Freezin' For A Reason, Take II

Yesterday was the second attempt at the Polar Plunge to benefit the Special Olympics, and it was a big success! The temperature was a balmy 50 degrees at Plunge time, which took some of the luster from the "Polar" element of the event. Nevertheless, the water was bone-chilling cold which made for quite the icy dip. Thanks to all of you who donated your hard-earned funds, I raised a total of $580. The grand total from the entire group was nearly $25,000! What a fantastic donation to Special Olympics!!

I would also like to extend my gratitude to those of you who provided moral support and encouragement, and especially those who made the sacrifice and effort to witness the event in person. Those folks include Mike Mobley, who drove from Omaha just for this event; Jeff and Laura Cadwallader; my beautiful wife Mandi and our kids Kaedyn, Madilyn, and Korynne; my brother Chris and sister-in-law Kristin, and their kids Alicen and Ethan; and my wonderful and supportive Mom, Linda. You are all beautiful people!

As promised, I've included a few pictures of the event. I warn you, however - the images below are not for the weak-of-stomach or faint-of-heart. Please don't hate me or judge me after what you are about to witness. I'm only a guy trying to further a worthy cause, but in the process, was held against my will and forced to don the items you are about to see. Oh, the humanity....

These are shots of the Lincoln Fire Department's Dive and Water Rescue Team. Their rig is pictured on the left, with Smokey the Bear standing next to it. On the right, two of the team members are sitting on the ice awaiting the beginning of the plunge. Just in front of them is the flag we were to swim out to, which was approximately 20 yards from shore. Behind them is all ice! Fire department personnel actually went out on Thursday and used chainsaws and axes to chop away the ice so we had a place to enter the lake.

Shots of me before the Plunge. We called our team Hawaii 9-1-1. It's hard to see, but I am wearing a coconut bra and earrings. Did I just admit to that??

Me with my two co-plungers/workers. Notice the back of our shirts, labeled 9-1-1. From left to right; Sarah Kate Sandquist, Shelly Becker, and yours truly. Ain't we cute?

Yes, we really did it. Hawaii 9-1-1 is in the water at Holmes Lake on March 10th, 2007! In the left picture, Sarah Kate is on the left, Shelly is in the pink wig in the middle, and I'm on the right. In the picture on the right, Sarah Kate is circling the flag on the left side of the picture, I'm swimming back to shore in the middle, and Shelly is waiting to give me my hat which floated off after I dove in.

Post-plunge photo. Dripping wet, pretty darn cold, but feeling good about our accomplishments! Again, you can't tell, but I lost my sunglasses and earrings when I dove into the water. Holmes Lake now has permanent evidence that I was there.

Again, thanks to all who made this possible, and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year!