By popular demand, I have uploaded the video of Nicolai on the Ellen Degeneres Show. Click on the link and select the image of Ellen.

Nico on the Ellen DeGeneres Show

There is another video in the album of Kyle and some fancy soccer skills.

The big news today was Nicolai’s appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Jeanine and Nico returned on the red-eye early this morning after thoroughly enjoying their Los Angeles experience. Nicolai was fantastic and he had a great time. Ellen gave him a Gibson Les Paul guitar and amp which he was thrilled to receive even though he doesn’t play guitar (yet).

Nicolai with Alyson Roth of the Free Wheelchair Mission at Universal Studios. Jeanine and Nicolai enjoyed meeting the person on the other end of the phone. Alyson has helped us at every turn with our fundraising efforts. 

While waiting to pick up Kyle after his soccer game this evening I enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the Concord Carlisle High School. 

Being Mr. Mom for the next three days required me to make a trip to the store for milk. I was treated to Golden Light on the Sudbury River for my troubles. 

After soccer, Maya and I waited to pick up Kyle at our church. He was returning from a weekend retreat in New Hampshire with his Coming of Age group (different from our family Coming of Age Adventures – teens from the church explore their religious beliefs). While we were waiting we enjoyed the clebration surrounding the annual Crop Walk (for hunger). 

Early this morning, I drove Jeanine and Nicolai to the airport. They are headed to Los Angeles to be on the Ellen DeGeneres show. The show will tape on Tuesday and air on Wednesday. I made it back to Concord in time for my soccer game against Framingham. I warmed up with the team but opted not to play. I think I need another couple of weeks before my knee is ready for game level intensity. We tied 3-3 in a very combative match. Afterwards, I dropped Maya off for her soccer clinic and then found a nice field for some photography. 

Maya beats her defender and makes a run up the sideline in her game today. The hard faught match ended in a tie. 

A rather overcast day today and little time for photography so I am posting a shot of Kyle I took last weekend. He had just completed some work for me in the yard and did not realize his face was covered in dirt. After work today I attended soccer practice in the rain. My knee is on the mend and I had a pretty good run although I am still in no shape to play in a competition. Nicolai was invited to be on Good Morning America in December and received an interview request from the Smithsonian Magazine. 

This photo really needs to be viewed at full resolution to appreciate the leaves. Click on the photo to get the full image. 

This black beauty made a nice foreground for the fire red foliage in the background. 

I left for work early so I could hit the Great Meadows NWR on the way in. Colors were a bit muted because of the cloud cover. 

Fall is upon us. My favorite season of the year. I am very tempted to take a vacation day to enjoy all the beauty New England has to offer but work is very intense at the moment. I may have to settle for photography along my commute as was the case this morning.

Today was a pretty big day for Nicolai. He was featured on the front page of the Boston Globe, was interviewed on NPRs All Things Considered by Michele Norris, and met the Founder and President of the Free Wheelchair Mission at a dinner gathering thrown in his honor. The Globe is reporting that Nicolai is the youngest disabled climber to summit Kilimanjaro after checking with officials in Tanzania. NPR reported that I am an accomplished professional mountain climber (who knew, I always thought I was a professional engineering manager). Don Schoendorfer, pictured here with his low-cost wheelchair design is an MIT mechanical engineering graduate who founded the Free Wheelchair Mission and whose work has made it possible for nearly a quarter of a million disabled poor to receive the gift of mobility.

Link to NPR Interview

Link to Boston Globe Article