Breast CA 3Day--Twin Cities--Sept. 19-21,2008; 3000 walkers

I was going to start out by writing about the actual walk; however, I have to first write about arriving home from the Twin Cities last night. Bob's birthday was yesterday, and when we arrived back in Upland at 11:30 pm, and walked into our bedroom there were huge balloons all over-----acknowledging his birthday and one for me congratulating me on completing my 95th walk. There were also huge cards on our bed......by huge I mean cards that are 2 feet tall. My card was so wonderful that I want to share the message: Congrats! Hey, if you wanted a smaller card......You should have done something less impressive. Huge accomplishments call for huge acknowledgments. And it was signed by: all of your kidsWasn't that just the best? That makes everything worth it.

OK, so how was the Twin Cities walk? Well, if you have read any journals or if you know me, you know that I really evaluate all walks by one criteria........"did I finish?".......yes, I did, so therefore the walk was great. Please don't get me wrong......just doing any part of the walk and doing the fundraising is fabulous and I am proud of all of the thousands of participants that do that. I just have always had my own personal goal, though I realize that there may be a time when I don't finish, and I suspect that I will still evaluate the walk as 'great'!

The Twin Cities walk was nice. It is not my favorite type of walk as far as terrain. I like walking in cities and through towns, where I feel like I get a 'sense' of that city. This walk was mostly in residential areas and on trails, some near the Mississippi River. The trails are better and easier on the legs and feet than walking on cement; however, I don't enjoy that as much. If I lived in the Twin Cities, I would probably be overjoyed at all the possible walking trails. I think that many of them were old rail lines; and I understand there are many train tracks converted to waking/running/biking trails. That is wonderful for the community.

I don't know if I have ever written about the port-a-pottie lines! This may be too much information for you, so you can just skip to the next paragraph! Every city seems to have it's own particular way of lining up! Sometimes there are lines outside every port-a-pottie. Sometimes there is one very long line, feeding into the line of port-a-potties; Sometimes there are lines at either end feeding into all of them. I do not know how this all comes about, but it seems to be some 'cultural' thing at each walk. In the Twin Cities, I found that people were in lines behind the port-a-potties, but if I walked to the end of the port-a-potties, there were always a bunch with no line. I wanted to scream for them to walk to the other end, but maybe the extra steps were not worth it and standing in line was easier! In any case, I usually observe this and how it works in each city!!

This seemed to be a walk where everyone I spoke to was aware of Bob's Team California signs. Of course, everyone wants to know how many people are on the team......usually assuming that there are quite a number of us. I let them know that Team California is usually one official walker (me) and one unofficial participant (Bob). It also seemed that there were many first time walkers asking me about my banner, etc.

At dinner we were talking to some women about sporting activities. One woman said her son was a champion snowmobile racer; one was telling us about 'ice fishing' and 'ice houses' that are left on the frozen water 'all season'; and one was telling us about her Alaskan huskies, referred to as 'mush dogs'. I have never had a conversation about any of that in California! It was kind of enlightening and mind expanding to hear about those activities, and I don't think we could do any of those sports in California!

I spoke with Jessica and Sarah, sisters walking together. One had walked before and the other was doing her first walk. They were both intrigued with the story of my banner.

JoAnna, 29 yrs. old, is from Madison WI. She has been running in marathons, walking in the Relay for Life and finding different challenges for herself. This was another challenge for her, and she was saying walking a long distance is harder than running a marathon. I hope you continue finding those challenges throughout your life. Thanks for walking with me, JoAnna.

I talked with Renee. She was doing this with her neighbor. The neighbor was behind her someplace. But it is the neighbor that is the breast cancer survivor and they were doing this to celebrate. Renee walks using 'walking sticks', which I use when we hike but have never tried them for the walks. I wonder if that would take some pressure off the joints. I should consider trying that. Renee and I met several times that morning and it is interesting how with some people conversation flows easily. It did and it helped the miles to go more quickly!

Kim is a 43 yr. old 5yr. survivor. This is her 5th walk, and has lost 100 lbs. since her diagnosis. She has lost the weight by exercising and eating healthy. Wow! That is great. She said that she almost didn't do the walk, because writing her fundraising letter is so emotional for her, but did it one week ago, and raised the money that fast! Wow, again!!

I enjoyed walking with Steve. His wife, Judy, died 5yrs. ago from breast cancer. He said that during the treatment she 'never had a break' and she was the 'light of his life'. He has been walking every since. When I asked him how much he had raised in the 5 yrs. he stopped and thought and said about '$50,000'! Oh, my gosh, that is so impressive. Actually I have been trying to ask that question of people who have walked more than 1 time. I ask them the total they have raised for all the years. I want them to realize what a significant amount that is and I think it is a very empowering thought. Great job Steve. Thanks for walking/talking with me.

Bob and I met Laura and Angie in the dining tent. They were 2 friends, both 1st time walkers. Actually they were the ones telling us about 'ice houses' and 'mush dogs'! We loved talking with them and they found me on Sun. to take a picture with me. Good job ladies! You are making a difference.

At the very last pit stop on Sun. a young woman came over to me to hug me and say thank you. I asked if she was a survivor. And when I looked closely I could the little blond hairs starting to grow under her pink baseball and cowboy hats (she was wearing the cowboy hat over the baseball cap).  She shared that she had just had a double mastectomy. She had heard how much money I had raised. I think sometimes survivors look at me, maybe as representing all fundraisers, and are aware that it is because of the money we are raising, and the research that it is developed that has saved their life. I get the hugs that are meant for every single person who has ever raised a dime in the fight against breast cancer. Those hugs are extremely emotional for me. I cherish every one of them. Thank you Stacy and I can't tell you how impressed I am that you walked all 63 miles. What a hero!!

OK.........the last little story. We arrived at LAX, retrieved our baggage, waiting in line for the van to take us to our car. The lady next to me asks me if I am a survivor. She sees me in my 3Day shirt, and observes my Cancer Sucks button. She thanks me for what I am doing. She is a 7 yr. survivor! Another wow! Another hero!

This week we are off to Puerto Rico to walk in the Race for the Cure. That will be a whole new experience. I am doing that because one of my sponsors has a corporate office there and they sponsor a team for the Race for the Cure (5k) and I will walk with their team pf 'seniors'! Could I then say I am walking 'internationally'?

Reminder: regular self exams and mammograms...............men get breast cancer too..................remind everyone you know!