Good Sports

by Budd Glassberg

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel on May 24, 2006

The Mustard Seed Cure for Despair

The woman was told by her doctor that she had cancer. She was devastated by the thought of it and the ramifications it might have for her. She felt she could not go on. The disease was so pervasive in her thoughts that she could think of nothing else. Her friends tried to console her to no avail. Finally, a friend suggested that she see the wise man. The woman pleaded with the wise man for some kind of medicine to help her deal with her situation. The wise man told her he knew of such a medicine, but he would need a handful of mustard seed acquired from a family where no cancer had ever affected a family member or friend.

The woman went from household to household throughout the village seeking such a family. She slowly came to realize that such a family was not to be found. Forgetting her own health dilemma, she returned to the wise man. He asked her if she had procured the handful of mustard seed. She told him she had not. She said that every family had been touched by the disease in one way or another. She had figured before her search that she was alone in her suffering. After speaking to so many people, she realized that countless people before her and many currently had followed a path similar to the one she must follow. With that knowledge, the woman bravely accepted her challenge and together with some of her newly discovered fellow patients, she concluded that she would make the best of her situation and go on with her life.

The above story is my modification of a story about a woman whose child had died and went to Siddhartha Gautama to help her overcome her despair. In that parable, the woman learns about the impermanence of life and how it is shared among all of us. While we do not wish for others to suffer, there is some solace in the fact that we do not suffer alone. A great deal of healing is delivered to a group who share a common misfortune together.

This June 23, a Friday, beginning at 10:00 AM through June 24 at 10:00 AM an event is planned in Zionsville to bring together every household that has been touched by cancer. The Relay for Life gives all of us a chance to remember, honor and pay homage to those whom we have known and loved that have died of cancer. It also celebrates those who are surviving that disease and raise money to for the American Cancer Society for research, education, advocacy and service.

This year’s Relay will take place in Lions Park. Dozens of people are involved in the planning and hundreds maybe thousands will take part. The event will span a 24 hour period where each participating team will have at least one of its members on the track at all times. Each team will be made up of people in our community who have raised at least $100 each for the cause. Each team will also have a fundraising sale or activity at the Relay.

The most poignant time during the relay is the reading and lighting of the luminarias. The easiest ways for team members to raise funds is by selling decorated paper bags which will be filled with sand and a candle honoring someone who had or has cancer. The candle lighting occurs at 9:00 PM on Friday, June 23 at the Relay for Life. As each name is read and a candle lit in the person’s honor it is a very touching and emotional time and for many a wonderful way to remember loved ones who have gone before us and those who still battle the disease.

This year, I am a team captain of the team Budd’s Good Sports. I am currently looking for teammates and people who would like to donate by purchasing a luminaria for a loved one. Depending on my condition at the time, I would like to participate by moving the entire 24 hours (minus pit stops of course) and ask my teammates to keep me company during half hour blocks. I have purchased luminaria for my departed wife, Molly (breast cancer), and her departed father, Dr. Bob Garrett (pancreatic cancer) and for my father Sid Glassberg who is surviving prostate cancer.

If I have coached your son or daughter and you were pleased with my coaching, or if you have enjoyed a column or two that I have written or enjoyed an event I have organized and you have someone you wish to honor by purchasing a luminaria, please go to www.acsevents.org/relay/in/zionsville/budds_page (remember the underscore between budds and page) and pledge $10 for each luminaria you’d like to purchase, then send an email to me at budd@runz.com with the subject line “Luminaria” with your name, phone number, the honoree’s name, whether it is a memorial or for a survivor and the amount of donation. If you do not have use of a computer, you may write to me at Budd’s Good Sports, 90 E. Cedar Street, Zionsville, IN 46077 or call me at 873-0100 and I will send you a luminaria pledge form. If you’d like to join my team and raise funds, call me at 873-0100 and leave a message.

Even if you will not be walking in the event, please come by to take part in the name reading and candle lighting ceremony and stop by to see what an awesome event this is. There are no mustard seed cures for cancer or despair, but with your help we may find a cure in our lifetimes and help those along the way who will find comfort in the many who are supporting them.

Budd Glassberg is a resident of Zionsville who is active in the local running community. Visit www.runz.com for reprints of all his columns. You can reach him by email at budd@runz.com.