Good Day Iowa!

Expecting to see Steve Ransom coming down the hall, I wasn't prepared at all when it turned out to be Tracey that was coming! Even from a distance, I could see her smile. Of course, the tight royal blue dress she was wearing was trying to distract me away from her face! She was a vision of beauty! The dress clung to her athletic body, stopping just above her knees. She paired it with a simple gold necklace. Her hair was drawn up into an athletic tight ponytail, making her look perhaps younger than she was. My heart was pounding as she approached me.

"Brian Stewart, it's good to see you! I bet you weren't expecting me!"

She took my hand - not a handshake, but more like a gesture between friends. "No, not at all, but I'm certainly not disappointed!"

She laughed as she said, "Good answer! Steve got caught up doing a remote location recording and asked me to fill in for him. Let's head back to the studio, since I know you have a limited amount of time."

She dropped my hand and turned, heading down the hallway, providing me with a view of a remarkable ass, something you hardly ever see on camera. If I thought the dress was tight on her hips, I should have known it was going to be tight back there as well!

We arrived at the studio. It was interesting to see that it looked smaller in person than on camera. The familiar set was there, and I was surprised to see three cameras but no camera operators. I couldn't figure it out until Tracey explained it to me.

"We're a low-budget show. Other than Steve and me on set, we have a producer/director/sound operator who sets up the camera angles before we shoot each segment and then switches the cameras from the booth behind. Once we get your mic wired up and attached and you in your chair, he'll come out and set the camera angles for the three shots. It will be important that you don't move too much during the interview, so you don't accidently get yourself out of camera range."

The producer/director came out and introduced himself. He had me un-tuck my shirt so he could wire the mic cable underneath, making sure it wouldn't be visible on camera. Satisfied, he directed me to sit down before he moved behind the two cameras that would be capturing my image during the interview. Once they were set, he disappeared to the control room.

During the process, Tracey was asking me questions about the race - things like logistics, arrival and starting times, prizes, and then about ALS in general. When she asked me about my involvement, I hesitated a bit before answering, telling her about my wife's battle with the disease and why I was so driven to do all I could to raise money for research.

Tracey looked at me and said, "I'm so sorry, Brian. If you don't want to me to go there, we can talk about other things."

I shook my head. "No, this is important to me. Those of us who have had personal experiences with the effects of the disease need to do all we can to make others aware of just how bad it is. I will be fine - I've told this story many times."

Tracey shook her head. "Wow, Brian - I can tell you really loved her and miss her. I promise we will honor her with this segment. Do you happen to have a picture of her that we might be able to show on the screen? That would make it even more personal for people who have never experienced it before."

I pulled my phone out, and Tracey gave me an email address to send the picture. That being done, she let the control room know that we were ready to begin. I was immediately put at ease with her smile and charm, and what could have been a tense experience for me in front of cameras was instead like a chat session with a good friend.

The entire interview felt that way, affirming my belief that Tracey was a master at making people feel like they were just having a friendly chat. When she got to the part about my wife, she held her hand over her heart as I explained how much I loved her and how hard it was seeing her waste away from the effects of the disease. It's always the most difficult part to discuss, and yet Tracey's questions were filled with caring and kindness. I never felt like she was exploiting my personal relationship with the disease. For me, the interview could not have gone any better.

When we were done, Tracey stood up and came over to me, taking my hands as if asking me to stand as well. I did, and quickly was the recipient of a most wonderful hug. It wasn't sexual at all, but instead was a gesture of gratitude and comfort, since Tracey could sense it was still difficult to talk about my wife after all these years.

She pulled away and wiped a tear from her eye. I was touched to see her displaying so much emotion after the interview. She looked at me and said softly, "I think ALS Iowa just got a new face for their campaign. After this interview is aired, I wouldn't be surprised if other people weren't coming to you asking for your time as well. I hope that means increased donations so we can stop this terrible disease."

I nearly choked up. I'd never been the face of anything, and there were certainly people more handsome than me that could do a better job on camera. But it was true that they probably didn't have the personal experience that I could provide, and I knew that type of sincerity went a long way in the eyes of people looking for a place to donate money.

I smiled at Tracey and replied, "I don't know about that, but if it happens as you say, it will be because of you and the ease at which you led me through that. If you're right and donations increase as you think they will, it will be because of your interest in this cause, and I will be forever indebted to you for making it happen."

She flashed another genuine smile and said, "Well, I don't know about that. People will be drawn to you. It's easy to see how that might happen."

Oh man, that statement made me feel good. If Tracey could see how people would be drawn to me, did that mean she...

'Stop it Brian,' I told myself. She was speaking through the emotion of the story about my wife, and not about a personal relationship with someone as old as me. I mumbled under my breath something about how wonderful it would be if this helps raise awareness and donations. I looked at my watch - my next appointment was in fifteen minutes. I just had enough time to drive back across town to my office.

I thanked Tracey again. She told me that this interview would appear on the Monday before race day the following Saturday. She led me back to the lobby of the station and took my hand one more time as we said our goodbyes. It was an uplifting experience for many reasons, including the tingle that stayed with my fingers as I drove back to work.

