This evening, my soccer team had its end of the season banquet. The evening begins with great formality at Serafina’s and ends in drunken debauchery at Erik’s house. Tradition demands that coat and tie are worn until the first toast has been made to the Queen of England. Rob, our keeper and team manger, announced my decision to join the over 50 club next season and went on to honor me with some very kind words and stories about my four years with the club. Many others chimed in. Not since my decision to leave Truevision have I ever felt so appreciated by a group of friends. 

Nala begs each morning to go outside to see Maya off on the bus. Because of the invisible fence, she must stay at the top of the driveway. As you can see we have snow and the temperatures have become quite frigid. 

On the work front I was offsite giving a presentation to our premiere broadcast customers from around the world. Over the past year my team has made huge strides in addressing some quality problems we were having in the field. Although our latest software is extremely robust, I got my chestnuts roasted for the pain we had caused during the interim. Despite the grilling, I am proud of the work my team has done and of the product we are now delivering. 

Jeanine and Nico return from Tanzania eboulient from their adventure together. 

Great photographers connect with their subjects and establish trust. It is clear to me from this image that Nicolai and this little girl established a special rapport based, perhaps, on a common understanding of what it feels like to be the object of unwelcomed stares and pity. 

Make no mistake, Nicolai is very deliberate in his photography. If you study this collection of images you can see a very artistic and creative mind at work. 

Great use of lighting. 

He could beat me at chess when he was in the first grade. I don’t know that I have ever taken such a poignant photo. 

My personal favorite. 

One of the boys from the orphanage. 

Nico has become a fine photographer. Today’s entries are of his artistic images. 

Today is International Disability Day and Nicolai and Jeanine are in Tanzania attending the ceremony for distribution of the wheelchairs that Nico raised funds for by climbing Kilimanjaro. Nico’s message as he addressed the crowd of one thousand was that “one person can make a difference.” Nicolai presented the first ten wheelchairs on stage and pushed the recipients back to their seats. As dignitaries continued to address the crowd, Nicolai went behind stage to help present the remaining 90 wheelchairs. He told his mother that the feelings he experienced seeing people receive their wheelchairs was better than the feeling he had when he reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The remaining 1500 plus wheelchairs will be distributed at similar ceremonies around the country over the coming months. 

Nico with the Bishop’s niece and nephew, both orphaned due to HIV, who now live with the Bishop. Jeanine and Nico were welcomed with open arms by the family and treated like royalty during their stay. 

While in Dar es salaam, Jeanine and Nico stayed with Bishop Mgullu and his family for three days. Pictured here is his wife, Desola, preparing the evening meal. 

In the evening, the TunaHAKI kids performed at the hotel using skills they acquired while training with the Cirque de Soleil in California last year. 

One of the volunteers made contact with a California elementary school and set up a pen pal program. Jeanine and other volunteers assist the children as they prepare their letters of introduction. 

The TunaHAKI children ending their yoga session with namaste. 

One of the many wild and ferocious animals that Jeanine and Nico encountered on their adventure. I was pleased to see that Nico remembered how to adjust the camera for macro photography. 

The children of TunaHAKI enjoying some of the gifts brought by the volunteers. 

Susan, fellow writer and friend of Jeanine. Thanks to her posts, we were able to stay up to date with what was happening in Africa while the Calabria’s were out of phone contact. Link to Susan’s blog.  

Scott Fifer, Director of the TunaHAKI Foundation, and the man who made this trip possible. He promoted the idea of taking yoga off the mat and to the children of the orphanage who enjoyed it immensely according to Jeanine. 

Doria and Jennifer, fellow volunteers at the orphange, enjoy a cold Coke, a drink everyone craved in the swealtering heat of the Tanzanian summer. Nico had to self impose a two bottle limit to allow for sleep. 

This mini-bus provided transportation for the group taking them to Moshi for shopping and to the TunaHAKI orphanage. 

While in Tanzania, both Nico and Jeanine joined a yoga retreat with friend Susan Reynolds. They enjoyed morning and evening classes held in this hut.  

After travelling for more than 18 hours, Jeanine and Nico arrived in Tanzania and stayed first at the Kilimakoyaro Mountain Lodge. When the clouds cleared, they had a great view of Kilimanjaro. 

Later in the day, Maya attended the Craft Fair at church with her grandmother while my father found his way to the Concord Public Library, returning with no less than a dozen books he purchased at the fair being held there. 

Natalie rocked on bass and Dave kicked in with vocals and guitar. 

Alex was tight on drums. 

Seth was great on vocals. 

Kyle did not seem the least bit nervous and the band sounded really good. 

Today the band Kyle is in performed their first paid gig at the Bar Mitzvah of a close friend. They still do not have a name and continue to reject my excellent suggestion of the Dirt Bag Orphans.