We were so sad to leave Ketchum and Sun Valley because of all the wonderful people we met last night there and the beautiful experiences we had. Today’s miles took us further through the vastness of southern Idaho towards Mountain Home on our way to Boise.

No matter how many wonderful people we have to leave behind because of our constant motion forwards, we always know that somewhere ahead there are more people who wish to share the same sentiments of world harmony and friendship with us. I would like to mention two people from Honesdale, Pennsylvania who stopped for us on the road today. As Slava and I were waiting for Damon to finish his run to the service car, Ernie Hooker and his wife drove up to us. Ernie enthusiastically came out telling us that our runner is coming and that he saw him down the road. He took a few photos of us and as we spoke about world harmony he expressed how much he liked out motives and efforts. Then he offered us a small donation out of the kindness of his heart. We never ask for monetary donations from strangers but some people just need to offer us something in this way as an expression of their sincere appreciation for our cause. They are traveling to Seattle where their son will be the Valedictorian at his graduation. We told him that we will also be in Seattle soon and we wished each other good luck and a safe journey. Maybe we will meet up with them again.

Goran (Serbia)

Today we had no scheduled meetings but as Goran mentioned in the story above, we always meet such interesting and sincere people on the road everyday.

The women’s team was running very low on gasoline for the Motor Home or R.V.. There were no big towns around and they were worried they may not make it to the next town. A very nice man named Paul stopped and offered 5 gallons of gasoline to get them to the next town. He was traveling through this area from the South and felt inspired to help out. This is truly an act of selfless giving and harmonious friendship that we appreciated very much.

As I was running towards the end of our day, I ran through the quaint little town of Mountain Home. It was a very pleasant run with thoughtful people and very little traffic to make the running a bit more pleasant. We had no meetings here and the day seemed rather quiet for my team of Morris and Salil. I have experienced many times in the past though, that when the day seems quiet and uneventful we usually have some nice experiences in the last few miles. Today it happened again. I was in my last mile and thought of gratitude even when we do not have lots of people or ceremonies to inspire us. I wanted to feel the harmony with whatever was supposed to happen and at the same time have no expectations. As I was thinking this, a car stopped up ahead and three very little girls got out with their dad and started cheering and clapping. It was so sweet and sincere that I had to hold back the tears of gratitude and joy. They were the Quale family traveling from southern New Mexico. They passed me as I was running my last mile with the lit torch and they were very moved by this. After a brief explanation and some photos, I asked them to drive up to my service vehicle and get some brochures and stickers from them. My teammates started looking for me because I had been so long in my last mile. We all met up and the Quales seemed quite pleased to have stopped and met us all.

At this point, just when the sweet little suprises seemed over for the day, another simple but sweet event occurred. As I was finishing the last half mile, I saw Morris posing for Salil who was taking his photo in front of a street sign. As I got close I noticed that the sign read, ‘Morris Way’. Behind Morris was a long freight train which had some of the cars on it with the word ‘Kline’ on them. Salil, Morris and I were simply amazed and amused because Morris’ last name is ‘Klein’. Close enough for amazing serendipity.

Even though we may not remember the names of all those who stop for us, we are grateful to all of you who offer your time or goodwill even if it is just a friendly wave. In Mountain Home we also had a few very kind and generous people who offered us food and shelter. Jason and Helen Lau own and manage a wonderful Chinese Restaurant called the Golden Crown. It is very delicious and freshly prepared food. They offered us many healthy and tasty dishes to choose from and really made our day complete and happy.

We also were treated to nice rooms at the Town Centre Motel by Gordon Russel and his staff. This wonderful motel is situated near the Center of town and is very convenient and hospitable. We thank you all for such selfless contributions to our team.

The local KOA Campground also kindly offered us a campsite and tent site. KOA’s have always been very kind and friendly towards us.

This is all I can remember after a long day and midnight having been long gone. Until another wonderful tomorrow…

Arpan and Team Harmony.

---

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

< USA 12 June

USA 14 June >