Day 286: After giving it some thought, I decided I could stay up past bedtime last night to put in a few more laps on the track and participate in the Luminaria Ceremony at the Relay For Life. As I started my first circuit, I spotted a familiar name on one of the bags. It caught me up short for a second until I remembered how small the world really is: our team captain (Park employee) is a cousin of my fishing buddy's brother-in-law's daughter's husband. Eddie (the brother-in-law), in whose honor the luminary had been created by our captain, passed away several years ago from cancer. Continuing my first lap of the evening, I was amazed at the number of names I recognized, each one a battler against the disease. Some were on the track with me, walking for the Cause. Others were there in the only way they could be, in spirit. Each name I read deepened my sense of connection. I had not realized how many of my friends' lives have felt the fear and grief which cancer brings.
It seems like such a small thing to walk a few laps, and maybe it feels like all you're doing is preaching to the choir, but for several years running, Eatonville had the highest per-capita participation in the country. The people of this small community raised thousands of dollars in support of cancer research, funds raised from registration fees and vendor donations (vendors commit 100% of their proceeds). In light of that, a little sweat and hot, tired feet aren't much to ask. I'll be back next year, you bet.
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