And so we bid adieu...

With heaviness of heart, I sit here the night before my very last day at Get On The Bus thinking of how to address you. After an amazing going away lunch yesterday with my colleagues and the Pope (well, not exactly but his head was part of a lazy Susan in the middle of our table), I was sent out in Get On The Bus style complete with a travel bag with things for me to do on the road trip, a stay connected bag with ways to keep in touch and a teddy bear and an actual letter from my parents, which was pretty incredible. Not only was this a creative gift, but more than ever I was able to feel the way that our children must on event day: Loved and special.

In the spirit of GOTB and in the interest of limited finances, I would like to do the same for all of you. Since I was essentially the mother hen of GOTB for the past two years, I will address all of you as my own. Here it goes:

To my GOTB children, friends, volunteers, partners, and colleagues:

Wow, this has been quite a ride to say the least. When my father was sentenced to prison 5 years ago, I thought that I was living in my own personal nightmare. I couldn't believe any of this could be happening to me or my family. This was probably one of the first times that I started to question why? Why did this happen to my dad? Why my family? Why did someone hate my dad so much that they mentioned his name just to get him into trouble? Why now?

I remember one day in the visiting room of the Morgantown WV Correctional Facility being asked by another person who was visiting her husband, "Maria, what are you going to do with your life?"

Now as every 20 something year old, this was not the first time I had pondered this same question. I am not sure if it was in haste or by the grace of God or the universe, but my response was so quick and so definite. I said, "I am going to help the families of people who are incarcerated."

To be honest, I don't know why I said that. I had no training in this, no experience, no expertise. I think it was probably the first thing that came to my mind. However, given her ogled response to my question, I knew I must have said something right.

As many of you know, I met Sr. Suzanne Jabro, the ED of our agency and founder of GOTB, very shortly after we first moved to California. Not only was she able to help make my dream of helping families of the incarcerated a reality, but she was able to offer me something that I desperately needed a shoulder to cry on, a heightened sense of self and many good laughs. Suz always says that people follow energy and once I met her, I immediately wanted to follow her. I started out small as a volunteer and now am leaving you as the Program Director.

My past six years with the program have been some of the most formative years of my life and all of you are a part of this. Many of you have watched me grow up professionally from some kid from a small middle class suburb of Pittsburgh to now a cosmopolitan professional that speaks her mind about injustices in the criminal justice system and surprisingly, people are starting to listen. Who would have ever thought?

On behalf of Get On The Bus and most importantly me, I want to say thank you to all of you. Without the love and support you have continually given me, I know that I would have never been able to do what I have been able to do. Because of you, just this year, we were able to help almost 1300 kids in every major city in the state of California to see their parents. Because of you, we were able to shed light on the children that everyone else turns their backs. Because of you, we were able to overcome every obstacle to make our events special. Because of you, you have helped to make a priceless memory for a child. Because of you, you were able to bring about positive change in our society. As the proud mother hen of GOTB, I want to tell you how proud I am of each and every one of you.

Although we bid adieu for now, our paths will cross once again soon. Until then, keep your eyes on the prize.

With gratitude,
Maria :)

My first show at Scales of Justice...

Thanks so much for all of those of you have listened to me last night for my debut show on the Scales of Justice. We had two wonderful guests: Stacey Wilson LaRussa, a wonderful woman who has recovered many losses including addiction and the tragic loss of her brother, and Seymoura Wilson, a GOTB participant who had met her father for the first time on one of our buses! If you haven't yet, please take a listen and feel free to comment. I love your feedback on my new venture. :)

http://www.latalkradio.com/images/Scales-080810.mp3

Scales of Justice Announces A New Cohost...

As some of you may have known, I have been a guest on Shirley Wilson's Scales of Justice Radio Show a couple of times these past few weeks. Today I got a call from Shirley herself and she offered me a spot to be a new cohost for the show! To say that I am honored, would be an understatement. I am truly humbled and feel amazingly blessed to have this opportunity to be able to be on the airwaves with Shirley!

As you know from a previous blog entry, Shirley has endured true pain and suffering in her life including the loss of her son, but yet, she is always looking for ways to bring a positive message to everything she does. To be able to speak the truth about the plight of children who have incarcerated parents and to do so in a public forum is an unbelievable dream come true for me! I will also have the ability to highlight the good works of others committed to this mission both in L.A., N.Y. and around the country. Isn't the internet a beautiful thing?

Hopefully you are all as excited as I am. Please show your support by listening to us. I am on the second Sunday of every month (starting this coming Sunday). The show is live on the West Coast from 6 pm- 7 pm and on the East Coast at 9 pm- 10 pm. I promise that we will always be committed to talking to interesting people. Who knows? You may even learn something.

In order to listen live, go to www.latalkradio.com and on the right hand side of the page under "Channel 2" click "Listen Live". We also welcome your feedback, comments and questions so if you have something to say, call in! The link of our shows will be available the next day on the web just in case you miss one. Go to www.latalkradio.com and on the top of the page click on "Channel 2". Scroll down the page until you see "Scales of Justice and Shirley Wilson". Click on it and scroll to the bottom of the page (past the photos and bios), to a list of all the shows. Click “Play” or “Download” and enjoyI believe we are also available on i Tunes as well. More info on that to come.

Thank you all for all of your support. A big thank you to my new colleague Shirley Wilson for believing in me. I will not let you down. :)

You take the good, you take the bad...

You take the good, you take the bad. You take them both and then you have the facts of life, the facts of life. So, not only is this tune one of my favorite jingles from the '80's sitcom arena, it is also my current situation right now.

As you know from my "R.I.C.E" post, I have been battling some feet injuries for a while. I was able to go to the podiatrist last week and got some grim news. I was diagnosed with left achilles heal tendonitis and plantar fasciitis on both feet. Last week when the doctor had seen me, he couldn't believe that I had even been "R.I.C.E"ing for the past two weeks. He said that my feet presented as a very fresh injury. He said that the amount of pain I must have been managing before must have been unbearable and to be honest, he was right.

When I left his office, he put me on strict rest orders and an anti-inflammatory twice a day. Of course, like most runners when he asked if I had any questions for him, I asked when I could expect to be back running again? His response last week was a laugh. For the record, when your doctor laughs, it is never a good sign.

I went back for a follow up treatment yesterday and I got some mixed reviews. The good news is that I am healing properly. The not so good news is that I have a mandatory two more weeks of rest.

So what does this all mean? Well, the obvious, means that I have to drop out of the Philly Rock and Roll Half Marathon. My apologies Kimberly and David. I was really looking forward to doing this race. However, there is no way I will be ready for it in time without reinjuring myself. The good news I will be able to run again and I am still slated to do the Great Race 10 K in Pittsburgh with my friend David Rigo at the end of September. This will be his first race and I promised to run along side of him so we can cross the finish line together. :)

I want to give a shout out to all the fellow runners who follow me. Just this week, I was on a conference call with a bus company in NoCal and I was humbled to learn that one of the reps on the phone is an avid runner and loves this blog. In the electronic age, it is impossible to know who is reading and who isn't but I am moved by all of you and your stories and comments. I promise you I will be back very soon and will sign up for a more substantial race. Love to all my fans!

Scales of Justice, the sequel...

As some of you may know, I was a guest on Scales of Justice on L.A. Talk Radio this past Sunday.  It was a pleasure to share the platform with Shirely Wilson, Tommy "T Top" Rivers and Big Ship.  There were many highlights to the show, including two surprise callers- Joe C (my dad) and Amanda Raymond (my longtime friend)!  Thanks for the props.

Listen in and enjoy!   

http://www.latalkradio.com/images/Scales-080110.mp3