ONE DAY

Tomorrow is the day!
You’ve watched/read/listened to me talk about this Tulsa Walk to End Alzheimer’s for months now, and the big day has finally arrived.
Here is what you need to know:

• 7:30 am – Arrive at TU for the pre-Walk festivities such as a live DJ, face painting, photo booths, bead contest, inflatables, balloon artist, games, and much more.  The party is happening on Dietler Commons which is directly west of McFarlin Library at 6th Street and Delaware:
• Parking – no college campus in America has fabulous parking…this is what I recommend…
  • If you are a TU football regular (THANK YOU!!), just park where you always do for games.  By the time the Walk is over, game traffic will be heavy, and this way you are already settled in your normal spot using your normal pass or permit.
  • UBER/LYFT
  • Keplinger/Law Lot at Harvard and 4th Place will become a cash lot three hours before kickoff, but Walkers will beat the money-collector, so it’ll be free for those arriving before 9:30 am.
  • Public Lot at Harvard and between 4th Place and 3rd Street is a TU-owned lot that is used for game day traffic and open to Walk participants at no charge.
  • Prosperity Bank at 1330 S. Harvard has donated their entire lot for Walk participants.  The Alzheimer’s Association has partnered with several senior living facilities to provide shuttles from here to campus.  Of course, one can always use the 2 blocks to campus as a nice “warm up” for the walk 😉
  • Wherever one can find a spot that does not have a posted “NO PARKING” sign in front of it is fair game.  (Hey, I said upfront, “No college in America has fabulous parking.”)
• 8:45 am – Finish up your bead collecting and photo taking and make your way in front of the stage for the event program with my beautiful friend and our special guest emcee Neile Jones from KTUL Channel 8.
• 9 am – Fall in to start the Walk, and be sure to SMILE!  A friend of TU has offered to take drone photos for us, and they are going to be AWESOME!!  The first jaunt of the Walk will be to circle Dietler Commons so that we fill in the entire perimeter of the Old U with purple advocates to END ALZ.  At that moment, 6 lucky volunteers will hold up huge signs that spell out E – N – D – A – L – Z for the perfect ariel pic.  This was dreamed up by yours truly, and I am totally fired up to see it in living color!
• 10 am(ish) – After crossing the Finish Line at the Kendall Bell in Bayless Plaza, keep walking over to Chapman Commons, AKA: the New U, to relax at the ALZ tent, and enjoy live music, another set of inflatables, more games, more food, and more fun!
  • PS: Food trucks are available in the VIP Lot just east of the New U (right between Chapman Commons and Chapman Stadium) in case you’re ready for some brunch, lunch, or a cold beverage.
• noon – Gather up your goodies, find a can for your trash, and get your crew on into Chapman Stadium for Coach’s 3rd Annual Alzheimer’s Awareness Game vs. New Mexico.
  • Stop by the Alzheimer’s Association table just inside Gate 2 to enter a raffle for an autographed TU football helmet as well as 6 tickets (and a parking pass) to next weeks game vs Navy.
  • When on defense, make all the noise you possibly can.  Stomp, scream, clap, and holler…whatever it takes!  We want to annoy, beleaguer, and bedevil the opposing team’s offense as much as possible.
  • When on offense, wave your flag.  These are available for game use [for free], so pick one up on your way into the stadium, and wave it big so that our boys feel our energy while still hearing their own cadence and count.
  • “Reign Cane” on our 1st Downs!  Listen for the announcer to call out each “Golden Hurricane First Down” and answer with a loud and resounding “REIGN CANE”  and be sure to get your entire section shouting with you!
  • Stand and stay.  Yes, stand up throughout the entire game…it’s ok if the person behind you can’t see because they need to stand up as well 🙂  And please, please, pleeeeeeaseeeee stay until the end!  Regardless of the score, I can promise you that your Golden Hurricane football team, coaches, trainers, cheerleaders, band members, and the myriad of behind-the-scenes workers have put every bit of their heart into this endeavor, and they absolutely love seeing and thanking the fans after the game.  They are wonderful about signing autographs, posing for pictures, and giving hugs and high fives, so please stick around and let them know you were here today!
• 5 o’clock…or so – Plop down on your couch, put up your feet, find a few more CFB games on TV to enjoy because you’ve earned it.  Just be sure to make plans to be back at TU next Saturday, September 30th to do it all over again against Navy.

ONE DAY…
One day is enough time to register and make plans to participate in this year’s Tulsa Walk to End Alzheimer’s if you have not yet done so.
One day will have us knocking on the door of our $1 Million fundraising goal; please consider donating here if you have not already, and if you have: THANK YOU!
One day we will have the money allocated to research this disease at a national global level that will produce viable treatment options.
One day I will see my Grandma Syble again.
One day we will have a first survivor.

Thanks for sticking with me throughout this 8 month journey, and thank you for helping me Walk to end ALZ!
Love and hugs,
Ashli