Am I becoming a recluse? I'm not up for answering all the calls from the dear people who call, text and e-mail. I hope they understand that I get to these when I can. Some days, it takes awhile.
Dori is enjoying being home, though the heat wave has kept her indoors lately. It's not even summer, but feels like early August. The invasion of the 13-year cicada is in full force. My running was good last week when it was cool ... about 24 miles. This week, I've only run four so far. The kids are out of school. Kathryn is diving, while Will is playing tennis. Both are playing summer basketball.
Dori spent seven draining hours at the clinic last Friday getting red blood and platelets. Remarkably, she didn't need any blood products today. Any time away from the hospital is good. She is eating well, playing board games with the kids and mostly having good days. A few have been rough, but we'll take what we're getting right now for as long as we can.
I finally watched the Lance Armstrong story on 60 Minutes. Dori and I identified with him, obviously through his cancer journey. We read his books, and I followed his cycling career very closely, with admiration. But that view has been shattered with the undeniable proof that continues to emerge. Lance cheated, and so did his teammates and most of his competitors. He might go to prison. It's the same with college football: USC, Ohio State and others. So many cheat or break the rules, and the governing bodies turn their heads or only address serious problems when they're about to be exposed.
It has me searching for achievement with integrity, something that seems to be waning in our "right now for me" culture. Dori is disappointed, as well, but we'll use it as a lesson for our children. Always do things the right way, with integrity and honor. Play like a champion, and lose like one, too, with your head held high that you did your best and you did it honestly.
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5 comments:
Armstrong's book was the first one I read from my hospital bed during my first round of treatment in 2003. It's all very disappointing. It helped me a lot but I also remember feeling overshadowed by how much distance he managed to cover while he was being treated. I don't know when he started cheating, but that sure sheds a different light on the way I (and I'm sure you too) was reading it.
Ronni, he started cheating before 1999, according to his teammates. He was an elite cyclist, but we should have known better, after watching him and others recover so quickly from epic mountain stages. I removed his cancer foundation link from my blog, and don't plan to pay much attention to his bull. So disappointing.
The real heroes are the ones who struggle as if no one is watching and no one is going to give them a book contract. People like Dori and Jim Brown, Pope John Paul II, anonymous bone marrow donors and Marine privates watching out for their buddies. The real heroes are the ones that we all recognize as saints--the people who live their lives in such a way that we know that they will go straight to the right hand of God.
Not a recluse, just circling the wagons. I've had to stop watching the coverage of Lance Armstrong. It's all just too disappointing and more than a little frustrating.
It's sad how prevalent cheating is. People don't even believe they're cheating, just taking what they deserve. We make icons of our sports "heroes," elect them to Halls of Fame, and nobody blinks it seems. Same thing with actors, music stars and business people. Sigh.
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