-     A column by Cindy Cantrell ran in Globe West section on Sunday (also on-line here)

-     Brief and photo running in Globe North on Sunday

-     Listing in Off the Shelf Blog on Boston.com

-     Listing  in Bookings section of the Globe Ideas section on Sunday

-     Listing running in online calendar for Burlington Union, Newton Tab and Your Town Burlington.

-     The listing was also posted to several online sites: boston.com, yelp.com, yahoo.com, going.com, massnonprofit.org and whofish.org. .

The 1-mile course will take the swimmers roughly along the northern edge of the point back to Carsons Beach in South Boston. That is a nice wide sandy beach which will make it a very pleasant finish area. There are showers and a snack bar there. A walkway along the swim route takes spectators between start and finish and there is lots of parking out near the library and the UMass Boston campus. This will be a very fun swim in clean water away from boat traffic and highly protected from wind and surf. Oh and sharks who will still all be out at the Cape and Islands.

The charity that will receive a portion of the proceeds is Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program where Carole works and which we have been donating to for the 17 years I have been doing the Alcatraz Sharkfest swim. I plan on doing both Sharkfests from now on. Hope to get a lot of local swimmers to join me!

Positive & inspirational

“Who Says I Can’t” is a new television show I am creating that tells the story of brave and determined men and women as they overcome disabilities and become athletes. The program will feature the “up close and personal” style of Olympic features combined with the heart-warming community elements of “Extreme Makeover” and mix them with the excitement of “The Amazing Race.”

“Who Says I Can’t” will be hosted by Jothy Rosenberg, a cancer survivor, entrepreneur, and extreme athlete. Jothy lost a leg and then a lung to cancer as a teenager. With an experimental treatment, he beat the odds and survived to become an avid swimmer and biker. He also earned a PhD in computer science and has started various high tech companies. Jothy is a true renaissance man.

In each hour episode Jothy will introduce three different characters on location and tell their story using interviews with them, family members and doctors. Family photos and videos will help tell the story. Jothy will then participate with the subject in whatever athletic endeavor they are undertaking. Whether it’s climbing a mountain, open water swimming or mountain biking, Jothy will say “Who Says I Can’t” and give it his best shot.

Along the way Jothy will relate his own experiences while encouraging the subjects. He was a 16-year-old high school student when diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancerous bone tumor that usually develops during adolescence.  He had an above knee amputation. Three years later, while in college, the cancer metastasized and part of his lungs had to be removed. A doctor told Jothy no one had previously survived this type of cancer once it spreads to the lungs.

So, Jothy headed to the Rocky Mountains. His plan – “Ski till I die.” Well, spring came, the snow melted and he was still alive. He lived because of an experimental treatment. Jothy went on to get a PhD in computer science and become a successful tech entrepreneur and never stopped skiing, swimming, riding, rafting and trying new things every time he was challenged. He’s swum the Alcatraz Sharkfest event 16 times, rode the 192-mile Pan Mass Challenge Bike-a-thon 7 times and works out just about every day.

Profiles in Attitude

One person we hope to profile on the show is Oksana Masters. She was born in the Ukraine with multiple births defects; her left leg was longer than her right leg and she had practically no tibia. She was adopted by a single mother when she was 7 years old and brought to the U.S. After a series of operations both legs were eventually amputated.

Oksana loved sports and tried her hand at, believe it or not, ice skating. She moved on to horseback riding and then played volleyball eventually being invited to try out for the U.S. Paralympic team. In the summer of 2002 she was recruited to try rowing and came to realize this sport was perfect for her abilities. Oksana is currently training to compete in her first international competition, the 2010 World Rowing Championship in New Zealand.

For this episode, Jothy will try his hand at competitive rowing, something he has never done before.

Other people profiled will include a gentleman who found himself over weight and unable to do anything athletic. He lost more than 60 pounds and now, in his late 40s, is an extreme biker specializing in climbing mountain roads. Hugh Herr is another story to tell. He lost both knees from frostbite while climbing Mt. Washington. Herr became a full professor at MIT focusing on robotics. He’s developed and patented special microprocessors for knee and ankle prosthetics. He also runs a camp in Florida for disabled kids.

“Who Says I Can’t” will also feature special editions focusing on injured returning vets as they fight to fit back into society after their sacrifice. Soldiers like Luke Murphy who joined the Army while still in high school and returned from one tour in Iraq without a scratch. Just 20 days before an honorable discharge, he got orders to go back to Iraq. Eight months into his second tour Luke was in Sadr City after midnight in April 2006 when his Humvee got hit by an IED. He lost both legs but has become an avid skier.

“Who Say I Can’t” will be a show to encourage, to cheer, to laugh and to cry with. It will be about men and women with character who reach down deep inside themselves and pull out of their disability. The show will celebrate their strength and courage and inspire and teach all of us how to never give up.

