Truck Trip Blog

Soooo, it's been a year since we took off on our truck trip.              

Hard to believe, but a year has gone by since we sailed around the country from Doylestown. Most things went back to normal since then. But a few have remained changed.

One of my favorite new things is my lasting friendship with Margarette. We still get on the phone and sometimes remenice, but mostly talk about what we are doing now. She is a very vibrant lady and a model to us all on how to live a great life throughout all the years we are given.

Something else that has changed is that I finished ministerial school and am now an ordained non-denominational minister through The Circle of Miracles School of Ministry. Circle of Miracles is a wonderrful community of cutting edge thinkers who are exploring inner space and the world around them with open hearts and open minds. I love going there. They were major supporters of the truck trip and I am very grateful to them. I also love their philosophy and wanted to learn more, so I became an affiliate minister.

In addition, (knock on wood), but it feels like everything is more fun now than it was before. It is a wonderful thing.

I'm leaving up my musings from a year ago.Hope you enjoy them.

OMG! I can't believe it's over!

This trip FLEW by! Margarette and I enjoyed a fabulous send-off sponsored by Twilight Wish Foundation and the Dublin Star Diner. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to see us off. Then we got in behind our police escort to the expressway and off we went into the sunset, to the next sunset, to the next sunset... well... you get the idea. We went off into 16 sunsets together, along with 16 sun rises. 

My little pomeranian, Quark, joined us for the ride and provided great puppy love and companionship for myself, Margarette and so many of the seniors at the nursing homes we stopped to visit along the way. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed those visits. I must admit, it didn't sound like visiting nursing homes all across the country was going to be the high points of the trip, but they were. The homes we stopped at were clean and inviting. The staff truly cared about the residents, often telling us not only their names, but also their stories. The welcomes we received from the residents were warm and enthusiastic. Some of the resident leaders were more than 90 years old. Ruben, the president of the residents at the Mesa Manor Care & Rehab Center in Grand Junction, CO was 92 and sharp as the day he graduated college. He and the other residents had made and hung up on a window a large welcome banner for Margarette, welcoming her to their home. It was signed by all the residents. And Quark paid a visit to every one of them.

Or the Perrysburg Care and Rehab Center in Perrysburg, OH. The residents there gathered in a room and waited patiently while Margarette answered the questions of the reporters outside in the 90+ degree heat. I went inside, into the air conditioned environment with Quark and gave everyone a chance to pet her. Eventually, Margarette appeared at the doorway. I saw her there as she took in all the waiting faces looking at her. She paused and took a deep breath. Then I saw a calmness come over her and she entered. It was her first time in front of residents; her first inspirational speech. I didn't know what she was going to say. Soon she was talking about making the most of your life from your current position... that it mattered not where you are, only what you are doing from there. She said, "I remember something I heard Rose Kennedy say in one of her speeches...", and I noticed the residents' attention increase at the mention of that name. Before Margarette was done, some of the residents had tears in their eyes. It occurred to me that I was watching something that few others will ever witness. Margarette was connecting with these people in a way that only people who were there could do. No amount of knowledge or study could reach them like her heart was reaching them. She had been there, and so had they. When she finished, one of the residents spoke up and said she had also been granted a wish by Twilight Wish Foundation two years previously. Twilight Wish had provided her with a dress and shoes so she could go to church with dignity. She had just worn them the previous Sunday. She is 92 years old, and there's nothing wrong with her memory. She was holding her certificate from Twilight Wish in her lap. It was then that I realized that we were on this trip for reasons I couldn't begin to understand, but I was very proud to be the driver of the truck.



Gearing Up

We are about 6 weeks out from our launch date of June 6 from the Doylestown Star Diner. Things are heating up, as one would expect. Who would have thought there would be so many details. We have the schedule, appearances, events, meals, shows, and don't forget the driving time.

Twilight Wish Foundation volunteers are working hard to get everything prepared so Margarette and I have the best time imaginable by only having to think about how far we are going that day and enjoying the ride.

One thing I have noticed about truckers... many of us just seem to love the road. What do they want to do when they retire? They buy a motorhome and travel across the country!!!! What do you think of that? Now, granted, you can go to some pretty cool places that trucks aren't allowed, such as Niagara Falls and most national parks and lots of tourist places. You can also spend a whole bunch of time where ever you want to. But still... really... that's what you want to do to relax? That's why I say, this is a great way to make a living.

The picture on the left was taken of me in a truck stop in Salt Lake City by a friend whom I had stopped to visit with. Check out that smile. I just couldn't be happier. That's how it is when I am trucking. And that is what Margarette will enjoy, too, as we traverse the country... but we need your help.

WE NEED MONEY!

