UPDATES

Whew....I've been so busy planning and working toward the Launch that I've hardly had time to sit down and write to you. So I will start the day here, instead of there....

For those of you in the Canton/Akron/Massillon area of Ohio, we do hope you will pop in to the launch of Feet of Memory Inc on Wednesday, October 24 from 5-7pm at the Jackson Library on Fulton Road. Meet the Board, Founders, hear a dramatic original presentation by Founder and CEO Geoffrey Darling, aka our Walker. Other presenters include Loren Veigel, Artistic Director of VOCI,Inc. will share his family's journey with Alzheimer's disease, and a representative from the Alzheimer's Association will update research news. Rose Darling, Co-Founder and co-CEO gives a sample from her "Lessons in a Lunchbox" - a faith-based non-denominational, interactive program for those with mild to moderate memory loss, and their caregivers and family members.  A Balloons of Memory flight will be launched immediately after the official launch of the organization at 6:15.

Additionally, you may munch on Nuts 'n Chocolates and shop specially designed and crafted products in "Pat's Corner," named for Geoffrey's mother Pat who died in 2012 at the age of 90 after 24 years with Alzheimer's.  Lynn Marie Jewelry offers beautiful aquamarine necklaces, and Feet of Memory tee-shirts will be available to order.
We will see you there...only a month away!

Check out our website for details about Feet of Memory, and information about the extreme walk from Key West to Maine...a journey of 2,400 miles we take in 2013.  www.feetofmemory.com

Early Onset Dementia

Feet of Memory Inc. funds will go to help the Alzheimer's Association continue their research, education, advocacy and support services to help find an end to Alzheimer's disease. Many of the chapters offer education and support groups to help those with early-onset dementia and their care givers/partners.

Geoffrey's mother, Pat, developed early-onset dementia at around age 65, perhaps even earlier, and once told Geoffrey that "I will live to a great old age, but I won't remember any of it." Sadly,she was right. She lived five days past her 90th birthday 17 March, 2012 and did not remember anything for about a quarter of her years. Feet of Memory Inc. and Geoffrey's extreme endurance walks are in honor of her, and those like her....and to help end this disease.

Another friend has a rare form of early-onset dementia called frontal lobe dementia....he is about 70 years old...in a wheelchair. Unable to speak. Knowing and understanding almost nothing. And growing worse by the day.

Please help us help them. Ask how you can support Feet of Memory Inc. During Geoffrey's walk from Key West to the Canadian border in Maine, you will have opportunities to walk with him, attend special dramatic stage performances, and donate to Feet of Memory Inc. read more about us on www.feetofmemory.com. Contact us via email at feetmemory@yahoo.com.
Thank you.

Early-onset Alzheimer's

Yesterday, a friend shared with us that two of his sisters have early-onset Alzheimer's...one is in a nursing center at age 60.
This is why we established Feet of Memory Inc- to help END Alzheimer's disease: This robbing of human thought and mind - often while still rather young. Of course, we all know there are no guarantees of long, healthy lives for any of us, but the kind of drawn-out dying of memory, thought, personality and body brought about by Alzheimer's disease is especially agonizing for the individual, the family and the community.

Please help us help find an end to Alzheimer's disease by supporting Feet of Memory.

Geoffrey's 2,400 mile walk honors his own mother who had early-onset Alzheimer's disease that lasted 24 years...nearly a quarter of her life when she did not recognize her own children and family. She could no longer enjoy her special hobby of building little ponds with lily pads, nor respond to holidays and birthdays, and life in general.

As he walks from Key West to Maine, each step is to honor her and to help raise funds to help the Alzheimer's Association in its many research, education, advocacy and support services as they work to end Alzheimer's disease.

Event dates

We are busy, busy organizing the walk and fund and awareness raisers to make it possible. This weekend we will look at an RV that may be a donation for the duration. Our new Creative Team is helping us with the planning and implementtation of these events.
So if you are in the Canton, Ohio area, here are a few dates for your calendar.

Launch Reception: October 24 from 5-7 pm at the Jackson Library on Fulton Road. Meet our Board of Directors, enjoy guest presenters, Nuts 'n Chocolates, the official launch with Balloons of Memory at 6:30. Please join us!