The program will be a positive vehicle in a marketplace full of negativity. For a sponsor it means being associated with program promoting self determination and beating the odds. It’s a timely concept and one that will create a positive glow for any sponsor.

Status

We have a small scrappy production company. We have created the 5 minute “sizzle reel” we need to sell the concept. A first network of huge import has asked to be the first to view it in October. A major sports company has expressed interest once a network commits. This is real and it is going to happen. If this interests you one thing you could do to help is send me contact info on people you think we need to include. In all something like 39 people will get profiled.

We had the most beautiful weekend we’ve had in the 8 years that we have been involved with the PMC. We rode through hills, small towns, marshes and sand dunes, along ponds and the ocean.  The beauty of Massachusetts is so much easier to appreciate from the perspective of a bike.

Thousands of people were out cheering us on all along the entire 192-mile route many with signs about the people they love who have been stricken by cancer. Some of the photos cause tears that add one more challenge to our biking.

As we rode, comments came at me fast and furious about how they loved my book, how I inspired them, or just that I was tough. Each comment removed just a little fatigue and motivated me to go faster, much to Carole’s dismay. The funniest comment of all time was someone who rode up and said “I bet you think you are normal. Well you’re not. You’re frigging awesome!” But every rider is moved by the outpouring of support along the route.  We heard, “Thank you for riding,” hundreds of times those two days.

One of the real highlights of the weekend was the focus on osteosarcoma. During the opening ceremony they highlighted Jothy and the two other riders (one of whom is Valerie Bradley pictured with me below) all of who had lost a leg or part thereof to the cancer. All the donations to Jothy & Carole go to the osteosarcoma fund at Dana-Farber. That was $11,000 in total! Combined with the money we raised for Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program by doing the Alcatraz Sharkfest swim, we raised a total of $15,200 this year from 97 donors! We are so grateful for people’s generous support. Thanks for another great season of athletic fundraising.

Valerie Bradley with Jothy end of day 1

Jothy day 2

All the "living proof" cancer surviver riders

The greatest compliment I can make of the PMC is that if you told me I was going to die on Sunday, which I hope of course does not happen, I would be thrilled to have spent my last day on Saturday riding the PMC: doing something to try to improve our world, and experiencing all that is best in humanity: teamwork and giving of oneself for others.  The riders and volunteers behave in a way that IF there is a God, they would all be acting exactly as God would hope for humans –  caring more about others than themselves on behalf of this amazing weekend!

An excerpt of that interview follows.

What is your most recent book? Tell us a bit about it.

Who Says I Can t?: The Story of A Two-Time Cancer-Surviving Amputee and Entrepreneur Who Fought Back, Survived and Thrived. Two words have the power to change a person’s outlook: good . . . considering. I heard these words my whole life, starting at age sixteen when bone cancer led to the amputation of my right leg. Three years later, when cancer forced the removal of a lung and acted like a death sentence, this epithet continued. I grew tired of only being “good considering” my disability. In the decades since, I have used athletics to overcome this social stigma. I turned my disability into a ‘superability’, often performing in challenging open water swims, class V white-water adventures, cancer-fundraising bike rides, and double-black diamond extreme skiing better than what I call “two-leggers.” And in the business world, when working in a reliable position failed to quench my need for risk taking, I plunged into entrepreneurship, launching seven high-tech startup companies.

…read more…

http://www.necn.com/pages/landing?blockID=279119

Just after completing my 17th Alcatraz swim and my 8th 192-mile PMC bike ride and once again raising over $15,000 for charities doing so, I will host an event at the Burlington, MA Barnes & Noble store the evening of September 9th at 7 pm. Barnes & Noble stores throughout the Boston area now are stocking Who Says I Can’t. This is a chance to meet me and talk to me, learn about why I wrote the book and hear some of the stories from the book. I will also sign books you purchase at the event. The store will have about 50 copies in stock so its a very good idea to call ahead and reserve one to make sure they do not run out. Call them at (781) 273-3871

The store is located at:

98 Middlesex Turnpike
Burlington, MA 01803
(781) 273-3871

Remember, it’s a very good idea to call them to reserve a book so you are not disappointed when they run out. They will order more books if more than 50 are reserved. There is a fully stocked Starbucks with snacks and desserts on the first floor so you can make this a dessert outing. The talk / signing will be one floor up right near the top of the escalator. Hope to see you there!

One more thing: a portion of all proceeds from the book go directly to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute so you will be helping a very good cause!

Here is the link to their on-line listing: Who Says I Can’t

Sponsor: Wellsphere @ http://www.wellsphere.com

Video production: Justin.tv @ http://www.justin.tv

Click on the image to the left to view the video: