| I love this! A perfect bikers tribute. Thanks for sharing this with us , Clsytin. And thanks for telling us to zoom in on those legs, Laurel Wish I could be at winedsle with you this summer Love from afar Terry Sent from my iPhone On Aug 2, 2024, at 6:28 PM, Laurel Loehlin <lloeh...@bmiusa.com> wrote:
Be sure to zoom in on the photo.
From: Clayton Stromberger <cstromber...@austin.utexas.edu>
Sent: Friday, August 2, 2024 5:06:47 PM
To: Lynn McGuire <lynnedwardsmcgu...@hotmail.com>; shakespeare-at-winedale-email-l...@googlegroups.com <shakespeare-at-winedale-email-l...@googlegroups.com>
Cc: Shakespeare at Winedale 1970-2000 alums <winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org>; Willy Shakes <winedale5...@gmail.com>; ewatk...@utexas.edu <ewatk...@utmail.utexas.edu>
Subject: [Winedale-l] Re: A little touch of James in the Barn, and on the road
That’s terrific about your niece, Lynn! That means you have a connection to a rider on each route….!
And here’s a photo Dani sent to Laurel this morning…
<image004.png>
From:
Lynn McGuire <lynnedwardsmcgu...@hotmail.com>
Date: Friday, August 2, 2024 at 12:11 PM
To: shakespeare-at-winedale-email-l...@googlegroups.com <shakespeare-at-winedale-email-l...@googlegroups.com>
Cc: Shakespeare at Winedale 1970-2000 alums <winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org>, Willy Shakes <winedale5...@gmail.com>, ewatk...@utexas.edu <ewatk...@utmail.utexas.edu>
Subject: [Winedale-l] Re: A little touch of James in the Barn, and on the road
Thanks Clayton, this is wonderful. I knew about Dani riding, but did not realize that your daughter was riding, too! My niece is with them, too - on the Rockies Route. Those kids are amazing- what a special tribute to James and others!
On Aug 1, 2024, at 12:56 PM, Clayton Stromberger <cstromber...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
Hey everyone –
It has been an intense and emotional summer for all of us who loved James Loehlin – which means basically anyone who ever spent any time with him, but especially those who were lucky enough to spend a lot
of time with him, whether it was a summer or much of a lifetime.
As many of you know, this summer’s performances at Winedale are dedicated to the memory of James. His spirit shines out from the bulletin board in the foyer overflowing with wonderful photos, and Madge
always takes a moment before each performance to announce the dedication and acknowledge and celebrate any of James’s former students, family members, or friends who are in the audience. Madge and the class have embraced Laurel with open arms and she has
been present many times during the summer and I think it’s been great for the “new kids” to get to know her. And of course her visits have been extra special for Arden Price, who grew up knowing Laurel and James as basically a super-fun and super-cool aunt
and uncle.
We all miss him so much, and we also know that he would be so pleased to know that – as Steve and Fields and others of you have noted in your emails – the program continues to thrive and to stride bravely
and confidently into the future. I’m so grateful to Madge and the students for making sure we have James in our hearts when we visit the Barn this summer and step into that special space of play and vibrant language and joy and community.
I wanted to let you all know about another way that James’s memory has traveled through space and time this summer. Tomorrow afternoon the riders of the 2024 Texas 4000 team will roll into Anchorage, Alaska,
70 days after they pedaled down Speedway on a sunny May morning and turned left to head north, accompanied by cheers and not a few tears from family members and friends. Texas 4000, or T4K, is the world’s longest charity bike ride, and raises funds for cancer
research. The 70-something riders basically travel on two wheels from Austin to Anchorage, though part of the time they are in the “SAG van” if they need to avoid a forest fire or the worst of Death Valley. James has had several students who had done T4K,
or did it after their Winedale experience, and he always felt there was a real connection between the programs. They are both utterly unique in terms of the profound life experience it offers students. In both cases, young people are challenged to go beyond
their limits, to do things they did not dream they could do, to dream big and achieve the impossible and reach out to others. And they must do all of this while working closely as a team over a long stretch of time with no real “days off.” They trained all
of last year for this summer.
James always admired the Texas 4000 program, and felt that T4K riders made great Winedalers (and vice versa). And then one day just over two years ago it suddenly had a much more personal meaning for him.
I vividly remember him telling me last year how, on a trek to Round Rock Donuts to get treats for his Plan II World Lit class, he saw a group of T4K riders resting and enjoying a donut after a training ride. He went up to them and said, “Hey, I’m one of the
people you’re doing this for. Thank you.”
As in this Winedale summer, there is a tapestry formed in the T4K experience that incorporates both celebration and mourning, love and loss. Each T4K rider dedicates their ride to family members or friends
who have been impacted by or lost to this terrible disease. Every morning before they set out on that day’s journey – which often involves a 100-mile ride through all sorts of terrain, from the New Mexico desert to the rugged backcountry of Oregon – the riders
circle up (sound familiar?) and whoever feels inspired to speak gives a ride dedication for that day. Here’s a photo I took of the ride dedication ceremony on the departure morning on the UT campus.
<image001.jpg>
Two of the riders this summer had a special connection to James and Laurel and included them in their ride dedications: Dani Berman, a summer 2023 and spring 2024 student, and my daughter Emma. There are
three routes once the riders split up just north of campus – Dani took the Ozarks route, and Emma went west with the Sierra team (about 24 riders in each team). The three route teams reconnected just a week or so ago in a remote part of British Columbia.
Here’s a snap of Emma and Dani from the day the groups met up again.
<image002.png>
The riders camp sometimes, sleep in church basements other times… some days they’re treated to lunch by a supporter in a nearby town, other times they have to cook their dinner. And lately they’ve been
going through bear country…!
<image003.png>
I know James would be so proud of all the riders, and grateful for their mission and for their courage and grit and care for one another. Like this summer’s Winedale class, they have had to be very brave.
They are truly an inspiration. And I’m sure James would feel certain each rider has made some friends-for-life, just as we all did (and still do) at Winedale.
If you’d like to learn more about T4K, you can go to
www.texas4000.org; there is information there about the riders, the routes, and how to support the program as it continues to, like Winedale,
do what it can to changes lives and help make the world a better place, one mile – or word/line – at a time.
Here’s to going the distance for those we love!
cs
--
Be vigitant, I beseech you!
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