Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Day 63: Guest Post

Greetings from Stamford, CT and more specifically Seaside (the nickname for Paul's residence when not out at sea), where Paul lives with his four, yes count them, four roommates!! I am Melissa (a roommate and frequent blog commenter under the name Melissa M). Paul has been a resident of Seaside for three years, the three years he has been training for this row! We have breathed, eaten, and slept Row for Hope for the past three years… and, quite literally, we have breathed in the air after Paul's three-hour workouts, have eaten the freeze dried food with him for taste-testing purposes, and have slept right upstairs from Paul and can tell you that he is a snorer.


Life Before the Row: Paul's training over the past 3 years has been inspiring - the 5 AM workouts, followed by his full-time job, followed by the night workouts, and the planning for the trip. It made me exhausted just watching and hearing about everything that went into the preparation for the row. My absolute favorite part of Paul's training, and probably my best memories at Seaside, are the nights on our porch and what I would call his training for the mental portion of the row. The Seaside roommates sat out on the porch quizzing Paul about celestial navigation, asking every ridiculous question we could think of about rowing across the ocean, and discussed hope, religion, life, cancer, hard-times, joyous times, and most importantly we laughed together.


Life Back at Seaside while Paul is Rowing for Hope (Current Day): Although we are not battling the high seas over here at Seaside, we are battling some crazy snow! We received about 8 inches of snow this past week. See picture below of our house. Although we are deep in snow, our support for the Row for Hope melts through. Check out that sticker!



I cannot forgot to mention our toy boat (resembling Liv) braving the high seas of Paul's bath-tub!



We, like most of you, read the blog daily, forward the link to others, and talk about Paul whenever we get the chance. We are trying to spread the news about Row for Hope, but need even more help!


Life after the Row: These roommates could not be happier to get their fifth back in a month! Stamford is a home away from home for a lot of us that moved here after college, and we have our own little family here. The Seaside family cannot wait to get their CNN celebrity, front-page-of-theStamford-Advocate hero, NPR radio guest, blog extraordinaire back….but not for those reasons. We want him back to sit on the porch and talk about life after the row, allow us to ask ridiculous questions about what it was like at sea for 80+ days, and most importantly laugh together and appreciate every day, hour, and minute that we have in life!


Thanks to all who have supported this expedition and important research at Yale Cancer Center with a donation to Row for Hope. If you haven't donated, or if you would consider donating again, it would be much appreciated. To donate online use the link in the upper right-hand corner of this page or visit www.rowforhope.com.


Melissa

12 comments:

Blonde Saffron said...

That was really nice Melissa. Its great to know that Paul has so much support back at home!

Erinn from Toronto

Anonymous said...

Great post, Melissa, and save some room on the couch for me -- it won't be long before the Better Ridley is crashing Seaside again!

:-)

Anonymous said...

Melissa,
I enjoyed your comments about Paul's home life. You mentioned that he was an NPR radio guest. When did that happen or is that something that is going to happen in the future?

Anonymous said...

Melissa...great job on the post. In fact that was the best post yet. (Hey Paul, just kidding, Melissa is my daughter.) Although we have not met yet, there are a lot of us out here that are your extended family, and please know that we are very proud of what you are doing, and what you will ultimately accomplish. Your drive and determination are truly an inspiration. Keep up the great work.

P.S. Do you have any Jimmy Buffett on that Ipod?

Thank you....Take care..

Anonymous said...

Hey Meliss, that was a great post! Ok so this is my first time doing this and i'm not sure if Paul read this.... however I'm just gonna assume that he does. So, Paul I hope you are doing great out there and staying safe!! ... and I am looking forward to a Coming Home Seaside Party were you can tell me alllll about how your frat was started at Norwich. Hahaha

Be Safe!

Anonymous said...

Melissa,
It's nice to know about Paul's other life and thank you for being such a great support for him at Seaside and while he's at sea! Faith and friends -- without them we'd be lost!

Nadine (Paul's stepm-mother)

And Paul,I have some great stuff to soak away those salt sores when you get back. Can't wait to see you! Oh, yeah, and chocolate-peanut butter brownies! The best!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Paul,

Nice fill in this morning! I hope things are well. Keep your eyes open for those ships!

The news in Norwalk is that the snow should be melted this weekend and a small taste of Spring. Hopefully by the time you get home from your little trip, the trees will be budding and the birds singing.

Melissa said it best, we are ready to see you home and hear about your amazing feat!

Keep the faith....

Charles

Anonymous said...

Hi Buddy - Nice job Melissa. Folks should get to know a little about the man behind the Super-Rower Suit. We have known Paul since he was what - maybe 6? Now those are the good stories. You can wrestle them out of us in Antigua for the cost of drinks with fruit & little umbrellas in them as we sit harborside with binoculars waiting for a Liv sighting! Paul, you can buy our silence for the same price! Stories or no, we appreciate the amazing young man you have become. And we are equally anxious to have the falling-out-of-the-chair goofball back in our midst!(that story may cost 2 drinks!) Be strong, keep up the fight - head in the game, ass in the boat - xxoo -

Anonymous said...

To Zack Bloom from Day 62 - Nope, not Lincoln Ave in Brooklyn - Binghamton. We are long time Ridley neighbors - the night skies are dimmed by the glow from The SuperStar across the street!
Thanks for your continued support of Row for Hope - it means a lot to the whole team!

Anonymous said...

Paul -

This is too eerie. I'm here in snowy Fairfield, CT keeping up with your progress, drawn to your already incredible accomplishment for a variety of reasons:
-Colgate Alum ('86) - in fact just came back from 'Gate's double-home hockey games (tied with Union/won against RPI, both in sudden death OT)
-Daughter involved with crew out of Saugatuck Rowing Club
-My mother passed away after a valient battle with breast and then tongue cancer last April.
-That same beloved mother grew up on Seminary Avenue in Bingamton, about 3 blocks from Lincoln Avenue. I therefore spent countless hours in Recreation Park, as my grandparent's house was across the street from the tennis courts.
-And my dad is a cancer survivor like yours...

Six degrees of separation with a true hero in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, rowing his heart out to attain an enormous goal.

Carry on buddy - you have a lot of people pulling for you!
Sarah B.

Anonymous said...

Dear Paul,
We saw your picture of Ernie in the bath tub boat with his rubber duckie!!!!! It sure did make us laugh. Speaking of duckies, have you found any bathtub toys out at sea? There were 21,000 lost at sea in 1992 and some were just found a few months ago.
Thanks for the ha ha!
Mrs Black and her 25 interested students

Anonymous said...

Paul...you are doing great! Absolutely amazing!! Whenever I start to whine about some little annoyance, a voice in my head scolds me - hey, quit complaining & think of Paul out there rowing his heart out on the great Atlantic! The voices in my head don't always make sense but they are good about reminding me about you. Actually, you are on my mind & in my heart all the time and in my prayers, too.

Love, Aunt Jane