Tonight Mary, Brad and I are headed to the post ride event for "Sunflowers to Roses" (http://www.sunflowerstoroses.org/). This is a local KC cycling group that raises money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and other cancer related causes. Each year they have a post ride event and present their 'Carpe Diem Award', which honors those who, 'Seize the Day'. Though I was nominated, which I appreciated, I did not win the award. We were asked to attend as VIP's. Brad thinks it's pretty cool. Details later.
Tomorrow, and pretty much the rest of the weekend will be spent in preparation for next Friday's golf tournament. We have to finish printing player handouts and stuffing 144 player bags. The actually stuffing is real quick, the prep takes some time. I just pray next Friday is as beautiful as today. It was one of those fall days kissed by God's lips….I should be playing golf today!!
Last night I attended my second PC support group meeting. As I wrote back in June, the room consisted of 50 men my dad's age and older. I went primarily to give one of our hats to the AstraZeneca representative for his help getting us a sponsorship for the tournament. The scheduled guest speaker sounded interesting as well; a local Urologist who has Prostate Cancer. Well, he didn’t show up. He was apparently still at the hospital. The meeting turned into a Q&A with the nurse practitioner and was somewhat interesting. However, at the end of the meeting she stopped the group and said "You know it's been about six or seven months since we talked about this, we see the Susan B. Komen information everywhere, what are we doing about Prostate Cancer? What are any of you doing about it?"
It was like I was invited to be there...hello? Do I have a story for you people! I briefly told them about myself, the foundation, golf tournament, the amount of money raised last year, this year's goal and that we had bigger ideas in mind. Our next step is something bigger, like a race/walk. "Would any of them be interested?" I'll cut this short, but I left feeling like there were at least 40 men in that room that were just waiting for something like this, waiting for someone to take the lead and push them into the pool.
Remember what I said way back in the Spring of 2005 - "I didn't get cancer, it was given to me" I thought I knew why and this just reinforced my suspicion. I may have just stumbled upon another reason, a crowd, a group of men suffering from the same dreaded cancer, looking for a reason to get involved, to do more. If they are willing to sit around a lecture hall one night a month and discuss the disease, the tests, the treatments, the side effects, the whole sorted mess, perhaps they will do more? Now I just need to find the appropriate way to motivate them to take that passion to the streets, to do more, to tell these same stories to others.
I might as well dream big people, at times there isn’t much else to dream about.
3 comments:
David, you experienced a convergence of time, place and purpose last night. You were supposed to be there with those people to give them a jump start and the inspiration to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Some of them just need an idea. Others need inspiration. You gave them both. Lucky for them, in you walked.
Jeff
To know so definitively that you have a special purpose is a blessing. We all know we have a purpose but we don't all know exactly what it is. Part of your purpose was revealed to you. I'm sure it's not your only purpose as you have touched so many others. Best of luck with the tournament.
Taking action like you do is admirable, David. Part of a larger plan, I'm sure. I look forward to seeing you on Friday... I think a race would be great, broadens the market for raising awareness.
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