We are tying up loose ends for a fun fund-raiser at Vinoteca. Dates to be verified but should be November 16 and/or 17. Meet a past "King of Olde England," enjoy wine and a cheese/bread board, and live entertainment by professional musicians and Shakespearean actors. Details and ticket prices to be announced soon.

In December, come to the "Christmas Party Hop"! Again, details are now being confirmed and will soon be posted.

January features a Winterfest....hope there's some snow this winter!

February has an extra-fun, special event for the whole family to enjoy....but it's a secret for now......shhhhhhh.

As you see, we are very busy....if you can volunteer or help us out in any way, please write to us at feetmemory@yahoo.com

Feet of MemoryInc is a nonprofit organization with the purpose of raising awareness and funds for research, education support services oto help end Alzheimer's disease. Through extreme walks, such as the walk planned from Key West to Maine on historic US Rt 1 in 2013, Geoffrey and Rose Darling, along with a support team will present programs and walkathons from town to town along the way. Visit www.feetofmemory.com for more information. FInd us on Facebook, too.

Pat's Place

Lynn Marie Jewelry delivered several of her handcrafted genuine aquamarine necklaces today, and they are so lovely! The soft blue color is peaceful and gentle, and the little silver fairie at the clasp set them off so well. The necklaces are in memory of Pat Darling, Geoffrey's mother who had Alzheimer's disease for 24 years. She passed on in March 2012, just five days after her 90th birthday. It is in her honor that Feet of Memory Inc presents these pieces of jewelry. Soon, other products will be added to Pat's Place.

 

The purchase of these necklaces (that come in various carats) will help Feet of Memory Inc in its goal to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Association and the many services they provide. Please email us at feetmemory@yahoo.com for details and prices.

 

 

Where does all the money go?

When we give money, time and abilities to organizations, we always want to know it is going to help meet needs...we usually expect to see some results from our donations.
People who give to religious organizations expect certain results, while those who support health care organizations expect other results. Organizations that deal with teens must meet needs while services to the homebound need to meet their specific needs.
Here at Feet of Memory (FOM) we raise funds to help well-established organizations in the field of Alzheimer's research, education and services. Our Board established that 75% of funds raised in 2012 and 2013 will go to the Alzheimer's Association with the other 25% to Feet of Memory operations to help us plan and implement Geoffrey's walks and the events needed to raise awareness and funds. These numbers exceed a standard of 65% to services.
We chose to support the Alzheimer's Association in 2012/13 because they offer a tremendous number of services to families, caregivers and individuals dealing with Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The human touch element of the Alzheimer's Association's services supports the many emotional as well as health needs that AD brings. These services alone are well worth Geoffrey's extreme endurance walk from Key West to Maine. But this organization also supports research and education...each of which requires a great deal of money.
As you support Feet of Memory you are supporting an organization that knows and appreciates the numerous services of the Alzheimer's Association .Through our walks, we help by raising greater awareness and funds on their behalf and that of the countless families served across America.

The other foot

In case you've ever wondered about who writes most of these blogs, it is I, Mrs Rose Darling. Geoffrey is out again in this 'stinkin' humidity, walking and keeping up his training. We have a board meeting tomorrow and the two of us have much to prepare.

Me in Dublin, Ireland,

October 2011



As Geoffrey pounds the pavement in his extreme walk from Key west to Maine, I plan to present a special program I co-wrote and presented numerous times for older adults with mild to mid-memory loss. It's a faith-based program, non-denominational, interactive and illustrative especially developed for small groups of about 12 people, but may be presented (successfully so) to much larger groups.

"Lessons in a Lunchbox" (c) 2002, packs illustrative items into an old-fashioned domed lunchbox for use in sharing the biblical story. A favorite 'lesson' is that of Ruth from the Old Testament. It is a story of family love and devotion, of strength in the midst of hard times, and faith. Songs and traditional hymns, psalms, and activities accompany the storytelling. Family photos, stalks of barley wheat and other tactile items also help stimulate the senses and memories.
When it was first introduced  to an Alzheimer's unit in 2002, a reporter from the Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio, wrote how caregivers as well as those with memory loss were touched by the program. Several had tears in their eyes as they witnessed their loved one singing and even discussing some of the topics.

