This is Sam and Connie, brother and sister, thirty years ago.
Thanks for the beautiful birthday message bro. You have been by my side for as long as I can remember.
The 7 year old in me enjoyed playing cars and dress-ups with the boys today.
The 30 year old in me is long forward to dinner and drinks with my gorgeous hubby tonight.
And all 37 years of me loves the birthday messages I have received
today. I feel humbled and privileged to be a part of Love Your Sister
which brings love and laughter to my life every day, but especially
today as I celebrate another important milestone.
xx Connie
facebook - 4 January 2014
Now, Connie is terminally ill with breast cancer and Sam has committed to an epic
challenge. He’s riding around Australia on a unicycle, to keep this promise to Connie :
1. To raise a million dollars for breast cancer research
2. To raise awareness of the disease that’s killing her
3. To break the Guinness World Record for the longest journey on a unicycle
Samuel
and Connie were born a year apart, so they’ve always been close.
Growing up they played together, explored the neighbourhood together…
and fought cancer together.
Connie has fought cancer three times in her life
and Samuel has been with her every step of the way. This time things are
different. Connie is dying and she doesn’t have much time left.
Faced with the fight of her life, she set Samuel
the toughest challenge she could think of. It started as a joke in the
kitchen. It turned into a promise.
The goal?
- Set a new Guinness World Record for the most distance travelled on a unicycle
- Raise $1 million
- Spread Connie’s message of breast cancer awareness.
Samuel has consulted all the experts, taken
none of their advice and he’s setting off on the challenge of a
lifetime. He made a promise and is determined to keep it!
- See more at: http://loveyoursisterorg.tumblr.com/thestory#sthash.uFGiRhVg.dpuf
So far, he has ridden 13.660 km and raised $1.2million.
Read more at loveyoursister.org and follow Sam and Connie's progress on facebook at loveyoursister
There's still has a month of cycling across the Nullarbor before Sam completes the journey at Federation Square, Melbourne on 13 February.
Samuel Johnson was born at Daylesford in 1978. Over recent weeks, his and Connie's friends have been readying the community for his return home, yesterday evening.
5pm: the town begins to gather. Another local, the author and journalist Andrew Masterson, arrives at The Savioa.
5.30pm: a pink mural billows on the main road.
6pm: Sam is sighted up the road, on his way from Daylesford with an escort of pinked-up bikies and the local Police.
Lisa Gervasoni (of many generations hereabouts) prepares to document as Andrea Lindsay signals Sam and the escort to stop for a moment so that members of the Daylesford Community Brass Band can lead them the last few streets.
Imagine arriving home like this.
Under the banner you can just see Sam's pink unicycle wheel, up there in the thick of things.
And from the other side of the banner, how the official photographer saw the rosy-hued scene.
click image to enlarge
My
hometown of Daylesford-Hepburn Springs turned on one heck of a LYS
party! So proud to be born into such a diverse and giving community. My
heart is so full. Thank you. xsj
- Samuel Johnson, facebook 9 Jan 2014
The building you see here, across the road from The Savoia, is known as The Macaroni Factory. It goes back to the gold days of the 1850s.
How very curious that twelve years ago we were all gathering around that building to witness the filming of Jan Sardi's 'Love's Brother' (2004).
click image to enlarge
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA
Finally, here's the scene in Love's Brother in which, much like
yesterday, residents of Hepburn Springs line the street to await THE RETURN of the legendary Love
Your Sister unicyclist.
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA
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