******

The Monday before race day had arrived. A few of the associates in our office came in to watch my interview segment with me. As it aired, I was first amazed that I didn't look as bad on TV as I thought I would! I was also happy to see that as expected, Tracey's interviewing skills set me up to appear as some sort of expert on ALS and the local chapter in particular, which was far from the truth. But I felt it was a good segment, and so did my coworkers, who applauded me after it concluded.

During a fifteen-minute break I always scheduled between clients in the middle of the afternoon, my office phone rang. It was the receptionist, telling me that I had a phone call from Tracey Willis. Curious as to what she might be calling about, I thanked the receptionist and switched to the line where Tracey was waiting.

"Hello, Brian," Tracey began. "Did you see the interview? It came out so very well!"

"I did see it, and if it came out well, it was thanks to you. I felt very safe in your hands."

"There's no 'if' about it," she replied. "It did come out well, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. One of our station management members also caught the interview, and now the station wants to make ALS a focus of our community action campaign!"

I wasn't sure what all that meant, but it sounded wonderful. I was anxious to hear more, and Tracey didn't keep me waiting.

"Basically, what that means is that we will develop a very active public service campaign to help raise awareness of ALS and what the efforts are here in Iowa to combat it. In the next few weeks, you'll see PSA's appearing on commercials during all our news programs and even some of our prime-time network shows. We will be working with the local ALS office to find out what message is the one they want the public to know the most, and then making that happen.

"As part of the kickoff of our campaign, they want me to run in the race this Saturday. It will serve two purposes - the first being raising awareness of ALS and why donations are so important, and second, it will show our viewers that we care more about our community than selling advertising on our station. I'm telling you, that interview we did together is going to be great for ALS awareness, and it's not going to hurt us at all either!"

I was overwhelmed! Little did I know that a five-minute segment on an early afternoon infomercial-type television show could have such a tremendous impact for a cause in which I deeply believed! "Wow, Tracey - that's great! I'm surprised but elated as well!"

"So, I was wondering..." Tracey paused. "I was wondering if I could run the race with you. I told you that I thought you might become the new face of ALS awareness after this interview, and if you're comfortable with it, I'd like to make that happen. Cameras capturing me running alongside you would be good for the station as well."

It didn't take long for me to answer that question. "Yes - I'd love to run the race with you! I'll try to do my best to smile as we run, but I'm afraid I don't have a pretty face when I'm exercising like that!"

She laughed and said, "I don't think that's true at all! As long as people are able to recognize you, I don't think they'll be too upset to see your exercise face! I'll meet you at the starting line on Saturday. I'm excited to see where this is going to go, Brian. Goodbye!"

I hung up the phone and wondered to myself...I was excited to see where this might go as well!

******

Race day the following Saturday was sunny but cool, although for runners it was about the perfect temperature. My week had crawled by as I awaited my next opportunity to spend time with Tracey, since she was going to be my running partner. I arrived at the course early to offer my assistance with the set-up. My official work on the race had finished a couple of days earlier, but since we were all volunteers working on behalf of the cause, I didn't mind coming and helping others with their duties.

About thirty minutes before the start of the race, Tracey arrived at the registration table. Like me, she was wearing her race shirt, but the similarities ended there. While I had opted for a loose pair of running shorts, she had chosen to wear running tights that stopped midway down to her knee. She looked like a real runner, and I hoped I could keep up with her.

But then I saw how those tights fit on her back side, and I decided running behind her wouldn't be a bad idea either! Then again, I'd never run a race with an erection before, so I decided I should probably keep up with her and not become mesmerized watching her running in front of me.

She saw me standing behind the table, and after she picked up her number, she came back and gave me a brief hug. It was a stronger greeting than I expected, but if she wanted to greet me that way all the time, that was fine with me. We talked about the number of people who were arriving to run. Pre-registrations had hit an all-time high number, and we had no way to predict how many walk-up registrations there would be, but it looked like this race had a chance to raise more money than ever before.

I was talking to her about how I was afraid she was going to leave me in the dust, but she promised she wasn't anywhere near where her running shape used to be, and she was sure we would be able to stay together. Just then I heard a familiar voice calling out her name. It was none other than Steve Ransom himself, followed by two young but seemingly eager assistants with video cameras. Tracey waved to him, and the three of them made their way toward us.

Once there, Tracey introduced us. "Steve, this is Brian Stewart. Brian, I would imagine you already know who Steve Ransom is."

I shook his hand, and in a rather loud voice, he said, "Sorry about dumping you on Tracey for your interview before. It seems she took good care of you, but you must have been disappointed that it wasn't me!"

I laughed and replied, "Yes, but somehow I made it through, and I think I made Tracey look good in the process!"

She responded by presenting me with a playful punch to the arm. As Steve went off to talk to other people, I turned to her and said, "Is he going to be running with us?"

Now it was her turn to laugh. "No, Steve is not the athletic type in any way, shape, or form. He's here to interview others for the feature pieces we're working on to introduce ALS as one of our new public service initiatives. It's just you and me in the race...well, and the hundreds of others who have signed up as well!"

