The Day After Tomorrow

My oh my.  It's actually here, almost.  

As you may know, Team H.O.P.E. and Simply The Breast are not the only teams walking in this thing.  We don't talk much about the other teams because although they are equally committed and brave and all that; they just aren't as much fun as we are!   

No, that's not it.  It's just the way it has worked out.  But if we were looking for a team as fun as we are, these ladies might just fit the bill:

I wish the picture were lighter and clearer.  This is (I believe) team Las Bombas!  Which has merged with team Twin Peaks.  Twin Peaks is actually sponsored by a radio station;  98.7 The Peak.  

I went to The Peak website so I could write something positive here about them.  They had their playlist for this morning.  I recognized only two songs/artists on the list.  Not a good sign.  

However the two songs were good ones; Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed and Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet.   You may remember that we posted the Lou Reed lyrics that weren't too sexual here the other day.   

What you may not remember is that of all the myriad and many companies that have supported Team H.O.P.E. and Simply the Breast this year  - one of our favorites is the Margaritaville Cafe!  Where in addition to that cute door hanger at the top of this post, you could also purchase this poster:

 or enjoy a tropical lunch!  See?  This is why I go on about everything being connected.  Seriously, everything is!

I bet you are wondering how/why I found the Las Bombas folks, right?  Yeah well, I'm going to tell you anyway!  I have a friend who I rarely get to see but who I enjoy alot.  She's one of those fascinating people who has enough interests that she can have a conversation with anyone.  She also listens more than she talks.  She is also a Canadian.  She (and Corb Lund) have made me retract any less than positive thoughts I've ever harbored against Canadians.  

She had told me she was walking in the three day and naturally I forgot the name of her team.  I'm also embarrassed to admit that I could not remember her last name.  Luckily her first name is distinctive and the three day walk site has semi intelligent searching.  So I was able to find her and her team and that's where I found the odd picture above.  

When I first referred to our team as Our Ladies of Perpetual HOPE I was just being flippant and irreverent.  For a while we played with the idea of having nun and/or saint names.  Like Wendy could be Our lady of Perpetual Conception.  Jeannie would have been Sister Mary Mojito.  Kristine wanted to be Mother Mary Manischewitz.  But we either got distracted or became respectful; I don't remember which.  When I saw the picture of the Las Bombas lasses atop the rental truck it occurred to me that we were on the wrong track.  We need Super Hero names.  

But that'll be for next year - if there is a next year.  Tomorrow I'll tell you a bit about the 3-day route and maybe share a thought or an opinion with y'all.

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Three

All right!  It's three days until the three day.  I know this cuz we have a little countdown thingy on the very bottom of this blog.  I don't know what will happen then.  I hope the blog dosen't burst like a piñata spewing random pink thoughts all over our loyal readers.

I was going to talk about the cheering stations today - and I was going to make some creepy comparisons to that Richard Bachman book I mentioned before.  But I can't find the book so I guess I'll just have to list the cheering stations without comment.  

Cheering Stations
Please discourage your family and friends from driving along the route, as it can create a safety hazard. The following Cheering Stations are safe, recommended places for your supporters to cheer you on along the route.

Friday, November 14:

9:45 am - 12:45 pm
Target   
2150 N Arizona Ave
Chandler, AZ   

12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Pueblo Grande complex  
1825 Guadalupe Rd.
Tempe AZ  
      
Saturday, November 15:
      
8:00 am - 10:00 am
de Las Lomas Elementary School  
11820 S Warner- Elliot Loop
Phoenix, AZ 

11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Joann, Etc   
5021 E Ray Rd.
Phoenix, AZ  

Sunday, November 16:      

8:30 am - 11:00 am
Mill Ave.
East side of the road, between 7th Street and 3rd Street
Tempe, AZ  

10:00 am-  1:30 pm
Papago Complex  
1557 N Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ

So  if you happen to be at Joes BBQ on Gilbert road on Friday morning when my ladies walk by you are not allowed to cheer?  Let them try to stop us!

I guess when I said, "Without comment," I really meant, "with the bare minimum of sarcastic commentary."    That's sort of the same thing.  

Tomorrow we will discuss the actual route.  Without comment.

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MS me

So - I need to finish up my MS stuff so we can get back to being all breast, all the time.  I'll miss the pretty orange colors.  Sigh.

I forgot to bring my camera to the MS walk - which is probably just as well.  I would have bored y'all with pictures of the backs of folks none of us knows.  I would have gotten lots of great back pictures though, cuz everyone passed me.  I started very very close to the beginning of the line and gradually everyone found their own pace - which is apparently faster than mine!  

I was passed by a lady with a broken leg wearing a walking cast.  I was passed by an old guy using a cane.  I was passed by a woman pulling a wagon with two kids in it while holding hands with a slightly older child and who was stopping every minute to pick up dropped bottles and pacifiers and baggies of toddler snacks.  

