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This student is obviously distraught; a close friend he’s grown up with was killed after being shot multiple times last night on Mt. Ephraim Avenue. He tells me he’s not available to make Sunday’s practice and he won’t be able to be part of the team anymore. I text him back that I am very sorry for his loss, but the practice is not scheduled to start until the following Sunday.
Afterwards, I begin thinking about some of the events that happen in the lives of my kids. Later that weekend, I pick up one of my students from his home in South Camden and, as he gets into the car shaking his head like only a seventeen year old can do, he grumbles, “My mom, she always says the same three things to me when I leave the house - ‘I love you, be safe and don’t get shot’.
‘Don’t get shot!?’ I know that, as parents, we have a long list of worries as our teenagers walk out the door on a Saturday night, but for most of us, having them get shot down in the street is not one of our concerns.
Back at school the next week, I spoke to the young man who texted me about not being able to be part of the team any longer…I told him I thought the team was part of the solution for him. I told him he couldn’t let the bullets that left his friend to “bleed out” on the street also take him down. He needed to ride for his friend and, even more, for himself; otherwise those bullets would just go on killing more and more young people.
So, if you ask me why we ride, I’ll tell you stories about some of the most amazing and resilient young people I’ve ever met. I look forward to sharing the road with you on May 7th and thank you to everyone, riders and supporters alike…you keep us trekking and, most of all, believing!
UrbanTrekkers love the journey; whether trekking through a foot of snow while participating in our January Outdoor Leadership training with zip lines and vertical towers or kayaking on the Assateague Bay alongside wild ponies. This past Saturday was no exception as we loaded up the Trekker Bus and headed up the turnpike to New York City for an urban adventure.
There were thirty of us, students and mentors, Trekkers all, as we boarded the Staten Island Ferry. The free ferry over to Manhattan has to be one of the best travel deals going anywhere. In spite of the cold, biting wind, the students stood out on the bow deck to view the Statue of Liberty and the amazing New York City sky line. This urban adventure was full of first-time experiences for many of our new and younger students; first time to New York, first time on the ferry and first time riding the subways. It was also the first time I led thirty Trekkers through the canyons and caverns of the “Big Apple” - yikes!
I’ve canoed with students alongside Alligators in the Everglades and set up camps next to fresh bear tracks on the Appalachian Trail, all of which pales compared to herding 30 people through the ferry and subways of New York. Whether hiking a wilderness trail or trekking across 42nd Street, teamwork and leadership skills are a must. Maps and routes, itineraries, clothing check list as well as finding an affordable place to eat in Manhattan all contribute to a good day out. Designating a point person and “sweeps” that will bring up the rear are further essentials to a safe and enjoyable outing both in the city and in the wild.
Students got the chance to ice skate on the outside rink at Bryant Park, eat at a Mexican Restaurant, and hike through Times Square, ride subways and the ferry and spend the day in New York City. All this and we didn’t lose a trekker! God is good.
Keep on trekking,
Jim
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