The Clog Factory was sponsoring a Relay for Life team to benefit the American Cancer Association. The concept is similar to 24hr bike racing, except the goal obviously is to have someone walking/running on the track for 24hrs. I figured no one would want to go in the dead black middle of the night, so I signed up for the hours 2am-4am.
Those years of team 24hr racing on bikes would payoff at some level right?
Frankly I was so freaked out that I might over sleep and miss my shift that I finally just got up and headed out to the local high school where the relay was held. I got there just before midnight.
I have to admit it was pretty cool. Under the lights kids were playing soccer, other families were playing Frisbee, and all the while folks were steady walking around the track. Some folks walked by themselves, some were in groups. Being at the venue I finally relaxed. Knowing I wouldn't sleep through my shift, I was finally able to mellow out a bit and actually crash out for a bit at our little camp spot.
At 1:00, they kicked up the tunes and all the kids came running to the DJ and started dancing. The kids were tearing it up. When the DJ started playing Nelly's "it's getting hot in here" and the kids are started dancing like they "wanna take off all my clothes" they pulled the plug on that song pretty damn quickly. AC/DC's shook me all night didn't last too long either. Hey, this was a family event. That gave me a nice chuckle in the dead of night.
Finally, they played the last dance song, a much more PG "the twist" by Chubby Checker as they turned off the lights in the stadium and announced it would be quiet hours from 2am -5am.
2am- my shift was finally here: A coworker passed me the reigns and I set out on the track.
It was dark, but warm. I'm guessing I was the only person walking the track with a GPS tracking their miles, and I'm also very sure I was the only guy in the stadium wearing compression socks. Yeah, I'm a dork.
As I walked the track, I admit I was surprised at all the kids. Many walking the track, some camped out in their team's tent, and still more disappearing in to the corners of the venue. Groups walked together with energy cheering each other on, and talking about life.
Just as I was contemplating the meaning of the entire thing, a woman who was obviously battling cancer right now walked past me. That landed on me pretty heavily. I felt my pace slow a bit.
I have to admit as I walked around in the darkness it felt very peaceful. I had found a pretty nice moment of Zen. I was struck by the duplicity of the entire event. On the inside of the track the luminaries all had the names of friends and family lost to cancer. This was the reason we were here, walking for their honor and their memory. At the same time, the kids were dancing and hanging out and celebrating life. You know being kids.
And there it was: celebrate the lives that we have lost, support those fighting the fight, demand a cure and live life to fullest that we can. That was my take away from this event.
4am rolled around, and my friend Martha showed up. We walked a couple laps together and talked about the ways of the world as we often do.
I got home just before the sun came up, and I kissed my wife, and dove into bed to catch a couple of hours of rest.
It was a good night.
respect
fm
5 comments:
Marc, this post, and the prior, both made me teary. Thank you for living a positive life and sharing it with everyone. You illuminate those who encounter you, whether in person or just via the Internet.
Hey Marc - thanks for walking to raise money for cancer research and support. The American Cancer Society directly supports my research and many others'. Their educational information and support for patients and families are quite impressive.
-becky
Felt a good sense of humility from your blog. I heard those compression socks work good!
Good one!
Two pages open from my RSS catch up: The governmnet spent 20 billion dollars on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan the past few years, and how you have to walk in circles at 2am to help sick people.
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