Usually at events like this my husband carries a back pack with drinks and phones and wallets and whatever else we need.  Well he wasn't there yesterday so I carried the backpack.   That was no problem whatsoever.  Except when I took it off or put it back on.  I carried a backpack through X years of college and never once had difficulty.  (Two straps, two shoulders - how could a person have difficulty?)  Yesterday for whatever reason I found myself not being able to gracefully (or even just functionally) slip the pack on and off.  At one point I looked like a dog chasing its tail as I pointed my arm toward the opening in the strap and twisted my body towards it.  Sad.  Pathetic.  Puzzling.  

Oh well. No one laughed at me.  (Maybe because they all had their backs to me because they were all in front of me!)

One of the fun things about the MS walk was that they had three groups in costume.  There was a Renaissance group in full velvet.  One of the ladies in this group had the corset thing that you see at every Ren fair - but it was the most structurally ambitious garment I have ever seen in my life.  Seriously.  

It is never polite to stare; and it is never ever ever polite to stare at a woman's Decalage. But this thing appeared to be defying physics! 

Ooops.  Apparently Decalage is an areo-geometry term.  And  décalage is jet lag.  The word I was looking for seems to be décolletage.  Whatever.  The important thing is that it is rude to stare and probably equally rude to walk up to someone and ask them for the details of their undergarments ~ but I really wanted to find out how she did it.  Granted, she was of a fuller figure than I, but still. . . . . 

The other two groups in costume were the Arizona Ghostbusters and the REBEL LEGION: Mos Eisley Base.  

My son thought the storm troopers were way cooler than the corseted ladies.  I thought it was all great.  The weather was wonderful, the people were nice, the route was through the zoo so there were lots of restrooms, the three miles was difficult enough to encourage me to get in shape but not so difficult as to make me feel hopeless, and there was a predominance of orange!

As I'm sure there will be at the MS bike ride in the spring.  

So we are 4 and a half days out from the three day walk.  We will be bringing you up to the minute coverage.  Or maybe occasional coverage - we'll see.   

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They're everywhere, they're everywhere!

So I went to the MS Walk on the Wild Side 3-5 mile walk today. 

 We walked the 3 rather than the 5.  We're pretending it's because the young child walking with me gave out!

I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.  Or later tonight if the insomnia returns.  But I just hafta share one thing with y'all.  You know how I was nervous  going to this thing alone?  Well the child with me was very slow getting up this morning and so even though we weren't late - we weren't as early as I would have liked as a cushion.  I had the driving directions but as I got to the road I thought I was supposed to be on I saw a sign that said "Event Parking" pointing a different direction.  

These are the sorts of stupid things that cause me way more stress than an intelligent adult should feel.  So I follow the signs and park.  I am very relieved that I'm in the correct lot since I arrived there via a different street than my directions said.  

I can see folks walking along the sidewalk.  In nice green t-shirts.  With big pink ribbons on them!  I'm serious.  Pink ribbons everywhere.  As I was walking in the direction I hoped was right I passed people wearing pink ribbons and pink boas.   

They looked like friendly enough people so I didn't really think it was the pink police coming after me for straying - but it was still odd.  

When I got closer to the edge of the parking lot I saw another group of women in pink ribbon t-shirts; 

asking directions from the guy in the MS t-shirt. 

Apparently there was a Breast Cancer event today for the American Cancer Society;  2.8 miles away!

I'm not going to make any bad jokes about the brain people being smarter than the breast people until I find out how many MS walkers found themselves at the BC walk!

Orange you glad. . . .

I'm glad!  I'm happy!  I'm scared.  Not really scared, just nervous.  Last month my husband signed us all up to walk in the 21st Annual Phoenix Walk on the Wild Side.  This event supports the MS society.  As you may have noticed I frequently mention MS here - in strict defiance to all that is Pink.  

I'm not nervous about the pink police finding out.  And I'm not nervous about the walk itself - we can choose the three mile or the five mile route.  I'm not even particularly nervous about  the crowd or the lack of restrooms.  What has me a wee bit anxious is that due to life conflicts my husband and older son  will not be attending.  And given that this is a team organized through his work and I don't know these people I have a fair amount of social anxiety going on here.

Our team is called the Aqua Ducks! 

 My husband works for the Central Arizona Project - which is a giant canal that runs through Central Arizona. (and by central, I mean the lower half - not necessarily the middle)    

And as you know - another word for big ol' canal is Aqueduct!  

Sadly, Central Arizona Project does not allow any duck racing in their canal.  Hmmpf!

Other places have duck races!  Deming New Mexico actually has Live Duck racing.  Next year will be their 30th year so if you're tired of shleping the family to the kingdom of the mouse you may want to consider it!  Deming Duck Races Here.

If CAP ever does allow Duck Racing here's the one I'm going to enter:

Aint it cool?

The other cool thing about duck racing is that the ducks do all the work and you get to sit on the riverbank (or canal bank if you have nice canal people!) and drink a cold beverage.  

Okay - Now that I've babbled on about ducks long enough I guess I should hit y'all up for donations.  That would be HERE and the money goes to the MS Society.  (No offense guys, but the word 'society' is probably not as useful as a word like 'foundation' or even 'association' when you're trying to raise money.)  It's tough enough working on a disease that most people cannot pronounce and nobody can spell.

