It IS all about relationships!

Several years ago, when Rob Stevens was called to be the priest at the Episcopal Church of Saint John, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, one of the first sermons he preached dealt with the topic of relationships. Whether or not the relationship between a husband and wife, two loving partners, a parent and child, a priest and his parishioners or just friends, life seems to be able to be reduced to one common denominator - relationships.
When one travels about half-way around the world, to be a part of a team of Rotarians and Rotaractors and Friends of Rotary, when converging at the central meeting place of an airport or a hotel lobby, at first the new team members maintain a more formal demeanor, but when one and then another and then another of former team members arrive in wave after wave, all of the reticence and reserved attitude is thrown to the winds, so to speak, as shrieks of joy emanate from team members, thrilled to renew past acquaintances, nay relationships.
This phenomenon began for our team at Newark's Liberty Airport, when I was greeted first by Kelly Wike (now a three-year veteran) and then Aruna and Shiva Khoushik from Ontario arrived with a few of the folks from their respective Rotary Clubs who had joined our merry band. Aruna and I reminisced about last year when we danced our way through the streets and alleys of the villages of Bisru and Punahana. This was all a part of the pre-NID rally (National Immunization Day) when we did our best to attract attention to ourselves and to, thereby, encourage villagers to bring their children to be immunized the following day - to receive those life-giving drops of polio vaccine.
Our group then proceeded to the banquet room of Gallagher's Steakhouse in Terminal C, and had the pleasure of meeting up with Pete Miller (another veteran) and his new wife, Kim. Barbara Fox was also there, along with several others from Vermont, Texas and around the country. We all chatted, ate a bit before moving to the concourse and to Gate 110. The folks at Gallagher's have always been so cordial in welcoming us and allowing us to use their banquet room for our troops to gather. This has become an annual tradition and we truly appreciate their hospitality and their great food!
As we entered our home for the next fifteen hours (BOEING 777) we settled into our respective seats and continued to chat about what to expect once we landed in Delhi. From total strangers only a few hours previous, we were becoming an amalgamation of the ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2011, only to be augmented in our composition when we arrived in Delhi at the Ramada Plaza Hotel. There we met up with Helgi and Huldir from Iceland, as well as Mike and Frankie from England. We were told the "French Connection" was to arrive several hours later, due to a delay of arriving in Delhi. All would be better in the morning, after snacks, drinks, and a hopefully, a good night's sleep.
Funny, how it is so true about relationships - one picks up where one left off, as though only a few hours or days had passed since we were last together. The complexion of the DREAM TEAM would be in a constant state of flux, as we move to the travel portion of our journey, meeting a few more Icelanders, then a couple of
Aussies, and then even more Icelanders and a few more from the US and Canada. TEAMWORK is the mantra, and I have no doubt that this year's group will be every bit as good, if not better (or even the best) than previous DREAM TEAMS.
Together, on February 27, at the NID, we will work to END POLIO NOW, as well as bringing water for irrigation to the poorest of the poor, so they too might be able to sustain themselves and their families with growing crops for years to come. This will be the best ever, and truly, it IS all about relationships!