I don't know why I felt threatened by Steve Ransom, except for the fact that they worked together nearly all the time and I'd only spent time on three different occasions with her. But given the fact that she was with me only because of my connection to ALS, there was no reason for me to feel jealousy anyway. This wasn't going anywhere else; it was just two people working together to find a cure for the disease.

We took our starting places for the race in the 30-minute finisher section, which was a little slower than I usually ran a 5K. I figured if we wanted to talk while we ran, it wouldn't do me any good going all out if I was so out of breath that I couldn't speak a sentence without gasping for air. Several of the other runners around us recognized Tracey from the show, and a couple even commented that they enjoyed my segment. Getting recognized in public wasn't something I was used to, since most of my clients didn't want to let anyone know they were seeing me, so they stayed quiet when we happened to come in contact outside of the professional setting.

Of course, all the people recognizing Tracey meant there wasn't really time for chat during the race. That was fine, because other than talking about ALS, there really wasn't much else for us to discuss. She was smiling more than anybody I'd ever seen during a race, especially when her camera operator would catch us from the sideline and pan as we ran past. Tracey always seemed to know when the camera was trained on her.

Right before the finish, Tracey did ask if it was okay that we held hands as we crossed the line. She explained that it would be good for people to see her with one of the race organizers. She also asked if I would smile as we crossed, as if we were thinking of the victims and families of ALS. I told her that I knew I'd be smiling if we were holding hands, even if it weren't a benefit race, and she laughed. The pack of runners around us had thinned by this time, and about 100 yards from the finish line, I could see one of the camera operators pointing the camera in our direction. Tracey saw it as well, and she reached out to take my hot and sweaty hand, and my heart skipped a beat with her contact.

There was a large crowd gathered at the finish line area, and when they saw the local celebrity approaching, they began to clap and cheer. Cries of "Go, Tracey!" and "Looking strong!" erupted all around us, and in addition to the TV station camera, there were other video and still photography cameras pointing in our direction as well. Tracey was running on my left side, and she lifted our joined hands up in a victory salute as we crossed the finish line together. For some reason, I had never felt this energized at the end of a race, and I felt like I could run another 5K immediately if Tracey were to run it with me.

Tracey must have pre-arranged to find Steve at the end, because she spotted him and asked me to join her. She looked good as she glistened with sweat. I had a feeling I would have loved watching her play soccer in college. She never lost her smile, even when Steve joked that he had just witnessed the slowest 5K race time in history. It was all playful, and I wondered just how much of a happy act Tracey was putting on when she was with Steve, because I knew I would get tired of him very quickly.

They began to do an interview segment that I figured would somehow be part of their PSA campaign on behalf of ALS Iowa. He asked her about running with me, and she explained who I was and that she ran with me to honor me and others who had a personal connection to ALS. The only time the smile disappeared from her face was when she talked about how the disease ended lives early and changed the lives of families and loved ones. The smile returned when she talked about how proud she was of their station to make this a major focus in their public service campaign.

Unexpectedly, Steve stepped over to me, and asked a couple of questions about the race, and especially running with Tracey. I laughed and told him that I'd never run with a celebrity before, and I had to remember everyone who was waving and shouting as we ran by them weren't there to see me. I also told him that I was excited to see the final donation total, and I thanked the runners and all who had donated to bring an end to ALS.

When the camera stopped, Tracey gave me one more sweaty hug. This time I enjoyed her body contact with mine, and the fact that she was warm and sweaty made it even more enticing. It had been a while since I had enjoyed contact like this with a woman, so I was in no hurry to let go. At the same time, I didn't want to bring this amazing day down with an inappropriate hug, so I went back to my gentleman ways and released her. Her smile kept my good feelings going, although I wondered if she smiled for the hug, or because it was her job to make people happy.

Tracey let me know that they were going to review the footage of the race and put together some kind of package for their campaign. She offered to show it to me when it was finished, and of course I wasn't going to turn down another chance to be with her. I offered her my cell phone number so she could message me directly, and she found a piece of paper and wrote it down. I was hoping to get her number in return, but she didn't offer it, and I wasn't surprised.

I returned to the registration area and offered to help with the end of race activities, including the drawings for donated prizes. Occasionally I'd see Steve or Tracey interviewing a race participant. Her on-camera personality was so bubbly and incredible, and it made me realize that my feelings for her were probably stronger than hers for me. I tried to tell myself that this was all for the good of the cause, and that there was no other reason to be excited about being with her, but I knew I was lying to myself.

As we were finishing up, Marilyn Loomis walked over to me with a big smile on her face. "Brian, we don't know the total yet, but it's guaranteed that we have exceeded last year's donations! Getting you hooked up with Tracey Willis has made a big boost in contributions. The interview last Monday was outstanding, and there's some kind of spark between the two of you that shows up when you are together. Holding hands at the finish line was excellent! I have a feeling you're going to get more opportunities on camera...if that's okay with you."

A spark between me and Tracey? I thought I was making things up in my mind, but if Marilyn saw something...well, was it possible that Tracey enjoyed being with me for more than a connection with a cause?