When I get to the Hole In The Wall each year the first thing I look for is the new Lotus Flowers on the lake.

Lotuses are a symbol of Transformation and the HITW is all about Transformation. Transformation of the Campers, the Staff, the Parents, the Volunteers, the Angel Riders and everyone who comes in contact with HITW. And all of the Families and Friends of the Angel Riders who get them to and from the start and finish lines. Kids who will miss a parent for two days during the holiday weekend. Those who make it possible for the Riders to get in some training in the very short training season. The Transformation goes out from Ashford like the ripples on a lake when a pebble is dropped into it.

Lotus flowers are special to me for lots of reasons. They grow in the muck on the bottom of a body of water. They grow in algae covered water, stagnant water, they grow up through the debris on the leeward side of the pond. Yet even when they are surrounded by old tin cans and Mc Donald wrappers they are bright and clean -- they make me smile because they Transform their surroundings. The Lotus buds actually grow about six inches above the water before they open. So when they open the are bright and clean. So the Lotuses show us that we can rise above our situation our environment our story -- we can Transform our lives and everyone and everything around us.

I visited a Lotus park in L.A. It is, I think, the biggest Lotus park in the country. The story about the park is about One Homeless Man who made a difference. I don't know his name or anything else about him. He hung around in this park and would camp himself out by an old fountain in an area of the park that was considered not safe and to be avoided. This old man started to clean up the pond, one piece of trash at a time. And after some time he found a Water Lilly in the pond. I guess this encouraged him to keep on taking the trash out of the pond. As time went on he found a few more of the flowers. He kept on his mission of cleaning up the pond and people started to notice. Visitors to the park started going down to the pond to see the water lillies. Soon people brought some more Lotuses for him to add to the others. Some of the offerings were exotic Lotuses. Some had flowers one and a half to two feet across. About that time the city was forced to starting cutting grass and planting trees in that area.

This one man Transformed the pond, also the park, and the city, like the ripples from a pebble, the Transformation goes out in concentric circles.

The AngelRide is about Transformation too. From 32 riders in 6 years ago to about 250 this year. And this year we have a great addition -- the Sunday riders. And two rides for young Lotus riders.

When we stand up on our peddles we are like the Lotuses, young or old, timeless, rising above our situation, our story, our drama -- where we came from. We rise above it all to transform where we are. We wear bright 'Hi Viz' jerseys -- just like the Lotuses. We form a Florescent Garland of human Lotuses across the the state, Transforming more than we can ever know.

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