Tag Archives: relay for life

Birthdays and spinnerbaits

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Imagine a future with more birthdays — a future without cancer.

It never hurts to dream big!

The American Cancer Society is celebrating its 100th birthday May 22 and, with it, the many milestones it has reached in the fight against cancer.

As Nobles County gears up for its 17th annual Relay for Life event June 21, in Worthington, 19 teams — 250 Relay members — are raising money to help in the fight against cancer locally, across the state and around the country. The money teams have raised over the past year, combined with those from luminaria contributions, donations and campsite sales at the Relay are used for cancer research, education, advocacy and service.

It isn’t too late to be a part of Relay and create or join a team. For more information, call Kim Lambert at 372-5305 or 360-6406, or email rflofnoblescounty@hotmail.com.

In recognition of its 100th birthday, the American Cancer Society is tooting its own horn, as well it should. For instance, did you know that two out of three people diagnosed with cancer today are surviving at least five years? ACS research has led to a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates in the U.S. since the early 1990s. In other words, the lives of nearly 1.2 million people have been saved in the last two decades.

So, happy birthday ACS! Wouldn’t it be great if, in the next 100 years, cancer could become a disease of the past?

Speaking of birthdays, I must say happy 19th birthday to my niece Jessie, along with her mom, Connie, who notches another “40-something” birthday.

With one mother-daughter birthday in the family, we’re all wondering if there might be another double birthday next month with nephew Matt and his wife expecting their second child. Matt’s already been told if they have a girl, he can expect Princess cakes for the next several years!

Matt, my fishing buddy ever since he was old enough to hold a rod and reel, took a couple hours out of his busy life to go fishing with me last Saturday night.

I still see him as the little boy who told me stories on the shoreline as we waited for bullheads to bite at Hawkinson Bridge, but thank goodness he grew up to learn fishing skills from more than just his “Aunt Juwee.”

I may have taught him how to bait a hook, but now he has taught me not just what a spinnerbait is, but how to use it. We weren’t successful in catching any bass the other night, but I did manage to catch my first northern pike of the season. (Matt even made me take it off the daredevil all by myself!) He had caught a much larger northern a few nights before my success, so I guess he has the bragging rights again this year.

Busy, busy, busy

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There’s something to be said for a jam-packed week, I guess. I knew it was going to be busy already last week, as I sketched out meetings on my calendar for nearly every night of the week.

The two non-meeting nights were tonight (I typically work at the newspaper office on Thursdays to proofread pages, type obituaries, call area law enforcement offices and deal with the weather information), and Friday, which is of course the Nobles County Relay for Life.

In between leading a 4-H meeting Monday night, covering two County Board meetings Tuesday night, along with a Lessard-Sams public meeting Wednesday night, and doing my typical night duty at the office tonight, I also managed to put together our next edition of Today’s Farm. (It goes to press this weekend and will be included in your Daily Globe next Wednesday.)

I’m already certain I won’t be able to stay awake for the 14-hour overnight Relay for Life this year – it will be the first time in four years that I won’t be staying at the campsite with my team for the duration.

I will be working with my teammates at the Relay’s Silent Auction (in the hockey arena at the Nobles County Fairgrounds) Friday night, so be sure to stop on out and bid on some of our fabulous gift baskets, gift certificates and donations from local businesses. All of the money raised in the auction goes toward our county fundraising goal of $93,000!

The silent auction starts at 5 p.m. and continues to 10 p.m.

While I won’t be staying all night long, my plan is to be back at the track before 7 a.m. Saturday to hear the final fundraising total and help with the clean-up efforts.

The early morning will jumpstart what I already know will be one busy weekend. Such is the life of a newspaper reporter who has to work the weekend summer festival circuit.

Light up the night

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There’s something pretty awe-inspiring about seeing hundreds of lighted luminary bags lining a track on a picture-perfect mid-June evening — especially when each of those bags contains the name of a person who has died from cancer or who beat the odds to live another day.

This Friday marks the 14th annual Relay For Life event in Nobles County. It is a time for us, as Relay team members, to celebrate cancer survivors, honor those now undergoing treatment and remember those who fought the fight.

Who can attend the Relay For Life? Anyone. You don’t need to be a cancer survivor. You don’t even need to know someone who has or had cancer.

