Jimmy Fund Walk

I got an email today to tell me that it was time to start coordinating my team for the Jimmy Fund Walk.

The Jimmy Fund provides compassionate care while continuing its research to improve the chances of survival for cancer patients worldwide.

This will be the third year that I participate in the walk. Last year two weeks before the walk I had lunch with a friend who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told his cancer was inoperable and only had a few months. His diagnosis was almost 6 years ago, he's now married and expecting his first child any day now. He was a patient at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute which is supported by the funds raised by the Jimmy Fund. If it wasn't for the research done I wouldn't have had lunch with him and he wouldn't be anxiously waiting for his first child.

The death of my father to prostate cancer is what prompted me to get involved with an organization that did research and provided patients and their families with an environment of great caring. His initial prognosis was 6 months, he passed away almost exactly 3 years after his diagnosis. If it had not been for cancer research my father would not have meet three of his grandsons along with spending summers on the beach with our family, and so many other events that occurred in those three years. that's why I chose to support the Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber Cancer Institute.


Another reason I chose the Jimmy Fund Walk was as I was looking for something to do with all the energy after my Dad died I had and decided to use it to do some good. My friend Mel and I started looking up different causes, I came across the Jimmy Fund Walk. It really struck me because it was on my Dad's birthday (see all the signs around us). I looked into the Jimmy Fund and what the organization does and knew it was the prefect fit. Below is a picture of the sign at the walk I wrote on in tribute to him for his birthday.

Please help support cancer research and the institutions that provide comfort to patients and families. Cancer is not an individual illness, it impacts the lives of everyone.


Please take a peak at my website: http://www.jimmyfundwalk.org/sarahberube. If you can make a donation every dollar makes a difference.

If you or anyone you know are in the Boston area and want to join my team or even become a virtual team member of the Pop Walk Team join up!!


Feel free to pass this on to anyone else who will want to help conquer cancer.

Remembering Mark

Mark would have been 43 this year. He was killed in April 1982 when his bike lost it's brakes while going through a very dangerous and busy intersection. He had not been wearing a helmet since there was no law.


Mark was what I considered my brother. He was my Dad's son from his first marriage. I had known Mark since I was 4 years old and when he died at 16, I was 8. He always treated me as a sister even though our parents had not been married at the time. He protected me from my other brother's when they would pick on me, he would always make sure I got the piece of pizza I wanted. We would go roller skating and he never ever ignored me even if he was trying to spend time with his girlfriend. When we were in the car, usually 5 kids and two parents in a little Chevy Malibu, he would let me sit on his lap when the other boys were trying to scoot me on the floor or the back window(no kid safety standards back in the dark ages, lol). He always cared for me even though I was not technically his sister.


Mark on the other hand was an entrepreneur and a bit of a terror. He picked on his younger brother relentlessly. Stories have him selling ($5) rides in my Dad's old pick up truck down the grass part of the projects he lived in. This helped buy the motor he needed for a go-cart he was building and would later chase down the other boys. He also loved BB guns and his favorite target was his little brother (poor Todd).

I was devastated when he died. I can remember it was a Sunday morning when I was told. I was playing in my room with my stuffed animals "Little House on the Prairie" when my Mother called me into her room. I can remember sitting on her bed and can still see the purpley flowers on her bedspread. She was still in her nightgown which was odd since it Sunday and we should have been getting ready for church. Mark was supposed to have spent Saturday with his Dad and brother (He had custody of the kids on the weekends). Mark had just turned 16 and really wanted to spend time with his friends. My father reluctantly agreed, a decision he forever regretted. My Dad and Todd spent the day with us like they had for almost the past three years. When my Dad brought Todd home there were police cars and a mangled bike under the bridge. My Dad recognized the bike. That's really all I was ever told of the story. My Dad would visit Mark in the cemetery at least once a week( at least that is all we knew about) until he could no longer could get into a car.

When my Dad died, my mother and I were with him. There was a tiny tear as he died and we like to believe that he was crying because he was happy to finally be with Mark again.

The kids at school where incredibly cruel. They would sing "Another One Bites the Dust" when I would walk by, and one girl took it upon herself to pick on me when ever the teacher turned her back. I must have appeared vulnerable and weak because of his death. It's amazing how hurtful human beings could be to one another.


When I got to high school I happened to have gotten his math book and another book he had taken out while doing research in the high school. Our high school was pretty big and he was 8 years older than me so I always thought what a strange coincidence it was to keep having these "run ins" with him. Also my college roommate and Mark shared the same birthday. It was also the same day my Memere passed away. It was like something always brought him up and he can never be forgotten.


I have always believed there is some reason for things to happen. Death has never been one of those thing I can understand especially the death of a 16 year old boy. Year s after Mark had died I was in college and went to visit a friend of mine. She was about 10 years older than me but I had known her since I was 8. The night I went to visit her she told me about a friend of hers. Her friend was a girl whose mother had died when she was very young. She was raised by her father and brothers. They treated her terribly and expected her to clean and feed them all. She never was able to be a little girl. She had met Mark and they had been dating ( she was the girlfriend at the roller rink). Mark treated her like a princess. He treated her the way her family should have, he loved and respected her. He had given her a teddy bear, her first ever. My friend told me the girl cherished that gift and her time with Mark. She was able to overcome her families cruelty all because of one 16 year old boy. Maybe that was his reason for being here for that incredibly short time.

Frogs

I decided to join Frogwatch USA. We have swampy marshy land right outside our door so I figured our site should be pretty easy to monitor. I also want to find pollywogs. I haven't seen a "wild" pollywog since I was about 10. Of course that was on a side rode near the Projects near my house, please don't tell my mother I left the neighborhood.

