Mark’s Musings – May 13, 2015
Mark Fortune
Dogwood Days is a wrap and a big thank you needs to be extended to everyone that helps make this event possible year after year. The opportunity to enjoy a nice lunch prepared by our local restaurants and listen to great music on the beautiful courthouse lawn is indeed one of the many blessings we have in our community.
The number of events that take place on our court square throughout the course of a year is simply astounding. From parades to Veterans Day observations to First Fridays to the National Day of Prayer, community band concerts, prom photos at the Rotary gazebo, Canal Festival princess and queen crowning. There are so many more that I cannot recall. It is an asset to our community.
Have you had a chance to walk, run or bike across the new aqueduct bridge? It’s awesome!
This weekend – beginning Friday evening, May 15 at 6 p.m. – is the start of the 20th annual Coshocton County Relay for Life at the fairgrounds. Did you know that over the course of the past 20 years – volunteers doing everything from selling raffle tickets for this or that, donations for hamburgers, barbecued pork sandwiches, 5K runs, quilt raffles, Miss Relay purses, cakes, crafts and more – has resulted in over $1.75 million dollars raised right here in little ‘ol Coshocton County for cancer research and patient services.
And those donations are having an impact. Maybe you wonder if it is all worth it – but when you hear the news that someone has beaten cancer and is cancer free – you realize that, yes, it is worth all of the bake sales, chicken and noodles, pie, cake and coffee that we can muster. The teams that pull together to spend 24 hours together at the fairgrounds have one goal in common – to see cancer eradicated in our lifetime. Doctors, researchers and scientists are working hard to make that happen.
We all know someone that has lost the fight against this dreaded disease. Yet, we continue to believe in the positive human spirit and remain optimistic in this battle. As we must.
There will be much laughter, many tears and lots of conversation at this year’s Relay for Life. Just like every year. But it seems that each year we hear of a few more miracles and realize that the effort is worth the investment of time, energy and money. One more life saved is worth every penny. To give a mom another day with a daughter, a dad with a son, a grandma or grandpa with a grandchild – to make more memories is something that we cannot put a price on.
So the next time you ponder whether to buy another candy bar or whether to bake another cake for the bake sale – wondering if it is all worth it or not – know that it is. That time or dollar invested just might be the one that tips the scales for the final time – to complete victory against cancer.
Category: Mark's Musings, Opinion
