After spending a nice night at our hotel, the Best Western Beachside, that so kindly offered us four complimentary rooms overlooking the Gulf of Mexico where the crashing of the waves on the shore lulled us to sleep, we headed back to our running route. Today’s itinerary had us running west on Hwy. 90. We passed a military aircraft museum on the way out, and Damon had a little encounter with a dark brown snake in the bushes at the beginning of our day.

The road carried us through small towns that were spread out over large areas. We passed over some bridges that crossed wide murky rivers tinted a brownish-red that were densely populated with trees and wildlife, maybe even some alligators. We were making our way towards Pensacola to the Ferry Pass Elementary School where we had a program scheduled for 12:45 a.m.

We met up with the rest of our World Harmony Run Team outside of the Ferry Pass School and then ran in together carrying the torch to the playground. The local newspaper was there as well as the local ABC News affiliate taking video footage as we ran a “victory lap” around the field with some of the children. We introduced ourselves to the kids and Arpan said a few words about harmony and how children can relate to it and understand it in their own lives. The children were eager to receive our popular World Harmony Run stickers and each of the runners had an opportunity to speak with the children while handing them out. We ended with the dynamic and rhythmical World Harmony Run song composed by its founder, Sri Chinmoy. The kids love to clap along with us and even sing with us as it is quite a catchy tune. We even noticed many of the teachers joining in with us.

Each classroom had made very colorful and creative signs welcoming us and which were given to us after the ceremony. Many of the children were so proud of their creations as they showed us where they signed their names also. We were offered a school T-shirt and bottles of spring water for which we are very grateful. Water is, of course, our first and foremost staple out here as we run through increasingly hotter weather.

After the program we headed to the Hospitality Inn which has kindly offered us two rooms to get settled in. On the way it was a bit sad to see that some of the buildings and signs in the area still showed signs of damage from Hurricane Ivan that had hit Pensacola last September. It is evident to us as we ran through town today that they are working hard to recover from such a devastating natural disaster. This indeed is a true testament to the enduring human spirit which also inspires us to continue on through all hardships.

After some of us took a short, well deserved nap, we headed out in search of dinner. Sometimes we find nice people in charge of restaurants who offer us a complimentary meal as their way of expressing their support for the concept of world harmony that we are trying to represent as we carry the Torch. We drove around Pensacola for awhile actually having difficulty finding any restaurants because we were stuck in an industrial zone. Eventually we did find a Tijuana Flats (Mexican Style Food) Restaurant. Ron, the manager, was more than happy to provide us with good Mexican food, drinks, cookies, and some super hot sauce (they had about 13 types to choose from). It was a fantastic meal and everybody was satisfied and grateful for such a selfless offering from such a fantastic restaurant. Everyone there was professional, friendly and quite hospitable.

Another fine day on the World Harmony Run again proved to us that there are many kind-hearted people of all ages who are eager to share something good with others in their own unique and heartfelt ways. Florida has been very kind to us and we will surely miss the beauty of the landscape and the people as we make our way into Alabama tomorrow.

Cheers,

Erik, Arpan and the Team

The World Harmony Run Team

Many people ask us, "How many runners do you have on your team?" I feel that the number is increasing as we run from town to town. Every child we give a high five to, every school teacher we talk to, every driver who honks his horn, every one who stops and asks us what we are doing, every one that cheers us on, every one that runs with us, every one that holds the torch is on our team. Every kindergarten, every elementary and middle school, every boys and girls club, every baseball game, every Hindu temple, every restaurant that sponsors a free lunch or dinner, every hotel that puts us up for the night is on our team because we couldn't do this run without them. They make this endeavor possible because of their enthusiastic support and inspiration. And that is what keeps us running. That support is our fuel and it's also exactly what we are running for and what the World Harmony Run is all about.

This is something I realized today when I saw Lavonne Haven the executive director of the CampFire Boys and Girls for the second time and saw how she organized the Fairview Elementary school ceremony. I spoke to her for some time and felt like I was reuniting with an old friend. When the run came to Pensacola in 2001 I contacted her and she so enthusiastically said, "You just tell me when you're coming and I'll take care of everything else." Just like a team player she took the run as her own. I was so happy to see her again and I'm so grateful to her for organizing such a wonderful ceremony.

I also have to thank my parents for coming to Tallahassee to meet me and all the runners. My mother cooked food for 12 people. Eleven of which she hadn't even seen before. Plus, my father and her drove nearly 500 miles to bring the food to us. And the food was AWESOME! We had enough for dinner and seconds, plus lunch the next day. I am so grateful to my mother and father for the love and inspiration that they gave to me and all the runners.

My parents, Lavonne Haven, the children, and the people who help organize the ceremonies, and all the people who know about the run and check out the website are all on the World Harmony Run team. We are all running together, each one of us in his or her own way, towards World Harmony.

Michal

Poland

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