MONTAGUE — The man who circled the globe in his wheelchair 25 years ago got a hero's welcome here Wednesday and advocated inclusion for all people.
Canadian hero Rick Hansen has raised millions for spinal cord research and is on a journey to repeat his Man in Motion tour of 1986 when he crossed Canada. He started in August in Newfoundland and expects to reach Vancouver before the snow flies.
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There are 7,000 volunteer medal bearers joining him in the relay.
"But this time it's not a 'Man in Motion' tour,'' he told the crowd. "It's a 'Many in Motion tour' and I thank you all for being part of it, especially the medal bearers."
The Canadian athlete who was paralyzed in a car accident when he was 15 avoided any big entry to the public event and just quietly appeared; leaving the glory to the medal bearers who ran, walked, or rolled from Wood Islands during the day.
"It's great to have you back for a return visit,'' said Mayor Richard Collins, who presented gifts on behalf of the town and was the mayor in 1986 when Hansen, then 29, stopped here on his first national tour.
Hansen said everyone should work towards their dreams no matter how hard and insisted inclusion for all. The gold medallist travels to Cardigan and St. Peter's Friday morning before arriving in the capital later in the day.
Currie man: There were a lot more than 15 people there. I was a medal bearer and there were a lot of people at the waterfront. Instead of trying to diminish the event with negativity, why not either look at it for the very positive and well-organized event that it was..or simply don't comment. Comments hold very little validity when accompanied by a fake name. If you can't put your real name to a comment, you must not have much belief in what you write. This was an incredible once in a lifetime experience and I would like to thank Rick Hansen and his team for making it an amazing event!