber the Padres in Chavez Ravine.
The seats were given to us by Jeff McFarland and were some of the best in
the whole ballpark, right behind the Dodger dugout. Jeff and his family
have been strong supporters of EE, with a special interest in seeing to it
that finances never stand in the way of a college education. (Pitcher Zack
Greinke saw to it that the Padres didn't stand in the way of the Dodgers.) (l to r) Anthony,
Jesus, Shoe Craig, Alex, Joseph, Jamajae, Trailer Craig:
The boys got to see
one of the best pitchers in the game up close:
Tommy Lasorda sat
right in front of them: Alex: "Is this
where we sit every time we go to a ball game?"
************************************ The kids have been
training hard all summer long in preparation for our annual "Race
for CAF," to see which five of them get to go to San Diego and run in
the Challenged Athletes Foundation's Triathlon Challenge on October 20 in
La Jolla. Today was the big day, with about three dozen kids competing in
5K, 10K and 10-mile races.
Jesus Soto (wearing a
vanity t-shirt?) Behind him is Isi Ibarra, who was one of the winners in
our very first Race for CAF when she was eleven years old. She's now a
freshman at Riverside Community College...on a track scholarship! The winners: Anthony
Patterson, Alex Sanchez, Jamajae Gladden, Ian English (not shown) and
Manual Montenegro (not shown): [* SEE CORRECTION,
BELOW] There were also other
awards, celebrating other achievements: Arian: Age group 1st
place. Inland Empire 5K Anthony: Third place,
Santa Barbara (half Ironman distance) Vanessa: Toughest! Natalie: Most
Reliable!
As you can see in all
these photos, we're still making great use of all those terrific medals
you donated:
Ryan got a tiara for
completing fifty gritty miles of the Leadville 100 before being forced out
by a knee injury.
A special moment for
Anthony: I gave him my finisher's medal from last week's Ironman 70.3
World Championship in Las Vegas, because it's the same as the one won by
his hero, second-place pro finisher and former world champion Terenzo
Bozzone. (You can see Lee's story and photos of that event on the Ironman
website.)
Before breaking up for
the day, I had a heart-to-heart with our seniors about their college
plans:
A splendid time was
had by all!
[* CORRECTION] Friends: Ian
Manuel and Jamajae
Alex
Jesus
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