Welcome to the
Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day.

We’ve been preparing
for your arrival
for over a year,
and we’re glad
that you’re here.

You told us
you were impatient
with the fight
against cancer.

That you wanted
to win it -

not toy with it
like a cat
with its mouse.

You didn’t
want talk.
You wanted
walk.

So we’re giving
you walk.

A lot of walk.

Some of you
may be a little nervous -
a little scared.

That’s OK.

It’s totally normal.

Some of you
may be trying
to deny that you’re
a little scared or
a little nervous.

That’s OK.

That’s totally normal, too.

The 3-Day is demanding
in almost every way.

It has to be.

First we take away
your blow dryer,

then your house,

your car...

If it were easy,
it wouldn’t have
as much meaning.

And impact.

There may be moments
when you want to quit.

In fact, there may be
many such moments.

When you see
your tent
for the first time
and decide that maybe
the camping thing
wasn’t such a good idea.

When you see
your tentmate
for the first time
and...well...

When your feet
start to hurt.

You may have
moments of doubt,
like why didn’t
you just write out
a check and
send it to the nearest
breast cancer
charity?

But then you’ll see
the sweat on
the brow of
the woman next
to you.

The woman who
just had her last
treatment.

The woman who
less than a year ago
wasn’t given much
of a chance
to be alive today.

You’ll see the mother
and daughter
walking together,
after many years apart,
reunited for this cause
by a grandmother’s
illness.

And subsequent
death from
breast cancer.

You'll start
to notice the life,
and not the death,
in the air.

The optimism
that grows stronger
with every step.

And you’ll know
why you’re here.

So the world can
witness the power
of a dedicated
group of individuals
committed
to changing
the course of
the future.

You will be part
of a monument
to kindness.

A moving monument
to love,
that extends
all the way
to those you don’t
even know.

It will be beautiful,
if you let it.
It only seems natural
that we have
a few ground rules
as we gather
on this common ground.

Are you ready?

Here’s rule number one.

No whining.

You can feel like
whining,
but don’t.

Here’s rule number two.

No whining.

It’s a lot like
rule number one,
we know,
but even more
like rule number
three.

Which is...

No whining.

Why?
you ask.

Recent scientific
evidence suggests
whining causes
blisters.

So you got it?

No whining.

Only winning.

We have a battle
and a war
from which we are
all demanding
victory.

Let us be,
at least until Sunday
afternoon arrives,
the kind of people
we always imagined
we could be.

How?

Try fixing up
a nice dinner plate
at camp,
and bring it out
to a total stranger
who’s getting in late.

It would surprise her
in the opposite way
that people are used
to being surprised.

Make it a point
to be at the camp
entry arch
each night,
cheering on walkers
who are still
getting in,
until the last
walker
has arrived.

Maybe you could
set up a tent
for a new friend,
and leave her a note
saying you hope
she’s having a great day.

(Or he!)

Take pleasure
in the joy
you put on the faces
of others.

Over the next few days,
see if you can
feel the simple but awesome
power of kindness.

In the end,
it’s not government
that will change
the future.

And relegate
breast cancer to the attics of our memory.

It's kindness
that will change the world.

So now that
you’ve got our subtle point
about whining -

try this last little
rallying cry
on for size.

It helps us remember
why we’re here.

We hope
it’ll help you.

HUMANKIND
Be both.