Weddings

We are back on the wedding circuit now that our friends daughters and sons are at the marrying age.  Each one is more lovely than the next and full of joy as the couple start their journey together.  They are young, full of hope for the future, clearly totally in love and in some cases add a bit of humor to an important ceremony.

But there it is, just about the time the groom walks in, that lump in my throat, those tears waiting to escape and my shaky hands.  Looking down and taking a deep breath is my defense against what has been dashed away from my life.  Don't take me wrong I am genuinely happy for every couple.  They have found their soul mate.  But Joe never had that chance.  He was cheated, we were cheated.  I will never know who he would have chosen or vice versa.  I will never see his family.  I will never dance at his wedding.

Mission Statements

As we continue our serious business of moving forward and growing Joedance Film Festival I was set to the task of writing the mission statement.  You know I wanted to go on and on about these rare cancers, how they have little funding, the break throughs are far and few between.  The numbers of those who are afflicted are small, so small that it is 300 or less a year.

And in the end it came down to a few short lines.  Joedance Film Festival raises funds and awareness of rare and complex cancers, specifically sarcomas, blastomas and brain tumors for research and clinical trials.

That is what Joedance is all about and we appreciate your support these past years and the years to come.

Serious Business

Bert Woodard coming on board as the head of PR thrust us into the serious business of Joedance.  We are in an arena of several folks that want to join us in raising money through a film festival for rare and complex cancers.   They are passionate and throw so many ideas at us to the point of head spinning.  But one meeting, maybe it was two meetings, there was a thread of reality;  take it slow and remember why you started Joedance.

We started Joedance because we loved Joe and he loved films.  We started it because we were sad and we wanted a time and place for our family and friends of our family to be together to remember an extraordinary son, brother, grandson, nephew and friend.  We started the film festival to hopefully find a better treatment for osetosarcma.  We continue on to raise awareness of this rare cancer that only afflicts 300 adolescents every year.  We are committed to our son's memory and to those who will benefit from research.

And with your support  we will make that happen.  Thank you and I extend my deepest gratitude for  your time and energy in support of Joedance,

Back to College

David flew off to Scotland on Monday compactly packed in his one small checked bag and two even smaller carry on bags.  He is a light traveler.  A message on my Facebook came late at night the he had arrived and was moved in to his apartment in St. Andrew's.  Tony leaves on Tuesday and will arrive in Chicago after our 14 hour drive.  I will deposit him at a friend's apartment until he can move in to the dorm on the 20th.  

And so starts the second year of college and leaving me to wonder where the time went.  So many had said to me when they were born the time goes by so quickly but that was hard to believe when stuck in those long days when they were babies. And somewhere between the diapers and the diplomas the time flew at warp speed.  Looking back now it seems that just one blink later they are talking about medical school, graduate school and careers.

I cannot control the time flying past me but I recognize the occasional pause as they share their` dreams of their futures. Then a second later they are off to another topic.  Yes, it is on to the second year with a snippet here or there and the  comfort of knowing they are on their way to wonderful lives.

Tony and David I wish you good luck in your second year.  

The DNC Hangover

My ambition at the start of the DNC was to post something everyday.  After day two time and energy escaped me and now it is over.  And just like anything else, imbibing in too much of good thing the result is a hangover.

Charlotte put her best face on and the 2012 DNC was touted as the most open convention ever.  Even the NDI, which holds forums for international dignitaries, opened their program to the public for the first time ever.  And yes there were protests but the police considerably outnumbered their ranks and I felt safe walking the streets even late at night.  Celebrities and politicians were walking the streets patiently putting up with our staring, photos and handshaking.

David was on the floor due to his internship every night and we were lucky to get passes for Thursday night.  And what an experience, one that can never be captured by television coverage.  Gabby Giffords doing the Pledge of Allegiance was one of the most memorable moments.  Hearing the warm up speeches was tons of fun as well as funny at times and then to see President Obama and Vice President Biden deliver speeches in person was nothing short of incredible.

I drank in every moment thinking how lucky we are to live this country.  Yep the result is the DNC hangover and if I could do it again I would in a New York minute.