Anyway, while Geoffrey is walking, I will offer this program to retirement homes, adult day service centers, Alzheimer's support groups and others.

For many years I worked in retirement services as an activities director and in marketing/pr. It was while I was "Church Visitation Director" (a marketing position) for Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services Foundation that "Lessons in a Lunchbox" was written in response to a pastor's request to give church groups appropriate materials for use in services in retirement communities and nursing homes.

"Feet of Memory" is NOT a religious organization and "Lessons in a Luncbox" is NOT in any way an attempt to win people over to one way of religious thought. The two ("Feet of Memory" and "Lessons in a Lunchbox"are not inter-related. This is my interjection into the journey. I have to have something more than sight-seeing to do while he is walking! :-)
"Lessons" is a program based on traditional and historical songs, hymns, biblical verses and interactive discussions. I love presenting the program, and each time, I've been amazed at the response of people who rarely respond to anything! Family members and caregivers are invited to attend.

So, if you know a retirement community or other group similar to those mentioned above who would like to know more about this program, please contact me at feetmemory@yahoo.com. The program just costs $60.00 and I provide the leadership, all illustrative items, song sheets and take-home projects. The facility provides at least one helper, or more depending on group size, and refreshments, if desired. The program lists suggested snacks.

About Rose M Darling

EDUCATION
American Military University. MA in International Relations
Western Illinois University. BA in General Studies
Kent State University. Studies in music performance and journalism
Many courses in fundraising and development


SELECT EXPERIENCE
Music director/organist/choir director for several churches across Ohio and in New Zealand. Presently with First Church, Canton, Ohio
Freelance journalist/writer in Ohio, New Zealand.
Co-authored "The Elf Princess."
Playwright "Songs Sung Blues" and "Benders at 11"


THE HOME SIDE
Wife of Geoffrey (2005 to forever)
Mother of three sons Charlie, David and Jeffery
M-I-L to Brenda, Vikki and Lynn
Grandma to Dylan, Morgan and Peyton
Sister to Victoria and Faythe
Cancer survivor through the grace of God, modern medicine and the TLC of those around me.

About Geoffrey Darling

We've focused a lot of Geoffrey's 100 day walk in 2013, but I"ve not shared too much about his other "Feat" of memory. Geoffrey is an experienced, well-trained and awarded stage actor. In addition to his marathon-long walks each day, he offers solo performances of one of several plays. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," "Ludwig Van The Ancient Mariner," and "Tenacity," an original play about a conversation he had with his mother prior to her journey into the deep clouds of memory loss and Alzheimer's disease which she had for 24 long years.

Geoffrey has performed in numerous plays from the heaviest of dramas such as "Macbeth" to light-hearted comedies like "My Favorite Year," and even musicals such as "Porgy and Bess." His New Zealand training under Dame Ngaio Marsh at Canterbury University in beautiful Christchurch, New Zealand allowed him to discover his powerful voice and stage presence. Geoffrey has performed throughout New Zealand, London, Australia, Ireland and in the United States.

He has a great deal of experience in walking all day and performing at night. In 2002, he walked the length of the South Island of New Zealand on a fundraiser for the Bible Society After a days' journey, sometimes in chilly wind, rain and even snow, he performed a 90-minute dramatic presentation of the Gospel of St Mark.

The Secret Garden at the Magical Theatre in Barberton, Ohio

Geoffrey Darling offers his stirring performances to churches, Alzheimer Association chapters, senior community groups and others as he walks this journey from Key West to Maine. For more information or to book Mr. Darling, contact him at feetmemory@yahoo.com.

Behind-the-scenes

It's a behind-the-desk and on-the-phone kind of day today as we work on press releases, networking and other 'operational'  things necessary to move our efforts forward. We are getting a new workstation/desk today and that means messy office time while we re-organize.



I strongly suggested that our Walker get out on the trail for awhile, so he left for the Towpath and all is well.



Our official Feet of Memory launch date is Wednesday, October 24 from 5-7 p.m. at the Jackson Library in Canton, Ohio. YOU are invited....and bring a friend!!! Details coming soon.

