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My Avon 3-Day page

Boobs, melons, ta-ta's, bazooms, hooters, floppers, or whatever term of endearment you call them, every man, woman and child on this earth are born with a pair of breasts. For women the Mammary Islands provide a non-stop source of nutrition for their newborns, while for the rest of us they provide a nice place to prop a book, drop food or accessorize. For all the good these wondrous appendages do for us, they also carry the potential for cancer.

I decided that this year (2002) I would honor one of the most influential women in my life, Delight, by walking in the Avon 3-Day Seattle event (60 miles in three days) to raise money for breast cancer research. My friend Delight was diagnosed with breast cancer long before Taxol and other drugs specific to breast cancer were on the market. It is a tribute to her tenacity and strength of character that she soldiered on and conquered the disease. I realized earlier this year how empty my life would have been if Delight had not survived her cancer. I literally would never have met her since we chummed up after the fact.

At 'forty-six something' and with gravity taking its toll on my sedentary form, I knew if I was going to march in the parade I had best get going now. (As my endearing physician pointed out, I am not overweight I am merely under fit. A sad diagnosis but true.) I know that my supply of Hershey Kisses™ will have to shelved until after the event. The organizers seem determined that participants eat balanced meals and drink a phenomenal amount of liquids. I realize that this will impact the Hershey Company's profits but we all have to make sacrifices.

It should not shock you that I have never had breast cancer, although I have had the interesting odd lump on occasion. Most participants in these events are not survivors, but many have had their lives touched by someone with breast cancer. Every day 500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. One in eight women will get breast cancer in their lifetime. Your chances of knowing a woman with breast cancer are almost 100%.

As you read this 1 million women in America have undiagnosed breast cancer. This year 40,000 will die from this disease. If you could take three days and raise money for such an insidious disease, wouldn't you? Well, I can and I am.

I should tell you that this is not a noble gesture on my part. I am not philanthropic by  nature although I like to think I have a giving nature. I make no bones about simply wanting to finish the walk - I have no desire to be at the front of the pack. If I can do this without falling down, moaning or getting lost, it will be a winning event in my mind.

Each participant must raise a minimum of $1,900.00 in pledges which is rather breathtaking at first glance. But fundraising is really just asking people for money and once you get a few queries under your belt and have some initial success you can get almost giddy - as your pledge total rises you can get downright euphoric. Pretty soon you are pinning your donor form on church bulletin boards and approaching total strangers. If nothing else you learn a new skill in life.

Pallotta TeamWorks organizes and runs the event and does it quite well. Each walker receives a three-ring notebook that runs you through fundraising, training, rules of the road and other needed information. Although it would seem hard to believe with an event such as this, people can be removed (I believe Pallotta used the rather unsavory term of "expulsion") for using alcohol, non-prescription drugs, rude behavior and whining among other things.

This website is an on-going report of my ascent into the world of the Avon 3-Day Walk from Enumclaw to Seattle, Washington - a hop of 60 miles - from August 9-11th, 2002. This site was named for two reasons (1) my company name is Resting Rabbit Productions, so bunnies were a natural segue way and (2) the title alone will get people to check out the site and perhaps donate.

I simply have no pride in this venture and am willing to lower myself to almost any depths to make folks part with a few dollars. Thanks! Nancy