Day 5 & 6 -- Carson City, NV

It was a short day across the border to Nevada. We rode into the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Carson City and preformed Kids on the Block for the first time. KOB (as it is called) is a puppet show that emphasizes the abilities of people with disabilities. I play the role of Renaldo, a blind 11 year old who shows off his abilities in a confrontation with the high-pitched Brenda. Not many of us are involved with the puppet show, but it is great fun and full of humor. It was kind of hard to contain my laughter because I had preformed a not-so-serious version for the team earlier that week and the puns were almost impossible to miss. Despite the jokes, I have to say I have learned a lot so far about the different disabilities people have and I am proud to be teaching others about what I know so far. A cute 4 year old little girl named Sabrina befriended me at that visit and showed such compassion to the puppet named Renaldo (which I was carrying around after the show) that it really made me believe what we do has an impact on children. She helped him talk to other children and find his way around. It really warmed my heart

That night, I went out to a Casino for the first time and lost the $33.00 I had come in with (fully expecting it). One brother made over a $100.00 at roulette and bought us all drinks at a local pub to celebrate. It was our first night out on town on the trip and a great bonding experience. I challenged for the first time and it was fun to see how much I shared with brothers from other chapters (A “challenge” is how you recognize another Pi Kapp—it is part of the esoteric side of Fraternity).

The next morning was our first day off, and we went to the Children’s Museum and got to reconnect with our inner child. There were so many fun things to do there! We spent the first 30 to 45 minutes simply playing and interacting with the children at the different hands-on exhibits the museum had to offer. A couple of the brothers pretended to be sick patients while a team of young “doctors” distributed shots and various other treatments. I was the only one to win a virtual maze in which you control a ball by moving around the floor and tilting the plateau. I even got my name on a Hall of Fame! We successfully preformed KOB to a large audience and made it much smoother show.

The second night, I meet an MD at a dinner sponsored by the local Lion’s Club. An avid cyclist and surgeon, I explained to him my injuries and concerns. Outside of the professional context, he told me the following: “I am going to give you my honest opinion as a doctor. You can cycle if you’d like and you will have pain in your elbow. If that pain is bearable and disappears in the evening, you are good to go for the summer. However, if it shoots up your arm when you cycle and you are up at night with pain, this trip is essentially over for you.”

Tomorrow is a big day for me. I can’t sleep.

(Also let me explain the video: every morning we circle up as a team and talk about the day. Team members naturally forget items in lodging. Grant Tanabe, the project manager, picks these up and then forces people to do a funny dance and song in the morning to get them back. Today was the “I love you” song by Barney. Sorry no sound.)