Yes, I can spell MS!  I'm talking about Multiple Sclerosis!  I imagine the people involved in the 'society' can spell it.  And I imagine the people afflicted with MS can spell it - when they're not in the middle of a particularly nasty relapse!  We'll probably talk more about MS later.  And of course we will always return to the breasts.   

Did I mention the name of the event?   The 21st Annual Phoenix Walk on the Wild Side?  They call it that because it runs through the Zoo.  Not because they are necessarily Lou Reed fans.

Since y'all were so patient while I went on about the ducks I thought I would paste the "Walk on the Wild Side" lyrics here.  Since this is a family blog I cut out all the steamy and sexy and icky parts:

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
(Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo)
(doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo)
(doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo)
(doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo)
(Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo)
(doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo)
(doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo)
(doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo)
(Doo)

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So Halloween is over.  The election is over.  Breast Cancer Awareness month is over.  (Although my local grocery stores still have shelves full of pink soup cans!)  Our ladies are almost done fundraising. 

 What else is left? 

 Hmmn?

Oh, of course.  

The walk!  

60 Miles.  

That is a loooong way. 

 That is approximately the distance from London (seen here looking pink)

To the White Cliffs of Dover (seen here looking pink)

Also the distance from Dover to Brighton!

Hmmmmn.  I may have the wrong Brighton there!  

The important thing is that it is pink!  

No, wait.  The important thing is that it is 60 miles.   Our Ladies have been training since March or April so they are very ready; but there is still a bit of aprehension here and there.  Well, you know - except from Wendy.  I love Wendy but that woman is strange!  She runs for relaxation.  

(I would assume from that that she has no idea how to REALLY relax - except she has five kids so obviously . . . .)  

Sorry, I got distracted thinking 'relaxing' thoughts.  We were talking about Wendy.  This is not one of my recycled blond jokes - this is true:  when Wendy signed up with Team H.O.P.E.  she asked if she could run the 60 miles instead of walking them.  

The answer is NO!  You're also not allowed to do a step aerobics class in the camp site at the end of the day!  (The first rule is for the safety of the walkers, the second rule is for your own safety. Three day walkers are generally sweet women but the sight of someone doing their Jane Fanda bit at the end of the day migh cause them to become violent!)

Just lookin at that picture makes me a bit violent!

There are other rules, some pesky and some common sense.  I did find this bit from the official site a wee bit odd:

Abusive behavior towards crew and staff will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Is that really a problem?  Sigh.

I'll be telling y'all more about the route and the cheering stations and whatnot later.  Until then you may be wondering about the fist picture uptop.  That is the book cover of "The Long Walk" by Richard Bachman.  (Who is really Stephen King - but that's not really the point)

If you have never read "The Long Walk" I highly recommend it.  Keep in mind that this book   was written years and years before reality shows started appearing on TV, as was The Running Man.  (And yet both were written after the 1973 story Rollerball Murder by William Harrison) 

 

We may have to exlore this topic in a bit more depth later.  But for now I suggest you get yourself to a library or used bookstore (or even a new bookstore) and read The Long Walk.  

On a completely unleated topic (yes - I am implying that everything else is related!) I have received a cute photo from many of my email friends.  I was trying to figure out when and how to best use it here.  Then I was reading an article this mornig about how  to convince people to read ones blog. 

There was good (if obvious) advice.  There was also some very sarcastic and borderline hateful comments about cute cat pictures and cute kid pictures.  I wish I could find the site so I could quote directly but trust me - the guy was rude!  

So naturally I must run the cute kid picture I've been saving.  And I went online and found a 'cute' cat picture.  Not that I really find cats cute. 

 If you like cats and would like to adopt one or more please drop us a line - Our  Tina has more than a few cats that she is trying to find homes for. They have been spade and/or nuetered.  

Time is Fleeting, Madness takes its toll. . . .

So I received an email from Miss Jeannie.  She claims I got the date wrong for the three day walk.  I said November 15th and the walk actually begins on the 14th, so I can understand why she mistakenly thought I was mistaken.  

Silly woman.  The walk lasts for three days - therefore the 15th is the median time of the walk.  Or maybe that would be the average?  

Actually it's both - which is not always the case with Medians and Averages.  

Can you imagine walking 20 miles a day for three days?  

I saw Jeannie and Kristine yesterday - walking naturally.  It was 96 degrees at the time.  The official high yesterday was 94;  but my thermometor was reading 96!

Did you kow that Arizona does not participate in Day Light Savings Time?  I like that about Arizona.

So have you noticed all the pretty calendars I've included here?

Why ancient calendars and not pics of modern rectangualr and/or digital calendars?

Because round calandars are rather breastlike.

And since breast cancer is still killing women - many feel an urgent need to find a cure.  Or a better treatment or a preventitive.  So these people raise money and participate in fundraising / awareness events.  Like the Breast Cancer 3-day walk that takes place on November 14th, 15th, and 16th.

Which brings us full circle - kinda like a calendar of old.

Wishing you enough time to do what you must and what you want.

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