Feet of Memory supports research, education and services of organizations such as the Alzheimer's Association that help bring an end to Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Geoffrey Darling will walk 2,400 miles from Key West to Ft. Kent Maine starting 17 March 2013 to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer's Association.  This walk honors his mother Pat who had AD for 24 years before passing on in March 2012.

Services you help provide

How do donations translate into literal help for those dealing with Alzheimer's Disease? There are numerous hospitals, research labs, service organizations and governmental agencies that work to find an end to Alzheimer's Disease. Monies raised by organizations such as the Alzheimer's Association go toward advancing research, on advocacy for greater emphasis on Alzheimer's disease by government agencies, on education, and services. Local chapters and groups offer group support meetings, conferences, libraries, and speakers who can share what's new in research as well as practical advice on dealing with the challenges brought on by memory loss. Of course, Alzheimer's disease knows no geographic boundaries as people around the world deal with the devastating effects of memory loss and dementia.

Some of the groups may or may not include people with the disease. Often, as they slip into deeper memory loss, social activities slip away. A few years ago, I co-wrote and offered a "Bible study" program for those with mild to moderate memory loss. Family members were invited to participate and we were thrilled to find many sons and daughters bringing their parents to these interactive gatherings where they sang old hymns and responded to biblical stories they had heard as children. Many tears were seen in the eyes of family members as they witnessed their loved one singing and reciting songs and verses learned long, long ago.


As Geoffrey walks the 2,400 miles from Key West to Maine, I will gladly present this program to older adult church groups, retirement communities, support groups and others that are located within driving distance of his walk on historic US Rt 1. Just write to Rose at feetmemory@yahoo.com asking for Lessons in a Lunchbox (c)

Labor Day

One pair of shoes worn out...How many shoes will Geoffrey wear out on his 2,400 mile walk? Two? Four?

It's Labor Day and a lovely one at that! So our dear Walker is out on the Towpath continuing his training.

We hope you have a restful day and spend some time with family and freinds.

Another long walk - but not the longest - ten years ago

This week my 30 mile walk was definitely my longest in a day - but ten years ago in New Zealand I came close to that mark and, thanks to the wonders of modern science ( Googlemaps) I  can confirm my longest day's walk when I covered the South Island's 600 miles in a month was a couple of miles shorter - BUT - I carried a full pack for the last 20 miles. Google lists the distance from Dunsandel to Ashburton at 47km and 30 miles is 50 km.

I wrote about it in my book "Mark Down the South Island" - available on Kindle from Amazon - and post the chapter here -

Chapter Thirteen - Dunsandel to Ashburton - The Marathon 

On this day our hero walks 26 miles, 42 kilometres, a marathon distance - ten before breakfast without a pack and 16 after with the heavy pack, from Rakaia to Ashburton, performs to 200 people and has his prayers answered.

The day began at 6am. The long straights of the Canterbury Plains were still not conquered, nor the darkness in midwinter. Ken had dropped  me off  back where I’d hitched a ride the night before. It was a long way back north but there was no compromising. If I wanted to say, unequivocally, without contradiction, even by myself, that I’d walked the South Island I had to go back to where I started.

It was freezing cold. Snow lay piled in drifts from the fall three days before and this snow I was to see for the next few days despite relatively fine weather. We figured I’d be back in about three hours and I noticed as I got the sleep out of my head that this was a very long straight by New Zealand standards.

Ken was used to early rises. The life of a bed and breakfast man and wife meant making exactly that but not in that order; first the breakfast for the handful of guests, then the beds. The rest of the day’s your own.

What motivated this man to rise even earlier that usual to get me back to my breaking off/starting point?  The price of the accommodation was a simple, almost paltry, $60. At that rate he and his wife were battling. I learned later he also sold real estate, and gave some fine, uncompromising South Island hospitality. Doubtless he’d done the same and more many times and his “going the extra mile” was not the first on that eventful journey, a Christian act without even stopping to think about it. He was just happy to be part of the adventure.

He dropped me off, a shade after 6am and I watched his tail-lights disappear. They seemed to take a long time. Well wrapped I set off after them. No idea how fast I was going, I set a steady pace nevertheless in the pitch darkness. I used my torch to highlight my position to oncoming motorists.

