Met the “World Guy” yesterday, Erik Bendl and his dog Nice in Dresbach, Minnesota. He is from Louisville, Kentucky and spends months during the year walking from state to state raising awareness of diabetes in our country. His mom died in her early 50s with the disease, and after some major changes in his own life, he “lost everything and gained the world” as he said. Thus, he travels pushing a seventy pound, six foot tall, inflated canvas globe down the road as he walks and talks to whomever he meets and will speak with him. He does so to encourage everyone to “Love yourself and take a walk.” He accepts donations but seems to prefer you donate to whichever diabetes foundation or organization you wish, and emphasizes his main hope is people become more active and more aware of the realities of diabetes.
His cause is dear to my heart as one of my sisters also died at a young age from this disease.
Had the pleasure of buying him supper and listening to his story for about an hour.
You can follow his travels and his thoughts at www.worldguy.org
Good luck, Erik! Hope you pass by again someday.
