Going in-line to get Bill Gates on-message
But this didn't deter Warsaw's own Forrest Gump, Krzysztof Dzienniak. The 24 year-old decided he stood more of a chance of clinching that vital interview if he stood out from the crowd. So instead of flying, driving or riding to the company's headquarters in Richmond, Washington, the youngster elected to rollerblade the 3,000-plus miles from New York.
Dzienniak embarked on his in-line adventure in order to raise money for two seriously-ill children: seven-year-old Monika Mosur, who was born with hydrocephalus, also known as 'water on the brain', and 10-year-old Patrycja Białkowska, who lost a foot in an acccident.
Having read about the plight of the two girls and inspired by the Tom Hanks hit movie, Dzienniak decided to make the trip to raise funds to cover their medical expenses, which are estimated at zl.60,000.
A description of Dzienniak's 100-day mission reads like the script of a modern-day road movie. Covering an average of 32 miles a day, he won a place in the hearts of the towns and cities he skated through. Although he speaks little English, he carried newspaper articles with him to explain to people what he was doing and relied on the charitable support of strangers for shelter. He even had a pair of skates bought for him when the ones he was using were stolen at a petrol station.
He wore out three pairs of skates on his way west, but in the end reached his destination.
And did he earn that elusive window with the world's number-one name in computers? Sadly not, Mr Gates was out of town on the day in question. However, he did set the ball rolling with a personal contribution of $1,000 (zł.3,110) and kind-hearted employees at the software firm have set up a fund for the girls, with the company agreeing to match it dollar for dollar. (L.M.)
Dzienniak embarked on his in-line adventure in order to raise money for two seriously-ill children: seven-year-old Monika Mosur, who was born with hydrocephalus, also known as 'water on the brain', and 10-year-old Patrycja Białkowska, who lost a foot in an acccident.
Having read about the plight of the two girls and inspired by the Tom Hanks hit movie, Dzienniak decided to make the trip to raise funds to cover their medical expenses, which are estimated at zl.60,000.
A description of Dzienniak's 100-day mission reads like the script of a modern-day road movie. Covering an average of 32 miles a day, he won a place in the hearts of the towns and cities he skated through. Although he speaks little English, he carried newspaper articles with him to explain to people what he was doing and relied on the charitable support of strangers for shelter. He even had a pair of skates bought for him when the ones he was using were stolen at a petrol station.
He wore out three pairs of skates on his way west, but in the end reached his destination.
And did he earn that elusive window with the world's number-one name in computers? Sadly not, Mr Gates was out of town on the day in question. However, he did set the ball rolling with a personal contribution of $1,000 (zł.3,110) and kind-hearted employees at the software firm have set up a fund for the girls, with the company agreeing to match it dollar for dollar. (L.M.)
