For the vast majority of humans life gets increasingly more stressful, and less enjoyable.  Most folks have a sense of something missing in their lives, although they don't know what.  Many try to fill the void with work or material things, a very few find spirituality helps.

Happy people make for a better planet, a better human existence for us all:) 

WaterSkiing is a spectacular family sport.  It provides physical exercise, interaction and enjoyment of our earth itself. Sadly, not that many are able to experience this great activity.   It's been like tennis was originally, "what you've got" or "who you know".   You see, it's an expensive sport, so you either have to have the financial means to afford it . . . or know someone who does.

The KeNevA mission is to be a portal into the world of waterSkiing, introducing and teaching folks how to affordably enjoy healthy fun.

Traveling along that route we journeyed, as promotional representatives for Ski Ray, to the 1993 Western Region DisAbled WaterSki Champions held at Pleasant Oak Ski Club, Pleasant Grove, CA.  

Never, in either of our lives, have we been accepted by so many different people at one time. 

That's why we're involved with waterSkiers with disabilities.  Skiers with disabilities have been judged by their external appearance. They're aware that external images don't define the soul, the spirit inside.  They accept humans as humans, understanding that life befalls us all and that many of life's major challenges are beyond our control.  They're aware that a person's external image may have been the result of a story they know nothing about, and that the person before them could have been positively affected by whatever happened to them.  They wait to know you before they make a decision about what you're about. They model The Secret of Life.

We've lived the Secret of Life for a long time now, only recently understanding that's what we were doing.  (The Secret of Life is 10 words long, 2 letters per word.  Think about it for a second or two before reading on.)  

The Secret of Life . . . "If it is to be, it is up to me!"  It is up to me to be happy with my life, if I'm not, it's up to me to change it.  If global peace is to be, it is up to me to do my part . . . as in developing peaceful relations with neighbors, co-workers, family and strangers.  We're all part of a bigger picture you know:)  

So that's how we've been living our life.  We'd originally planned on involvement with able bodied tournament skiers, life gave us exactly what we needed . . . skiers with disabilities.   We've learned how to appreciate just waking up alive in the morning and discovering that all our body parts work. We acknowledge our health/wealth could change in a heartbeat.  Enjoy it while you can.

There is minimal financial or emotional support for skiers with disabilities at this point in time, so we've not made any financial return on our waterSki investment.  We give anyway, life's not about $$$ when you get to the end.  Last year I brought my mother home to die, we saw that the hardest time she had was forgiving herself for her life of actions and inactions.  We all reach the end of our life, we're investing there instead of in providing our teenage daughter with the latest most expensive sports shoe. We know we'll be accountable, and what really matters:) 

We know that many people do judge us externally, by what we appear NOT to have.  We rent a very modest, very tiny, house, we have older (paid for) boats and vehicles.  We don't do credit, we don't buy the latest fashion.  Instead we've invested in people, traveling with the US DisAbled WaterSki TEAM to England, Ireland, Australia and plan to attend the 2003 Worlds in Italy.  At 13 1/2 our daughter has made 5 trips to New York, 4 of them alone, as well as the 3 foreign countries with us.  She hangs out at our ski pond with World Champion/National Champion DisAbled WaterSki.  We've hosted many WOW (Women of WaterSports) clinics allowing her to associate with some of the World's top female (able-bodied) skiers.   We've introduced lots of folks from different walks (rolls for our wheelie friends) of life from around the globe, from within our own small town to the great sport of waterSkiing.  Our child has been exposed to many cultures and many socio-economic levels because of our involvement with waterSkiing.

Our ski pond and the experience we provide has positively changed a few lives along our path as well.  Coaching Mark Turner to 2 World Champions (and the opportunity to travel the globe to attend the events), Coaching Tammy Allard to 2 National Championships and a world of equal acceptance has positively changed their lives.  KeNyA held a pond party for her 5th grade class years ago, some children had never even been in a boat.  By the end of the day all had at least kneeboarded.  Someone's Mom stopped by to drop off some goodies and that Mom's life was changed . . . she had an alcohol problem then, she saw us laughing, teaching, and playing with the children and decided what we were doing looked much more fulfilling and rewarding than her life with alcohol.  She's been sober since then (over 3 years) a phenomenal life change for herself and her family:)   

We've discussed our priorities with KeNyA, she agrees she too would rather have the opportunities she's been provided than an image of financial success.

We support not only our two TEAM KeNevA skiers, but also the TEAM and sport itself. Kent and Neva each have RJ's (real jobs), which actually support our ski site and our skiers.   We do what we can to promote the US TEAM through the media and by our human contact with others. No person with a disability within Kent's line of vision is  safe from learning that they too can waterSki:)  Admittedly, I'm becoming that way too!  At first, some folks think we're real weirdos, then they understand we're passionate about the sport and want to share. 

Spiritually, our association with skiers with disabilities has allowed us to become some of the richest people on the Planet Earth!  Admittedly, we'd like to try the financial riches too, we could do LOTS more for the sport if we had lots more to work with:)  Working towards that end, we work our day jobs, buy lotto tickets twice a week (using the same #'s we've used for 16 years) and constantly search for believers/investors.  We continue to move forward by placing our right foot in front of our left . . . and yes we do continue to expect a miracle:)  After all, each and every life on the planet is a miracle!

That's why we do what we do . . . for love of the game, for love of life.  

                                If it is to be, it is up to me!

LastUpdated 08/13/01