Our first school today was the Forest Hill Elementary School.

We ran into the gymnasium where hundreds of children greeted us along with their teachers. After our presentation, Mobile City Council Vice President Fred Richardson read the Mayor’s Proclamation declaring today World Harmony Run Day. He said if he had the authority he would proclaim this day everywhere, “in every state, every country, every mountain and mole hill”. We are so grateful to Mr. Richardson for his enthusiasm and understanding of our message.

Also all the teachers, the Principal and the children of course, were quite hospitable and welcoming considering this meeting was arranged at the last minute.

It felt as if they had prepared for our arrival for some time as their receptivity and participation was quite positive and heart-warming.

Just before going into Forest Hill Atulya, our team captain, was fortunate enough to be interviewed by Fox. We didn't get to see the coverage as we had to move on to the next city, but we are very grateful to them for coming out to cover our story.

Our next school, Semmes Elementary, was in the nearby town of Semmes.

Nancy Pierce, the PR director who also helped to arrange this school program, was able to make it to this ceremony at one point.

Principal Sharon Anderson was not able to make it but Mary Susan Lowery, one of the teachers, was able to accept our Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the Principal and the school. These children were also quite excited yet very well behaved.

Their politeness and patience in answering questions without all screaming out at once was very encouraging to us. Harmony seems to be an important quality that is taught in this school and it showed as we interacted with them during our ceremony.

As we were watching our video presentation with the children, I was able to speak to a couple of students sitting near me, like Faith Batdorf.

She, like many of the students here, seemed to have a keen understanding of the importance of faith and respect in cultivating harmony in the school and the family as well.

Tonight we were treated to an all-you-can-eat bar of salads, pizza and pasta for half-price at Cici’s Restaurant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The food and service was great as all the employees there were very polite and helpful.

It really means alot to us when people go out of their way to talk to us or to hold the Torch and offer their own thoughts and prayers for a more harmonious world. We carry all these good wishes with us and try to share them with the people down the road who we will eventually meet.

In this way we are fed, nourished and inspired by so many people, most of whom may not have known we were even coming their way. It keeps us energized and hopeful that what we are doing does have a positive effect on the present and the future of this sometimes troubled world which always needs everyone's help to progress to a brighter and happier, harmonious future.

Kokila adds:

Today our team didn't start their running until 2pm. In the morning we visited the two schools with the rest of the team. We were then supposed to drive a few miles before starting, but our car seemed to have an electrical problem - none of the dashboard guages were working. After some investigation Arpan thought it might just be a blown fuse, so we drove into town to try to find a replacement. Just buying the fuses seemed to do the trick, because when we started the car this time all the guages were back working again.

We did make one more stop too, to buy some cajun boiled peanuts, a Southern speciality. Not the best thing to eat before running, but needs must!

The main thing to say about today's running, especially starting so late in the afternoon, is - hot, hot, hot! The 98 is lined with beautiful trees, which very nicely blocked any breeze, giving the effect of running in an oven.

One of our other teams, who had done all their miles already in the morning, very compassionately came down the route to find us and delivered a bag of ice for our coolbox. We certainly needed it to cool off after each running section - by the end we had used it all up.

I would just like to say "hi!" to Mike White, who saw me on the road and stopped to see me. He's a New York resident these days, but his roots and heart are in Mississipi. I didn't have a camera to take his photo, but his support helped me through a hot, hilly run. Thanks for stopping Mike!

Thank you so much to the Comfort Suites in Hattiesburg for providing excellent accommodations. The rooms were beautiful and huge!

– Arpan and Kokila

Distance: 97 miles

Team Members:
Arpan DeAngelo (New York), Atulya Lee Berube (San Diego), Yuyudhan Hoppe (Minnesota), Mark Collison (England), Kshetragna (Russia), Surya (Russia), Vladimir Salnicov (Moldova), Kokila Chamberlin (Wales), Salil Wilson (Australia), Vajra Henderson (New York), Drsalu Gruenstaeudl (Austria)

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