a race of a different kind

I drove (because I was short on time before they closed - not 'cause I'm a lazy ass ;)) to the high school where I swim this evening and could not find a parking place for the life of me. There were people all over in crazy costumes and a big bouncy giraffe thing set up on the track. What the hell? As it turns out, the Relay for Life is going on at the high school tonight, raising money for cancer research.

Since by this point I wouldn't have time to get my swim in, I decided to head home and then walk over to the high school to check it out. My friend B. and I made it just in time to see the "Survivor's Lap". The cancer survivors walked a lap of the track in order that they were diagnosed - from most recently to longest ago. It was inspiring to see the people in the front of the procession, some still bald from chemo all the way back to those who survived cancer long before I was born.

I've gotta spin now for an hour or so and then some friends and I are going to head back with a blanket and watch people walk through the dark in a race of a very different kind.