Taking the Zip Line to Heaven

As Published in the Southington Citizen

Bible Zippers Ready to Go

Over a long cup of coffee at Caffe Del Mondo, Diana Sheard, popularly known to people of all ages in Southington as Valentine the Clown, told me this about a special journey she had taken.  

Valentine, oops, Diana, is a person of gentle heart who has, throughout her 30 years as a clown, generously given untold hours of her talent to various charities, non-profits and churches, apart from her successful professional appearances.  STEPS and Southington Community Services are among the many community service groups that come to mind in those she has served voluntarily.

Valentine in a different costume begins a
twenty-three foot climb to the top.

Beneath the grease and paint, ‘Di’ is the same person as ‘Valentine’, a good-natured, spiritual person of deep faith who openly shares her talent for making people laugh and feel good, while opening herself to deeper thoughts in her private life, inspiring a quiet but uplifting spirituality that comes through in her private and public personae. 

What makes Diana and Valentine run, both in her street shoes and her clown’s big feet?  There are many answers but one of them surely is her love and faith in people and God.  

The Christian Bible ladies, (about a dozen are involved), had no official name for their group though Sheard said it was themed after “My Way”, the movie.  Meeting in their homes on Wednesdays at 9:30 am, except during the summer, the group reads and studies the bible and prays together, sharing their faith and innermost thoughts, coping with life’s challenges and celebrating the joys of happy times.  After eight years together, they all seem to treasure their weekly rendezvous. “It provides hope, peace, and trust in God and my closest friends”, said one member who preferred not to be personally quoted. Another said “We can talk about anything, knowing that our confidence will never be broken. We’ve also learned the meaning of forgiveness even though it’s not always easy”. 

Valentine joins Michelle Pestillo at the top

Recently, Bible group member Michelle Pestillo, who happens to work at Zip Line in Newington, suggested an activity that is quite different: going together to what turned out to be exciting from the perspective of a higher place.  

For the uninitiated, Zip Line offers programs that build confidence and trust, empowering participants to dare to bring out the best in themselves, individually and as a team.  The park is equipped with physical and mental obstacles that bring individuals together in overcoming their fears by building confidence in one another. Imagine a group of adult women, many mothers and some grandmothers climbing poles and going up into trees, twenty some feet high, or getting  themselves over a fifteen foot barrier using their own bodies and each other to achieve the goal of getting every one of them on top and over the wall.  

Deb Mikan takes a different route to the top

Others who took part in the Zip challenge included Marie McLean, Joni Noyes, Anita Mandeville, Doris McAdoo, Tony Escott and Mary Emerson.  Between pictures, photographer Deb Mikan, joined the group in a few activities,  Escott said, “It was an exhilarating experience, entirely different and out of the ordinary for a bible group.  It was an opportunity to be together testing ourselves.  It was a real physical challenge but clearly there was a moving spiritual aspect to it that was rewarding.” 

Zip Line activities are done under careful guidelines that include the use of harnesses, ropes, carabiners and other protective gear.  “Before we started, we prayed together.”, said Sheard.  “You find out how much more you can do than you think you can. I believe it happens with confidence in your team and trust in God”, she added. Heretofore without a name, the group now calls themselves, the Bible Zippers, Michelle Pestillo told me.  The exhilarating experience seemed to shout: “We’ve taken the Zip Line to Heaven.”