Team 99 Counties: Take a risk and enjoy the ride

Editor's note: Daren Schumaker of Cedar Rapids and Dennis Lee of Walford are attempting to run across Iowa's 99 counties to raise money and awareness for the American Heart Association. They've completed 87 counties. This is No. 86. Next: Franklin

'So bye, bye Miss American Pie. Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. And them good olé boys were drinking whiskey 'n rye, singin' this'll be the day that I die. This'll be the day that I die.'

Most of us have sang or even shouted these words, either alone with the radio while driving down the road or in unison with many others — usually while crowed onto a dance floor in the early morning hours. Like many things in life, most of us sang the lyrics to Don McLean's 'American Pie' long before we really understood their significance. Many have debated the meaning of McLean's words, but it has generally been established that 'the day the music died' was February 3, 1959. However, McLean makes no mention of where the music died, or what it means.

On Dec. 12, we departed Cedar Rapids at a shade before 6 a.m. and pushed northward through a fog, leading the way for the second vehicle of our convoy which was occupied by KCRG-TV9's John Campbell. As we continued north and turned west, the fog burned off to a haze that would hover and remain for the rest of the day. Before starting our run we took a detour to the intersection of Gull Avenue and 315th Street — a location in rural Cerro Gordo County about five miles north of Clear Lake, so that we could see with our own eyes where 'the music died.' After a short hike we found ourselves at the location where a Beechcraft Bonanza that was carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. 'The Big Bopper' Richardson crashed in the early morning hours of February 3, 1959 — killing all three musicians and the pilot.

After our visit, we continued west on Highway 18 and soon found the intersection of Apple Avenue and 250th Street where we would start our trek across Cerro Gordo County. Despite the overcast sky, it was a wonderful December day with temperatures in the low 40s as we headed east into Ventura. Before long we were running along Clear Lake, passing many 'lake homes' before arriving in the city of Clear Lake where we stopped at the Surf Ballroom where Holly, Valens and Richardson had played their last show. We briefly soaked in the history of the Surf Ballroom, admiring all the greats who had played there, but we were soon back at it, finishing our seventh mile as we passed through downtown Clear Lake — even taking the time to go down a slide in a park that we passed.

We left Clear Lake on Main Avenue and passed under Interstate 35 for the last time, and soon we turned onto Seventh Avenue North — running along a muddy gravel road for three miles before arriving at the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office as we completed our 12th mile. We pushed north and turned west onto Highway 18/Fourth Street SW and battled the Christmas shoppers for three miles before turning north on Winnebago Highway and arriving in downtown Mason City where we circled the Globe Gazette and made our obligatory visit to the Cerro Gordo County Courthouse.

We crossed a downtown park, briefly visited the Park Inn Hotel (which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright), and passed over a foot bridge before returning to Highway 18 where we headed east, passing Mason City High School and North Iowa Area Community College. Our legs began to tire, but soon we had arrived on the western edge of Nora Springs where our 26.25-mile journey ended 3:47:51 after it had started.

Like many things in life, we do them without really knowing why. We sang the words to 'American Pie' before realizing McLean was really singing about life becoming less idyllic and, in a sense, about morality. We walked for the first time not knowing where our feet would take us. We talked for the first time not knowing where our words would take us. We loved for the first time not knowing where our hearts would take us.

Each time we do something we are not comfortable with, each time we do something without really knowing why, we take a risk. We take a risk and we live with the outcome, for better or for worse. These types of risks aren't always bad. In fact, the risk you take by stepping out of your comfort zone can be good. If you don't take such a risk every now and then, your life isn't going to be a very exciting ride.

However, you must remember with the good come the bad. With the ups, the downs. With the summer heat, the winter snow. With life, death. One day you could be at the top of the world — just like Holly, Valens and Richardson, appreciated by many for simply doing what they loved to do — and the next day you could find yourself in a much different position. The crash that took the lives of Holly, Valens and Richardson is a perfect example of how life can change in an instant, and how cruel life can be.

We know when the music died and we know where it died, but what does it mean? Take a few minutes and listen to McLean's song. Don't sing, listen. Listen and think. Simply stated, life changes. Sometimes it changes so slowly it is difficult to notice, and at other times it changes in a flash. Unfortunately, each of our lives will come to an end and few of us are lucky enough to know when we wake in the morning if 'this'll be the day' that we die.

Because we don't know, make sure you enjoy the ride your life has to offer. Don't coast through life. Instead, roller-coast. Take the good and the bad in stride, and take a risk every once in awhile. We didn't know what we were doing when we started this journey, and to be honest, we still aren't really too sure. We hope we can help each of you put life into perspective, and help each of you get out of life what you want — and help motivate each of you to put into life what you want to get out.

Inspiration through perspiration. Become active or make a donation to Team 99 Counties or the American Heart Association to help fight heart disease today.

l To make a donation or buy a T-shirt, email Dennis Lee at telcoden@yahoo.com