Did I mention that we are in the fundraising part of the preparations? We have to pay for the truck, fuel, food, lodging and all of that! It's not too terribly expensive. We need to raise $15,000. I know we can do that in the time we have left. All I am asking is $25 from everyone I know. If we got that, this trip would be fully funded. There are a couple of ways you can donate. The easiest is to use the donate buttons on this page. Every donation given on this page goes to the truck trip. But if you want every penny you donate to reach us, send us a check and write on the memo line "Truck Wish" to:

Twilight Wish Foundation
P.O. Box 1042
Doylestown, PA 18901

It's not too late to support Twilight Wish Foundation. Check out the sponsorship tab under the Truck Trip tab.

Click here to learn more about Margarette and Twilight Wish Foundation and check out the Countdown Clock.

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4/12/11
Amazing Preparations

There are many ways to know something “is supposed to be.” One of my favorites is when things take place which I have nothing to do with, which I could never had anything to do with, would not have dreamed of and if I had dreamed of them, would never have had the nerve to ask for! When things like that happen which facilitate some large undertaking, I know that whatever it is I’m working on “is supposed to be.” This truck trip is no exception.

As you may or may not know, we originally planned to run this trip early last fall. That was moved back to late last fall and then was postponed over the winter to leave as it is currently scheduled, early this summer. As it kept getting pushed back, that gave me time to get the CD recorded and published and to get other things in order without having to rush through them. So I never begrudged the delay, for I was well aware that the trip would be more fun, better planned and a bigger blast if we took our time and did it right.

I’m here to say, THAT IS WHAT IS HAPPENING right now. Twilight Wish Foundation is hard at work, and has been for some time now with the planning, scheduling, routing, fund raising and doing all the rest of what it takes for a wish this big to be a wild success. Our route is laid out from the time we leave the Doylestown Diner to when we pull in at Margarette’s home in FL, and then when I get back home, myself.

This means stuff for us to do is scheduled all over the place. I love it. I will be playing and singing all across the country. I may even have a full concert in my hometown of Hesperia in the High Desert of San Bernardino. That is very exciting to me. I so look forward to seeing many of my old friends from the first half of my life.

As far as sponsors go, great people are showing up to sponsor us on our way. Thank you to everyone who has already made a donation and pledged as a major sponsor. We will be driving through 23 of the 48 contiguous states. This is huge visibility. To donate to the truck trip, call 215-230-8777 and tell them you want to support Margarette’s Truck Trip. You and your business will be glad you did.

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Back in the Saddle

Our long awaited truck trip is getting back into gear. We had to take some time off because our senior, Margarette tended to her husband after he suffered a heart attack. I am glad to say that he is doing better, and Margarette is ready to get on the road. So Twilight Wish, myself, AARP and everyone else who is necessary to get this trip started are back in the saddle. We are on the phone, meeting face-to-face and coming up with the ideas and energy necessary to get this truck to roll out of Doylestown in June. That is the plan, and we are feeling great about it.

I do have to say, though, that I enjoyed this winter. I liked having the snow on the ground for months. It kept the mud down! Everything stayed white for so long, it was very pretty. I took the time to settle in, rest and regroup. I released my Truck Driving Mama CD in December and we threw a wonderful release party/concert in January. We had a great time. For me winter is a time to sit back and not push so hard. It is a time to reflect on the years gone by and the ones coming up, what is it that I really want to do in the coming year? I'm not talking New Year's Resolutions, though occasionally they work out. I mean bigger things than that. Who do I want to be a year from now? How do I want to be different than I am right now? Do I want to be doing different things? Do I want to be doing things in a different way? If so, what can I do in the days and months to come to start bringing about that change?

As I asked myself these questions this winter, one big answer is that I want to have given Margarette the ride of her life on a great big, beautiful truck. I want this trip to impact more people than just those of us directly involved. I want it to positively impact women truckers nationwide. I want it to positively impact women in general, as well as women who have come before me. If this trip will help a woman feel that she can follow her dream and make it come true, and she puts that dream into action, then this trip is a success. The more women... the more people who are affected that way, the more successful the trip will be.

My job is to do everything I can to get this truck on the road and to see to it that we all stay safe and have as wonderful a time as possible. That is as much as I can do. It is up to everyone else, and the universe in general to do all that other stuff. It is up to those of you who know about this trip to tell your friends. Get them excited. As we put it together, find out where we will be stopping and come out and say "Hi". Pick up some great music. Maybe I'll sing a couple of songs in the restaurants along the way. You can never tell.

To help us get this truck rolling, consider giving a donation. Our costs with this trip will be higher than most wish grants. We have fuel costs, meal and hotel costs and all the usual truck and travel costs. To donate click on one of my donate button or go to Twilight Wish Foundation and fulfill Margarette's wish. For larger gifts and corporate sponsorship, check out the sponsorship schedule on this website by rolling over the truck trip tab and clicking on the sponsorship option. Your company can get some great exposure on our big, beautiful Pete. These options are also available at twilightwish.org.

Thanks,
Annabella



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