A year ago, a newcomer to the Daily Globe Relay For Life team wasn’t quite sure what to expect about the Relay. She had anticipated it to be a somber event, but in reality the Relay is more of a celebration.

Granted, the Relay isn’t on par with bigger community festivals like last weekend’s Regatta or September’s King Turkey Day, but it does good things for the community, and more importantly, for its residents.

In 2009, the Nobles County Relay For Life raised more than $93,000 for the American Cancer Society to fund research, education and advocacy. Lest you think that money goes out of state and doesn’t help local people, here is an interesting statistic: In 2009, $6.9 million in grant funding for cancer research was awarded to Rochester and the University of Minnesota — more money than what was raised in all of the Relays conducted around the state last year.

The money we are raising is helping to save lives. It is that simple.

We raise money by selling luminaries and butterflies, seeking sponsorships from businesses and individuals across the county, collecting donations for the silent auction and, throughout the night of the Relay, selling food or other trinkets at our campsites to help meet our fundraising goal.

We’d love to be able to surpass last year’s record-setting Relay, and we’d love to see more people from the community come out and support this worthwhile cause.

Just to entice you, JBS/Local Union 1161 will be selling grilled pork chops on a stick throughout the evening as a fundraiser at its campsite; First State Bank Southwest will sell cupcakes and bead necklaces; Jennifer’s Family is selling cheesy turkey sandwiches, pop, water, glow jewelry and yo-yo water balloons; the Farley’s & Sathers team will offer walking tacos in the evening and rolls, coffee cake and juice in the morning; Sanford Regional Hospital Worthington’s team is selling hot dogs, chips and a beverage; the Daily Globe team is making fresh fruit cups to sell; Bonnie’s Walkers will have angel food cake and strawberries for sale; and Bedford Technology will sell necklaces and can coozies. All proceeds from each of the campsite fundraisers go to the American Cancer Society.

In addition to all of the food options, Jennifer’s Team will have a bounce house for children to play in, and the AOK Club is planning a Guitar Hero competition and then a movie or two on its big screen to help everyone stay awake overnight.

Team campsites, the Silent Auction and Smart Shop open to the public at 5 p.m. on Friday, and this year’s Relay For Life continues until 7 a.m. Saturday.

Please come and spend an hour, an evening or the overnight with us. Our theme this year is celebrating a world with more birthdays.

Ready for the sun to shine

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I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time we had a day that didn’t include at least a little rain. Maybe it was last Tuesday or Wednesday, maybe it was longer ago than that.

My shift at the Daily Globe tent during the Regatta seemed to be the one part of Saturday when it didn’t rain – I was thankful for that. I watched the windsurfers as they raced on the far side of the lake, I tied balloons on the wrists of little kids, helped sell Regatta T-shirts and was in the tent when both of the $100 winning plastic balls were turned in. (The numbered balls were tossed out along the shoreline and people of all ages collected them and turned them in at the Globe tent for prizes.)

With the Regatta now complete, it’s time for the next big weekend … and it’s just five days away! The Nobles County Relay for Life is Friday night. I’ll be writing a couple of Relay-related stories and at least another blog for the Daily Globe this week as we prepare for this big event to honor those who have died of cancer and celebrate those who fought the battle and survived.

I just hope the sun returns by Friday - and stays around for a while.

Lucky

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I hope you don’t mind if I pass along someone else’s story in my blog today.

Last night, during a Nobles County Relay for Life committee meeting, our American Cancer Society district communications person read the following story to our group.

I’d never heard it before, though I understand it has made the rounds via e-mail. I don’t know who wrote it, or how long ago it was written, but as a dog lover with a pretty pooch who often brings me gifts (dead snakes, toys, bones and more dead snakes), I felt I could relate at least a little bit to Mary and her canine companion Lucky.

A dog named Lucky

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named Lucky. Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit, they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky’s toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky’s other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box, and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease … in fact; she was just sure it was fatal.

She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her … what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary’s dog through and through.

If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won’t understand that I didn’t want to leave him! The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated, and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.

Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn’t even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap.
Lucky stood watching Mary, but he didn’t come to her when she called. It made Mary sad, but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second, she couldn’t understand what was wrong. She couldn’t move her head, and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life.

He had covered her with his love!

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking farther and farther together every day. It’s been 12 years now, and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box, but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember … live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget … the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

If you see someone without a smile today, give her one of yours! Live simply. Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.