Wish Walk gives Pacers' Mark Boyle perspective
Equipped with an IPod, yellow construction vest and Stewie Griffin pajama pants, the last of a 500-mile journey ended with a turn off Ford Street in Zionsville.
About a dozen people waited with ballons and pom pons as he came down the parking lot of the Marsh Supermarket to his RV that served as his home during his journey across the state of Indiana.
"I thought it would be fun-and it has been,"
said the longtime voice of Pacers' basketball of the journey-but he got more than he believed he would.
The walk, which started in Fort Wayne on August 17th as a way to raise money for the Indiana Children's Wish Fund-and gain some perspective of his own.
In the process of going from Indianapolis to Fort Wayne and a number of small towns in between, Boyle discovered the walk's power to raise money and awareness for the cause.
As he ends the journey, around 50,000 dollars has been raised to grant children 3-to-18-years-old with life threatening illnesses a wish.
"I think people in general are real receptive to things that help kids, even in a bad economy,"
said Boyle. "It's been gratifying. They'll give us five dollars, ten dollars, in some cases change, they'll bring us bottled water, just a thumbs up as people drive by."
"The thing I really didn't expect-and maybe I shouldn't have, I've lived here long enough to know how people are,"
said Boyle. "But because I really never gave it any thought-was how generous and supportive all the people thoughout the state have been."
From Fort Wayne, Boyle went down to Columbus, then west to Bloomington and then north to Lafayette and eventually back to Indianapolis.
Boyle came face-to-face with new people and places, making his walk as much about discovery as charity.
"I've been here over 20 years and I've never been to Decatur or Berne, some of these smaller towns, Metamora,"
said Boyle. "It's been fun to see these towns that I've heard about, and to have met people who've lived or visited there and now to actually see it for myself."
"I now have a picture to go with the names."
Never was that more true when Boyle walked into the parking lot in Zionsville Monday and saw a few of the children who are aided by the wish fund in person.
"It's abstract, its conceptual, because you know what you're doing and you have a goal in mind, but then when your walking for 15 or 16 miles and you're hot and tired and you go into a parking lot and there is a bunch of kids there, even for an old surly guy like me its a little overwhelming,"
said Boyle.
