I had a wonderful seventh grade humanities teacher; Mr. Hockenberry. A former concert pianist and American Ambassador, he was full of funny and illumining stories; he knew how to stretch our imaginations to the limit.

Today, as I entered Compton-Drew Middle School in the easternmost part of Missouri, holding the Harmony Torch high over my head, I hoped that I might, in my own small way, be able to impart some inspiration and joy to these seventh-graders.

An international team of Harmony Runners, we engaged the kids by having them guess which city or country we were from by giving cultural clues. For example, one of our European runners asked the children which country Mozart was from. We got mostly blank stares, but one little boy in the front of the room raised his hand and said, “Austria!”

The teachers became like children themselves, passing the torch amongst themselves and posing and smiling and snapping photos of each other.

At the end of the ceremony we sang our wonderful, contagiously exuberant “World Harmony Run” song. The students all clapped time for us. On their way out, each child held the torch for a few seconds and offered a silent prayer for world oneness and international friendship.

Harmony and love are two really rare qualities in this world. But today I felt that these children helped us to foster these values in a really tangible, direct way. I am so grateful to them! We also would like to thank the staff of the school, especially Assistant Principal Haliburton, for their participation in this event.

Morris

We are always eager to share our enthusiasm and hope for harmony and friendship in the world with the children wherever we go. Even when they do not know that we are coming to their town, children get quite excited when they see us running with the flaming torch. As we ran to Compton-Drew Middle School, we passed a Science Center where there was a bus load of high school children were having a field trip. They cheered us with excitement as we started to run past. We could not just pass them by without telling them what we were doing and offering them some of the stickers we were carrying which have our logo and website address.

This impromptu meeting was short and sweet but had a lasting impact on our own consciousness. Hopefully a few of the children there will also remember it and be inspired to work for the establishment of harmony and goodness in this ever-growing complex world.

We are so grateful to the teachers and adults who are always working with children, trying to instill in them the positive values which we all are trying to cultivate in our lives regardless of age, race, nationality or beliefs. Harmony knows no age or color, so in this sense the universal principles we are trying to share belong to everyone and are for everyone to enjoy.

We offer our gratitude to those who offer us their kindness and oneness in the form of services, accommodations and food as well, which keep this volunteer organization going, mile by mile and from day to day. Today we had the kind people of the Super 8 Motel in Jefferson City offer us some rooms to stay in. We also had a complimentary room in the Best Western Capital Inn. We are so grateful for such comfortable accommodations.

Our meal at the Pizzaria Napolitana offered so generously by Ria Totsikas and her husband Chris was incredibly delicious and enjoyable. Ria welcomed us like a mother would welcome her children whom she had not seen for a while. We are so grateful to her and her staff as well for their kindness and warmth.

Arpan (New York)

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