I sit here typing this Sunday morning a little soar, a little tired, but very enthused. This past Friday was Relay For Life, as many of you know already, and it was a blast! Here is a synopsis, told entirely from my perspective:
Friday Morning, 6:00 AM- I awoke and groggily shuffled into the shower. Got dressed, said good-bye to Laur and Erin (who were both still asleep), and headed to my store by 6:30. The sky was ugly, but I was still mostly optimistic about the day, for the weather report was predicting no rain, just cloudy skies all day. Once at my store, loaded up the chairs, some of the tables, some tools, & signage, and headed to West Orange High School. Parked the truck near the track, opened the door, and promptly stepped out into a puddle that was at least 8" deep. Cursing under my breath, I shook the excess water off my leg, and thought to myself, "OK, not a big deal. We have hours before Relay starts, and I can change my socks." Certainly not a good start to the day, though.
After unloading the truck, I returned to my store for more tables and a pallet of sand. This required two vehicles, so Nelson followed me back to West Orange, and helped Buddy (the school's Groundskeeper) and me unload. Buddy and I then used his tractor to deposit bags of sand every 25' or so around the track. It was at this time, I believe, that the Relay Committee members began arriving with supplies from the ACS office. Wasting no time, Everyone just dove into assorted projects. This is when God tested my resolve, if you care to look at it that way. Or you could just view it as the moment where my inherent clumsiness reared its ugly, inopportune head. As I ran down the path back to the Santa Fe to remove the last table, I thought I heard someone call my name from up at the field, and quickly turned around. In doing so, I stepped off the edge of the pavement, rolled my ankle, and went down like a ton of bricks. As I hurriedly stood back up and gingerly tested my ankle by putting weight on it, I was thinking, "Relay is cursed this year! At this rate, it is definitely going to rain today." I limped the rest of the way to the Santa Fe, retrieved the final table, and headed back up the hill favoring my now sore right ankle, my soggy left sneaker still squishing with every step.
We spent the better part of the next 6 hours or so setting up the field for the event. The skies were foreboding all day long, looking like they were fixing to open up and dump a deluge on us at any minute, but not a drop fell. Volunteers poured in all day long, many from a local church, to assist with the setup. Banners and signs were hung, lights were strung, tents were set up, tables and chairs were distributed. Team G Eagan was there setting up their hot dog stand. At some point, we broke for a well-earned lunch of delicious pizza, but otherwise, setup progressed without further incident (at least that I am aware of), except for a wasp sting of one of our volunteers. Thanks to all of our awesome volunteers, we were set early, and I think most of us took the opportunity to relax a little before things got really rocking. I went to the car, changed my socks (leaving my damp sneaker in the sun on the blacktop in the hopes it would dry out), and read the paper for a few minutes. But before long, it was time to head back up to the field.
We had a great turn-out this year. Over 900 registered participants, and there are always countless unregistered people who stop by to check it out. For example, I personally had 5 unregistered visitors (Laur's parents, PK, Prad, and Prad's son Rishi) this year who all seemed very impressed and are potential participants next year. Registration was hopping and money was pouring in. Teams were really in the spirit this year (don't get me wrong, teams are always spirited, but this year seemed even more so)... it seemed like there were more custom team t-shirts this year than in prior years. Tent City field filled up early and fast (all the prime locations were taken by probably 4:30 PM). By the time Laureen and I had an opportunity to set up our tents, the only options left on the field were in the soggy, boggy parts of the field, or jammed in between several of the larger tents. We opted for the crowded but semi-dry part of the field. With the help of Laur's parents, we quickly pitched our tent and moved our belongings inside.
Back up at the track, we encountered a few technical difficulties with our microphone during the opening ceremony, and one of the young members of the honor guard passed out and required some medical attention, but a student from Columbia High School performed a beautiful version of the Star Spangled Banner, and the Survivor lap got Relay off to a rousing start with approximately 800 people crowding the inside of the track cheering on the Cancer Survivors who made their way around. Then, the Survivors were joined on the track by their loved ones for the Caregiver lap, to the accompaniement of more cheers. As they completed the Caregiver Lap, the DJ announced that everyone should join in and the track was flooded with Relayers!
Over the next several hours, teams Relayed around the track. There were clowns for the children, a martial arts demonstration, a performance by a children's dance troupe, free massages provided by a local chiropractor's office, a bake sale (where Laur's famous cookie bars flew out), Rita's Water Ice and some fancy, gourmet ice cream, and several raffle-type drawings. There were themed laps (like funny hat lap and a criss-cross lap where men dressed as women and women dressed as men).
Then, just after dark, things took on a more serious, somber note as we performed the Luminaria ceremony, with speeches/remembrances by Jennifer Eagan Black and Alyssa Douglas's sister. 1600 Luminaria bags lined the track and filled the stands on both sides, each one lit, and each one with a person's name. Light sticks were distributed to the crowd, and we were informed not to light them until instructed to do so. "If you are here for Mother or Father, please light up your light stick and hold it up," they said. Then, it was a grandparent, followed by a sibling, a relative, a friend, or a neighbor. Pretty soon, everyone was holding up a lit light stick. At this point, a solitary bagpiper began to lead us around the track for a silent, reflective, even pensive lap, all while the names of all the people represented on the luminaria bags were projected on the large screen hanging on the side of the track. It was a wonderful oportunity to reflect on the people we have lost to this deadly disease, and the people who are still here, who are fighting or have already fought their battle with cancer.
Just before midnight, we held our Fight Back ceremony. After several more powerful speakers, people were encouraged to come to the microphone and announce to all present their pledge as to how they would fight back against cancer in their own lives over the next year. Then we walked a defiant, Fight Back lap in solidarity and support of each other's pledges.
As the night wore on, more and more people headed down to tent city to try and catch a few hours of sleep, leaving teammates to circle the track in shifts. I was impressed, though, at the number of people who continued walking all night. I would say that there was never fewer than 50 people on the track at any given time... even in the darkest recesses of the night. Laur managed to get a little bit of broken sleep in our tent from about 2 AM until maybe 6 AM. I myself never slept, though I did spend the better part of an hour and a half sitting in a chair at Registration, talking to whichever fellow committee members or volunteers happened to be around. I believe it was around 4 AM when Deirdre revealed to us that with $4.00 more, we would clear $200,000 for the event. Steve from Team G Eagan (those guys are beyond awesome!!) happened to be walking by, overheard Deirdre's statement, and promptly whipped out his wallet, handing her $6.00. If it hadn't been 4 AM, I suspect we would have been whooping and hollering with joy. As it was, we could barely contain ourselves. But we promised to keep the total secret so it could be announced at the closing ceremony.
We began clean-up shortly after 4 AM, and were done and ready for closing ceremonies by around 6 AM. We provided a Continental-style breakfast of Entenmann's and donated bagels with coffee at Registration, and then we held the closing ceremonies. When Deirdre, Carol, and Lynn announced the total by holding up the huge banner, the place went crazy with cheers and applause, and there were definitely some tears of joy shed! Then we took our final, victory lap, and people began saying their good-byes as we started striking tents and taking down signs, banners, and balloons.
Overall, it was a huge success, and I thank you all sincerely for your support! I look forward to next year, and hope to see you all there.
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