I'm really excited about this. My original purpose in life (what I went to college for) was to be an ecologist and study the environment and save those darn oily ducks. But life lead my down a different path so this is a great way to supplement my first true love(other than Brian), nature. I hope others will join, it'll be fun and helpful.

Here's a few of the frogs we'll be looking for:

American Bullfrog













Spring Peeper

American Toad


Grey Treefrog

Overachiever

Alex just turned 5 in December. He gives everyone a real hard time. I think he's trying to find his limits with individuals (isn't that a great Mom answer to not behaving well.)

In his pre-school he did great with one teacher who was like a drill Sergent, she whipped us all into shape. If she told you to do something you did it. Alex flourished in her class. Alex REALLY knew his limits with her.

He is now in an Advanced Pre-K class and has horrible days. This teacher is a complete push over. She does not gain the respect of these kids at all (or the parents).

Alex is always getting into some type of trouble. It's usually because he doesn't want to do what the teacher has scheduled. (Kindergarten is going to be loads of fun, huh)

The other day I walk in to his class to pick him up and the teacher is just sitting and there is Alex teaching the class how to build knights helmets of his own design. There were 5(ages 3-5) kids completely engaged in what he was telling them to do. He first had them measure their heads, then carefully cut out the various pieces, glue together , etc. We had to leave so he had me write detailed instructions for the teacher to give when he was gone. I asked the teacher where he got the design and idea and she says it was all him. Maybe he's my little engineer.

Yesterday I go to pick him up and the class had discussed space. They had colored astronauts and taped them to paper towel roles for a 3D effect. All the kids astronauts are lined up but one. One of the children designed a rocket ship for their astronaut to fly into space in, can you guess who?
Alex thought it was silly to have astronauts but no spaceship because direct quote "How can they get to space without a proper vehicle."

Trains

So about once a quarter my childhood girlfriends and I get together. We try to have one "big" adventure once a year. About 1 year ago we went to NYC for a Food Tour. We took the train from New Haven to Grand Central. We had the most incredible day. Lots of good food, shopping for food and really incredible friends. It was a 3 hour tour. The 3 hour tour should have been our first hint that this was not going to be a perfect day.

It was the end of the day and we were pretty tired, so we hailed a cab a headed back to Grand Central to catch a train back to CT. I know that it is expected to have an insane drive in any cab and especially a NYC cab but this was by far the most insane ride I have ever had.

We somehow ended back at the train got out of the cab and kissed the ground.

We head to the train and get into the end train because we are just to tired to walk anymore. The conductor is a trip, he's singing, dancing and just seems like an all around nice guy. So he has us all laughing and we realize we are just having a fantastic time!!

The train leaves the station and there are me, my 3 friends, an older gentleman going to work in New Haven, another man with his guitar going there to see his daughter and a teenage couple probably about 16years old.

We are sitting and enjoying the ride some of us trying to take a quick nap. All of a sudden there is the most horrid smell I have ever smelled and our happy go lucky conductor comes running to the back. He is no longer joking and looks as pale as a ghost. The train has stopped.

Sitting in the car in front of us our two very young naval crew. They can't be more than 18. They stand up and follow the conductor. He hands them flashlights and they all leave the train.

Now remember we are at the very back of the train.

After they left the train they must have gone up front and a few minutes later we can see the flashlights at the back of the train. There are now police and state troopers all over the place by this time. They were fairly far back but I could see them covering something. We realize what has happened, a person was struck by the train. What a deep sinking feel I had when I realized what really happened, between the smell and watching them cover. It was just sickening.

The navy guys get back on the train and go to seat in their seats. All of a sudden Miss Connecticut appears and asks these boys if she could get her picture with them and whips out her sash. Talk about surreal.

By this point we have started talking with the people in our car. The guy with the guitar has been in this situation before and was stuck on a train for quite some time. The other guy is the coroner and realizes he'll be seeing this when he gets to work. The kids have moved up because we wouldn't let them look out the window.

About 2 hours later they are able to bring another train along and allowed to board it to get back to New Haven.

We found out later that it was a woman who was hit and that she had committed suicide. I feel so very sad for her and her family to get to a point like that.

It was definitely an experience I will never forget. Something like that really puts things in perspective.

And to top it all off a few months later I'm at a country fair and Miss Connecticut is there giving a "speech".

Doggie Visits

As a "favor" to friends we watch their pets when they go away so their furry members of their families do not need to go into a kennel. They get the feeling of life with two young boys which I would imagine helps them appreciate their quiet home life when they leave us.

I say this is a favor to my friends but it's really my way of having a dog without out really having a dog. I guess kind of like what grandparents say, "They love having them but they go home to their parents." I do ask my friends when they will be going away so I know when our next pup friend will be here. I also secretly wish they will ask if we can permanently keep the furry friend.

Our latest guest is a our dignified Lola, a Shar Pei. She is very sweet tempered except when it comes to our permanent family member Kitty Nine. She has found a special place in her heart for my youngest. She tries to sneak in his toddler bed at night and while he was sick she would scratch at his door if he coughed. I also found H snuggled with Lola on her bed after he sneaked out of his own bed. Oh, how a boy needs a dog (not just his Mom).

Security

I need a dog. I am a dog person. A dog person without a dog. A dog person who watches everyone elses dog just to get my doggie fix. Do you realize what life is like for a dog person with no dog, it's like a fish living on land. I need a dog.