Little wind and the promise of a clear morning, I soon saw a light ahead and knew it was an oncoming car. What else could it be, unless it was the train on the tracks that ran parallel? This was the South Island main highway, and there was just one car on it about six miles away. I counted a full five minutes before that light, running towards me at 60 mph or more, became two headlights, grew larger and then whizzed past. Five minutes at 60mph equals - do the math - 100 divided by 12 equals -5 miles of straight - that is how far the car was away when it first appeared.

I kept on at pace, without a pack on me or breakfast inside it was easy to walk quickly, about 4mph - that meant I would get round the bend in about an hour and a quarter - but there was no way to tell how fast I was doing. All was relative, to the dark and the still early morning.

Soon lights began to take four and a half minutes to reach me, then four, and still the dawn refused to arrive. I had no idea how fast I was going, just that I was warm enough thank you and the lights when they appeared were closing in on me at shorter and shorter intervals. But always they were just the single light, still too far off to appear as two at first. Well you can draw an allegory from that if you like. I was just happy to draw near to breakfast.

The first time I drove on this stretch was the first time I drove, aged 18. Well I’d had a few lessons but I was hardly ready for the unnerving stint behind the wheel of a friend’s Austin A40 on a winter’s evening- on and on that road went and the effort  to steer straight, not yet naturally learned, was  enormous.

Much more fun a year later, again in winter, when I drove another old Austin,  David Wickham’s A40 Countryman, a vehicle he called his “three litre mass-o-rattles” instead of Maserati, to Dunedin in the middle of the night.

I’d only come to keep him awake but he fell asleep about 15 miles into the journey, or rather the car slowed and I realised that if we were going any further I’d be driving, still without a licence, to Dunedin. Some journeys are a watershed and this was one of them. These days, in modern cars, the Christchurch-Dunedin journey takes about five hours. This was longer. Hampered by a head wind, the mass-o-rattles rarely went faster than 50mph. We froze without an adequate heater but Wick slept though it. The one stop was about 3am in Timaru, no friendly all-night gas station in 1969, just a lone pint of milk on the steps of an office building, freezing cold and feloniously obtained.  Wick slept on as Dunedin and the reason for our journey  approached. The city was snowed in and we’d wanted to see it and be part of it. Chains were needed on the hills north of the city and high winds blew us out of our lane as we approached. The southern city in the pre-dawn looked like a Christmas-scene postcard..

Bang on 7am and eight hours since we left Christchurch, we knocked on the door of student friends from high school, the light just enough to see the remains of a snowman in the front yard. They were as amazed as we hoped they would be but Wick rained on the parade a little by announcing he was staying a few days.

I had to be on stage that night. I thought we were turning round and driving straight back, that’s why I came. I was in what was to become a legendary production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Dame Ngaio Marsh and starring Sam Neill, though the programme called him Nigel in those days. Right under his name was mine, at 19 I was playing old Egeus, father of one of the young lovers.

But not much use if I was stuck in Dunedin. Here is why the journey became a watershed. I got back OK, hitch-hiking naturally, and Wick returned a few days later with a hitch-hiker of his own. John was an Australian diver (taking a break from being an accountant) who lived in Invercargill but had a girlfriend in Christchurch. He would come to visit often in the next few months. A year later I was staying with him in Adelaide where we flatted together for two years, where I studied theatre. Had it not been for John I would not have gone to Adelaide and been told I would be a lost soul all my life I did not make theatre my life. Actually the question then and now, was how to combine theatre and worship of God. Mark is the answer there.

Rakaia drew nearer as the night turned to day but there was one obstacle left – the mile long road bridge was very narrow.

It was and still is also the longest bridge in the roading network. The Rakaia is a braided river and its changing channels are spread over a wide area, necessitating the longest bridge on the state highway network, with a length of 1.1 miles. In normal flows the braided river channels sweep in winding courses across the gravel beds, which are up to a mile wide. During summer floods, fed by the melting snow, the waters reach from bank to bank, so long multispan structures are needed to bridge such a river.

Because of its climate and topography, New Zealand has more bridges, on a population basis, than any other country in the world. An early solution to the problem of cost was to build a bridge for combined use by rail and road traffic. But that was in 1873. In 1939 they opened a road bridge alongside that still stands and took away the now unnecessary road part of the rail bridge.

