One day, I received a group text message from Brian England. He was coming to Philadelphia and wanted to have an AR Meet-up with us in Center City. It was not last year, it was 2024. I was excited and said, " Sure, as long as it does not snow. I remember the date because it was my mom's birthday, God rest her soul, November 1. All Saints day. I said, "Great, as long as it does not snow ." Everyone laughed at me because they did not remember the harsh winter months when we had early snowstorms like this year.
Brian is a devout catholic he was traveling to Philadelphia to see religious sites. Philadelphia has many old catholic churches and many sites for him to visit. I have heard him say he never misses Mass when he travels. I admire a person with such strong religious convictions,
Thankfully, it did not snow, and I traveled down to meet the guys. Friday was a wonderful day. I finally met people I have known for years but never met. Now that may not make sense to many people, but it will make perfect sense to others. We have read each other's articles, or shall we say blogs, for many years.
It took Brian England from Arizona to travel to Philadelphia to get us all together. I will say our other local blogger Nick Vandekar, 610-203-4543 (the Britt) wanted to do this for years. Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, as we say. We are very thankful to you, Brian, for motivating us. Let's not forget Michael Elliot, who also joined us for lunch at Parks at Rittenhouse Square. He was kind enough to pick me up and take me home. We have not had a Meet-up since the days of Rain Camps
What a pleasure it was to meet Brian; he is such an interesting person. He travels all over the country, and when he does, he makes sure to meet up with other Active Rainers. It took Brian to motivate us to get together and break bread. Thank you so much, Brian. It was such a pleasure to get to know you, as you are a very special person. Brian is a motivator.
You go out of your way to bring people together. You have a special gift, a quality that not everyone possesses. I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet you in person. You have an inner light that shines.
Thank you Patricia Feager and Lew Corcoran for hosting the Active Rain Challenge for February 2026, this 2nd entry
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