Komen Race for the Cure

This past Saturday a group of us participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Birmingham, AL. We participated for the first time last year, running/walking in support particularly for Queen Shenaynay over at the Beehive, and also for all the other women we know and love who have had breast cancer.

The race starts at 9:00, and we tried to be there between 8:00 and 8:30. I learned that next year, we will definitely need to be there around 7:30. Several of us met at Table and I's apartment and rode to the race together. We ate bagels and had juice to get us going. And of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some pics on the way.

We managed to get a quick photo of our group, but I think it is missing a couple of people. Brother Bucky managed to take a quick nap before heading off to walk.

There were 10,000 + people there this year. Maybe as many as 13,000. Unfortunately, our group got seperated, so we weren't able to all walk together. But we all had a great time and had some great stories afterwards. For example, John and I thought we were about to see a fight break out, between two women! The lady in front of us whipped out a cigarette and started smoking while walking. (Yes, yes. We all considered the irony and desperately wanted to ask her, "what are you thinking?") Well, the lady to our left started coughing exaggeratively (don't know if that is a word, but it fits). Then, she started talking to the lady about how she has asthma and what does she think she's doing walking for breast cancer research and smoking at the same time and why doesn't she just go smoke in a room all by herself and kill all the brain cells she wants...on and on and on. It was crazy. But, she finally hushed.

Sis. Lauretta did a good deed during the race. She had just got started walking when she saw a little boy crying and screaming. So, she went over to him and he had lost his mother. They guessed he was about 5. So, she told every police officer she saw the situation and gave them her phone number. Finally, they caught up with the mother somewhere in the middle of mile 2 or 3.

So, that story makes this picture even funnier. After the race, we saw a mother and child strapped together. That child wasn't going anywhere. That's the way to do it.

Great friends. Great cause. Great day.