I decided to skip two hundred metres inland and take the rail bridge, and use the fact that trains did not run on Sundays in the South Island. No passenger trains ran anymore. The glamour of rail travel that enthrals Europe and its large population does not excite tourists and certainly not the native population. The Christchurch-Dunedin- Invercargill trains died out long ago and the goods trains only ran during the week – leaving the bridge for me alone. 

Travellers who scoot across the road bridge miss something special and the word should get out that a Sunday morning walk across the bridge, with no fear of a train coming should be on everyone’s to do list. Maybe an excursion train would come – but that’s where faith, and the emergency laybys, come in.

It was a glorious walk in the early morning; the snow drifts on the side of the road behind me gave way to mountains reaching almost down to the river in the distance as I looked upstream. Below me the classic blue of the South Island glacial melt river and braids sweeping and turning as they formed their own course. By contrast mine was right ahead and I clipped along happily, savouring the moment that the mountains put their winter coat on against the clear blue of the still Sunday morning. I reached the guest house again about 9.30 am and found a late breakfast waiting and so it was not much before 11am that I set off for  Ashburton, pack-a-back and already 10 miles under my belt with another 17 to go.  

At three miles an hour, pack-pace, that looked like a 5pm arrival in Ashburton and I tried hard to keep a steady pace. It was flat and easy walking but my feet were getting sore. The organisers of the Gospel presentation that evening did their best to keep me encouraged by cellphone and the local press came out to meet me, take a picture and leave me to it. Not many places to find a drink and I sipped at my meagre supply.  

My feet were sore. It was the first time I had found any physical trouble. No sore knees, back and least of all feet, until now. I think the new trainers were the problem, rubbing hard against my heels. I was still striding along but giving a few limping moments when I young man pulled up alongside.

“Are you Geoffrey? I am coming to hear you tonight”

“Great… how far to go ?”

“About five miles now. God has told me to pray for your feet.  Get in”

Although this was the main highway. Route 1, it was only one lane wide in either direction and did not need to be any more.  He was close enough to touch almost as he pulled alongside and I took the pack off and hobbled across to him.

We prayed then and there, in the front seat, for the Lord to bless my sore feet, to give me purpose and reach my destination safely. It was a simple and  loving act and when I raised my head I felt lighter and younger and my feet had no pain. I skipped across the road  back to my pack and set off again, renewed and thanking the Lord for sending me his faithful servant.

Soon the organiser arrived with another drink and I kept going as night closed, just before the town of  Ashburton hove in view – as sailors don’t say. At my host’s house they gave me a warm bath and a little rest,  some methylated spirits for my feet and the opportunity to savour my longest day – 27 miles including 17 with the pack. A marathon whichever measurement you make.

I presented Mark in bare feet that evening and later several members of the audience said they could see the blisters. One man stopped me in the street  the next day as I was walking out of Ashburton and told me I had been limping so badly he wanted to offer me a lift. Bless him.

There were about 120 people that heard Mark’s Gospel presented after that marathon day and there was probably no better reconstruction of how the Gospel was first brought to people, not only all over the Middle East but all over the world, by people walking and by word of mouth. 

Dark Clouds of Memory Loss

Sometimes a call would come in the middle of the night, "Your mother was walking around the mall at 2 a.m. in her nightgown. She's safe. Please come and get her."

A full-security rest home was needed. In New Zealand's beautiful resort town of Rotorura, Pat Darling lived comfortably in a rest home for over 20 years. Gradually, she slipped from occasional lucidity to not recognizing her own family for many years. It is her life in the dark clouds of memory loss that Geoffrey honors through Feet of Memory. His extreme walk from Key West to Maine on historic US Rt. 1 begins on the anniversary of her birth - 17 March.

Allow Geoffrey's walk to honor your loved one also.
Consider becoming a donor at one of the following levels:

Path Builders: $20-50

Walkway Builders: $51-250

Road Builders: $251-500

Highway Partner : $501-1,000

Historic Route Guide: $1,001-and above

Thank you.

Feet of Memory is a nonprofit organization developed to raise funds to support Alzheimer's disease research, education and services through extreme, endurance walks.Please LIKE us on Facebook.