Walk A Mile In Her Shoes 2011

Today, I walked a mile in her shoes. This was my second year participating in this event in Stockton which was, once again, held at the Banner Island Ballpark. Although this was Stockton's fourth annual Walk A Mile event, the event's roots go back to 2001. My brother and I arrived at the home of our Stockton Ports this morning just after 8 AM and each picked out a pair of gorgeous pumps. Since I don't know all of the lingo, let's say they were high and they were skinny.

Before the walk began, all of the men gathered in one section of the ballpark and heard from Amanda King from KWIN and Joelle Gomez, Women's Center Executive Director. We also joined Lt. David Sant, from the Tracy Police Department, in a pledge to do our part to end sexual violence. Amanda King read a letter that was sent to the Women's Center by a rape survivor. It told of how she was poisoned, raped and left for dead. She made it to the hospital where they treated her physical trauma. She credited the Women's Center for saving her life. It was a somber moment for us all and a good reminder of why we were walking.

This year, the walk went around the ballpark three times (twice last year) which was right at one mile. JR and I started around the middle of the pack but ended up coming in last. Once again, there was a lot of support along the way. And we needed it! The crowd yelling by the starting line really helped with each lap.

We had a great time and only hurt a little at the end. It's always great to see the community come out and support causes like this, even though I'd prefer to live in a world where this type of event wasn't needed.

Check out the pictures from today (graciously taken by my wife) - Facebook or Flickr.