A long walk toward a cure

Lauren Vane

After walking from Tijuana to Laguna Beach, Nathan Auerbach was

tired. Sitting on the tailgate of an SUV parked in a lot off the

highway, Auerbach unlaced his athletic shoes and rubbed his feet.

Instead of taking a nap, Auerbach took a box from the back, pulled

out a fresh pair of shoes and laced them up.

He had been walking for days, but Auerbach was not finishing up --

he was just getting started. Friday was day six of Auerbach’s quest

to walk the West Coast from Mexico to Canada in the name of

eradicating polio worldwide.

Auerbach volunteered to walk the estimated 2,200-mile journey on

behalf of Rotary International’s PolioPlus program to end the

suffering of polio victims, children in particular.

Members of the Laguna Beach Rotary club convened at Three Arch Bay

to walk with Auerbach for a nine-mile stretch to Newport Beach.

“It’s a pretty special thing that the guy would spend his spare

time doing this,” said Laguna Rotarian Jeffrey Redecker, who planned

to walk alongside Auerbach from Three Arch Bay to the Crystal Cove

Shake Shack.

The Laguna Beach club is just one of hundreds of Rotary clubs who

will join Auerbach along his journey up the West Coast. The walk,

which Rotarians are hoping will generate $1 million for PolioPlus, is

honoring the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the polo vaccine

and 100 years of service for Rotary International.

“We’re trying to do everything we can,” said Redecker of the

PolioPlus program, which Rotary started in the late 1980s.

Auerbach, a native of Great Britain, recently came out of the navy

and was searching for what to do next. When he heard about the

Rotary’s PolioPlus program, he knew he had found just the opportunity

he was looking for.

“I just thought I’d try and do something positive to make a

difference to somebody,” Auerbach said.

One of the many people who came out to support Auerbach was his

mother Verna Auerbach, who traveled all the way from France to walk a

few miles alongside her son.

“He’s always wanted to make a difference,” Verna said. “He wanted

to do something for unfortunate children.”

The entire walk is planned to take approximately 100 days. He will

walk for six days at a time, resting for one day a week. Nearing the

end of his walk on day six, Auerbach said he was tired, but he knew

it wasn’t going to be easy.