D.C. Tour Huge Success!

On our last day in DC, we returned to two of the shelters to conduct interviews and capture some exterior shots. We had a great interview with Amy Vokes at Jobs Have Priority (a program at the Community for Creative Non-Violence shelter) and then taped some exterior shots at Bright Beginnings.

We headed out of town around noon and were tooling along nicely until we ran into a huge traffic jam at the Memorial Bridge in Delaware. Our late model station wagon conked out and coasted to a stop in the left hand breakdown lane. After resting a few minutes, the engine sputtered back to life and we almost made it to the toll booth before the engine quit again. We patiently waited for the engine to cool down then made a run for the nearest exit and gas station.

We filled up with gas, cooled down the engine and resumed our journey. Fortunately, with constant movement and lower night time temperatures, we reached our destination in CT without further incident.

Our first tour was a great success. We touched many people's lives and they touched ours. From the moment we arrived at the first shelter to the last night with the teens recording music in the basement at Community of Hope, we were filled with energy and excitement. We had so much fun and made a lot of new friends.

We learned a lot that will help us on our next tour, San Diego County Nov. 12 - 16. Everyone is excited about the tour and some great events are planned. Our next newsletter will be posted on our web site and sent to all our supporters next week. We will continue to post our adventures on the blog, so come along with us. And
Please keep those donations coming (see Donations at www.heartsoffire.tv)

Community Of Hope, Washington, DC

After some coughing and sputtering, our vehicle found its way to
the alley behind Community Of Hope. Mark, the Assistant
Director, ran out to help us bring in the gear and we took it to
a perfect room for recording in the basement. A little while
later, Igor and his wife (DC graduate art students from Alaska)
arrived to teach the art workshop for the kids. We strung our
Hearts Of Fire banner and soon a boisterous crowd of kids filled
the room as they arrived from school. With Igor's expert
assistance, the kids really went to work and created some
amazing drawings. The workshop was very interactive; everyone
posted their creation on the wall and described what it meant.
(See attached photo)

After the art workshop, several teens showed up to perform some
music in our makeshift recording studio down the hall. Although
most were "mic shy", we all had a great time. As we were
hauling out the gear, one of the counselors took me aside to
explain what it meant to the kids for us to be there. Three of
the teenage girls who participated in the recording sessions had
just arrived at the shelter a week ago with their mom after
their older brother had gone to jail. According the their mom,
two of the girls had stopped talking and the other was acting up
a lot. She said that because of the girls' participation in the
recording sessions, they had totally opened up and were feeling
much better, more like they were before they came to the
shelter.

We also had a great interview with Abdul Nurdeen, the Executive
Director of the Community for Creative Non-Violence, the large
shelter that we visited on Monday. We returned to talk with him
because he was very enthusiastic about our project and the
difference he sees it makes for the people at the shelter.
Abdul is also preparing a letter of recommendation for us!

As we come to the end of our first Hearts Of Fire Tour, I am so
grateful to Dan and Amy for hosting us for four days at their
beautiful home here in Washington, D.C. Without their gracious
support, we would not have been able to make the difference we
have made here with people. Not only did Dan and Amy provide
wonderful sleeping accommodations, but they also gave us
breakfast each day and even a fabulous dinner and great
conversations! Thank you SO MUCH DAN and AMY!!!!

A Fun Day At Bright Beginnings

The people were great at Bright Beginnings, especially the
children. Bright Beginnings is a day and evening care facility
for homeless children from all over Washington, D.C. Families
staying at other shelters bring their children to the shelter
and/or children come there after school. Bright Beginnings
provides a wide variety of innovative programs for the the kids
- they even have a jewelry making program and a small store
where they sell their creations.

Everything went smoothly; we even had a elevator this time.
However, our vehicle had an oil emergency and refused to move
until we fed it a couple of quarts of oil. After that, it was
fine.

Dave Quammen, our incredible art instructor who is committed to
the homeless, delivered a very interactive session to the 4 year
olds at the shelter. All the kids had a great time with Dave
and I think I had even more fun than them (see attached
picture). After the art class, we recorded parents and children
who performed for us in the upstairs conference room. We taped
an interview with Erika Bugai, the great program director at
Bright Beginnings; she is very supportive of Hearts Of Fire and
our effort to bring musical and artistic self-expression to the
homeless.

The only concern that we heard from the participants was why we
couldn't stay longer or come back right away.

We again spent the night at Dan & Amy's very comfortable home
and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and great conversations. Thank
you!

A Fabulous First Day In DC

What a fantastic first day we had at the City Center Shelter, the largest shelter in the city - over 600 beds! The people were wonderful and we were welcomed like heroes!
Hearts Of Fire event posters announced our arrival as Amy Vokes, program director, helped us lug our equipment up 3 flights of stairs and down a very long hallway. The City Shelter is housed in a run down surplus federal building without a nearby functioning elevator. Dave Quammen, an amazing man who owns & runs the Museum of Contemporary Art here in DC, appeared at the perfect moment to lead the art workshop. Not only did he provide his skill and the materials, but he had a remarkable affinity with the participants which captured on film.
After a long delay, we finally found a vacant room to conduct our recording sessions. By the time we started, we had an excited throng of musicians vying for our attention.
The musicians were incredible people and several were very talented. Two musicians from Gil Scott Heron's (a famous jazz artist) band showed up to record with Greg, their homeless friend. They made an amazing recording which we burned on CD for them. Andre, the incredible bass player, invited me to be on his live internet radio show this Thursday for an interview! Aside from a computer crash and the incessant wheezing of the ventilation system, Crystal and I performed impeccably and all the participants were quite pleased. They only thing they didn't like is that we weren't coming back (at least not this year). People were taking our flyers and running around the neighborhood to let everyone's know we were there. We didn't have time to see everyone, and many wanted to follow us to the next shelter.
When we packed up, we found another way out, through the building to the working elevator at the other end of our floor. It took us down to the basement and out to the back parking lot. While I was returning the flat bed truck we used to haul out the equipment, I discovered an amazing mural on the wall with a great message (see attached photo).
There were so many wonderful experiences, it is hard to describe them all. I guess I can best sum it up as life affirming, an experience of the love of humanity.

Day 7, We Are In Washington, DC!

Live from DC!
Crystal Counts, our intrepid film maker & audio engineer and I loaded (or should I say jammed) Crystal's Saturn station wagon and drove down from Providence, RI. (Seems like we just can't get away from those Saturns.) Aside from adding some air to the tires to support the extra load, our ride was smooth and easy. Our friends Dan & Amy graciously welcomed us to their lovely home in DC and gave each our own suite! We are very excited about the official start of our tour tomorrow when we visit our first shelter.

Day 6, A Great Saturday In Connecticut!

We really enjoyed our first day NOT on the road. We hung out with family and relaxed for a change. Gayle's sister Kate provided a luxuriously appointed room at her country home and we were treated to some fine home cooking. Looking forward heading to DC on Sunday with my friend, the multi-talented CrystakCounts.

Day 5, Columbus To Connecticut

After another marathon drive - 750 miles - we arrived at sister Kate's house in Brooklyn (CT, not NY) about 11 PM. The Pennsylvania country side was filled with rolling green hills and sunny skies. We dined again at our favorite place - Subway - and discovered a route that took us around NYC right into CT. We trudged into Kate's place and fell into bed.

Day 4, St. Louis To Columbus

Our shortest drive yet - only 417 miles. We spent Wednesday night in St. Louis with our friends Marsha & Michael. We left the house on time but the car didn't, it refused to start. However, we were patient and gave it some more time to rest and it finally woke up. We had to slow down several times to negotiate the orange cone obstacle course but enjoyed the rolling hills filled with bucolic pastures and black & white cows.
About 7 PM, we arrived in Columbus at Laurie & Jeffrey's place as the skies filled with rain clouds. The held off while enjoyed a wonderful Chinese meal then a glass of wine and good conversation back at the house. Even the cats, Generous and Mittens (with two 7-clawed paws) had a great time. Our hosts greeted us with this flowering cascade of beauty upon our arrival in Columbus.

Day 3, The Heartland

Wednesday was marathon day - 780 miles from Limon, Colorado to St. Louis, Missouri. Allthough it was a long day and night, we had lots of fun and great conversations. More donations came in from the web site (thank you!) and we had a wonderful lunch at a beautiful park in Russell, Kansas. Just after crossing into Missouri, we stopped at new gas station and filled up at $2.39 per gallon!
People and events continue to show up in support of the project and everyone is excited.

Utah & Colorado Adventure

We spent the Monday night in lovely Richfield , Utah, a small town nestled in a high valley among the mesas. The drive from there to Limon Colorado where we spent Tuesday night was filled with spectacular sights and great beauty. We took a slight detour to engage in our "have we left yet" game again as we wandered around Grand Junction, Colorado looking for a Saturn dealer in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to fix a blown auxiliary power jack After that little detour, we climbed up, over and through the 11,000 ft. Eisenhower Tunnel careening down the pitch black eastern slope into Denver for an emergency bathroom break. From there, we followed a false I-70 detour sign for several miles before stumbling upon an entrance to the interstate. We sauntered into our hotel in Limon about 10PM Mountain Time after sampling the cuisine at the local, all night gas station. Aaahhh, life is Good! All is well.

Did We Leave Yet?

This is the question we kept asking ourselves today as tried to head out of town on our journey. As we criuse through the great Nevada desert, we are still wondering what took so long. Well, first it the car. Since we hadn't planned to use it on this trip, it needed a tire alignment. That turned into an oil change and then 4 new tires. We needed them now to avoid problems on our 7,000 mile journey.
We flying along now though and Gayle is at the helm. Here is a picture live from the desert! It is woderful having all of you along for the ride!

We Switched Horses!

We were making final preparations and running errands when our Trailblazer lost a door on E. Matilija St. in Ojai. Someone driving by got a little too close just when I cracked the door. Fortunately, my arm did not leave with the door and no one was injured. However, the Trailblazer will be laid up in the "hospital" for awhile.

As a result, we have switched horses! We are now traveling in Gayle's Saturn Ion, a wonderful car that carried Gayle and her son Don to California from Connecticut in December 2005. We will be traveling a little lighter and we will be using a lot less gas! It is good for me to learn to pack more compactly anyway; I have been hauling huge packs on almost every trip I have ever been on. Most of my luggage collapsed from exhaustion!

All this excitement and we haven't even left home!

Let The Tour Begin!

Well, here we are folks! Ready to launch our Pilot Tour! Not sure how it will all look but I know the world will never be the same!

My wife Gayle and I are leaving Oct. 8 for a cross-country drive to our first tour destination - 4 homeless shelters in Washington, D.C. We are still not packed but we are really excited.

We will be posting during our 6 week journey so that all of you can share in this with us. We have cameras, video cameras, music equipment, clothes and love from all you to make this a trip we will never forget.

Thank you for your support. You will be with us every step of the way.