32nd Annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games

Friday brought about an entirely new experience for me.  A group of us rode on a bus to Richmond, VA to volunteer at the Wheelchair Games.  After waiting for the bus that arrived about an hour late Keenan, Pete, Kristin, Laura, and our fellow interns boarded to take the roughly two and a half hour trip.  We arrived at a convention center in the heart of Richmond, and boarded a shuttle to where the field events where taking place.  I volunteered in one of the throwing areas for shot put, discuss, javelin, and club throw.  We would help get the throwers positioned properly, either in their chairs or in some specially designed chairs to aid in motion and distance.  Then we would bring them whichever object they wished to throw, mark the spots, and then measure the distances to be recorded.  It felt great to help the competitors out, and you could tell it was a big deal for them.  I had previously contacted UW-Whitewater's wheelchair basketball coach, Jeremy "Opie" Lade, to see if he knew anybody that may be present at the event from UW-W.  He told me that a Harold Hack, Whitewater alum, would be there.  I did my best to try and track him down, but armed with only a name and none of his events transpiring on that day, it was a bit of a daunting task.  I was able to speak to a Carl that said he knew him, and that he believed Harold's basketball team may have made it to the Final Four.  Well, of course his team did, they have a Warhawk on the squad! I asked Carl to say hello for me when he sees him next, and I hope the message will make it Harold's way.  After helping set up the indoor slalom course, and trying out the basketball court (tough rim), I stopped at Penny Lane's Pub two blocks from the convention site with some new friends to enjoy a pint.  Allagash White was on tap, and copious amounts of British decor lined the walls of the inviting watering hole.  After one round we headed back to hop on the homeward bound bus.  The trip home was an hour longer than the trip there due to a couple of accidents along the highway that bottle-necked traffic for miles.  Pete managed to entertain us as he fought off sleep while listening to music on his headphones to drowned out our laughter.  We decided to just relax at home once we made it back, and a good decision it was as a swift, powerful storm rolled in seemingly unannounced.  The wind began whirling at very high speeds, and the rain poured for a brief time.  Trees were knocked down, power was out all around the area, and the Metro was damaged.  We were safe and sound in the RAF for the evening, but the damage did cause some logistical problems for our activities on Saturday.