On Saturday, January 20th, we went to “Expo”.
This is where Tinker Bell participants pick up anything that was needed for the
event. Because of being part of Team in Training and fundraising, we also
received a one day one park pass. After
that, we wandered through expo. As
we got to the back wall, we picked up our event shirts and a bag to put everything
in. Then we looked around to see if anything at the expo just had to come home
with us. There are all sorts of
things to purchase there. There were clever t-shirts about running, running
gear, nutrition supplements, tutus, plaques, and many more items.
While going through Expo, Lupe mentioned that she had an
appointment around 1:00 with a friend. My first thought was that this was odd,
because she had mentioned that she was coming to Anaheim to hang out and do
whatever it is that we (the event participants) were doing, but I dismissed it.
Somehow I got on the topic of this “Friend” being someone that she had met on
line. She didn’t deny it, but I’m not sure she actually confirmed that. I asked
her, “you’ve met this friend before?” she said yes. I said, “so you trust this
friend?” she said yes. She said that she might be going to lunch so Tee
(another friend who ran in this event) and I would go to have lunch together
and wander around Downtown Disney while we waited for Lupe to come back.
Tee and I wanted to go to a restaurant that we didn’t have
in Boise and ended up at “Blues Brothers” for lunch. We were both very happy
with our lunch choice. After lunch, we just started walking around Downtown
Disney. We looked through stores, people watched and made a couple of
purchases. My phone rang and I
picked up. Lupe said that she was done, but that they hadn’t eaten lunch. So
she needed to get something. I let Lupe know where we were at that moment. I
got off the phone with Lupe and told Tee that she hadn’t had lunch. Both of us
looked at each other and asked, “What kind of guy would take her out at lunch
time and not feed her lunch???” About that time, my friend Julie called me. Julie
wanted to know how California was. She was in Florida at a vet clinic with her
husband, so I asked her how Florida was. She said it was rainy, cold, and
windy. I was bummed for her, but happy that I was in sunny, warm, and slightly
breezy California.
My phone rang again, and it was Lupe. I hurriedly hung up with Julie, asking
if I could call her back in just a minute because I knew that Lupe should be
getting close. I called Lupe right back and let her know where we were sitting,
waiting for her. And then I realized I hadn’t picked up my free park pass. I told Lupe that I should call my Team
In Training contact and find out where I needed to go to get that. Lupe had her directions to find Tee and
me, so I called my TNT contact and left a message. She called right back and
let me know that there was a booth in the Expo where I needed to get the ticket.
Meanwhile, as Bonni talked, I watched Lupe come up to Tee and me with her camera
out. She appeared to be taking pictures of Tee and me, but then I hear this,
“Come here often?” I look over my
left shoulder and…WHAT??? Julie was right there!!! Things have suddenly become
crystal clear. Lupe wasn’t headed
out on a date. She went to the airport to pick up Julie. Yes, Julie had been in
Florida that day, but she flew to California to surprise me. They decided to play around a little
bit, so Lupe called me. While she was talking with me, Julie called me. While
Julie was talking to me, Lupe called me again. Julie was thinking that the fact
that both of them had the same music playing in the truck would be a dead give
away. Me? “What music?”
I was completely blown away by the thoughtfulness of those
two friends.
That evening, we went to the inspiration dinner to carb load
and hear how much money Team in Training raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society. All of the participants of TNT together raised over $800,000 because
of that one event. How cool is
that???
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