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Tigress
Registered Member

Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1252

Posted 9/12/2003 5:19 AM (GMT -6)

PINK RIBBON

A handsome, middle-aged man walked quietly into the cafe and sat down. Before he ordered, he couldn't help but notice a group of younger men at the table next to him. It was obvious they were making fun of something about him, and it wasn't until he remembered he was wearing a small pink ribbon on the lapel of his suit that he became aware of what the joke was all about.

The man brushed off the reaction as ignorance, but the smirks began to get to him. He looked one of the rude men square in the eye, placed his hand beneath the ribbon and asked, quizzically, "This?"

With that, the men all began to laugh out loud.

The man he addressed said, as he fought back laughter, "Hey, sorry Man, but we were just commenting on how pretty your pink ribbon looks against your blue jacket!"

The middle-aged man calmly motioned for the joker to come over to his table, and invited him to sit down. As uncomfortable as he was, the guy obliged, not really sure why. In a soft voice, the middle-aged man said, "I wear this ribbon to bring awareness about breast cancer. I wear it in my mother's honor."

"Oh, sorry Dude. She died of breast cancer?"

"No, she didn't. She's alive and well. But her breasts nourished me as an infant, and were a soft resting place for my head when I was scared or lonely as a little boy. I'm very grateful for my mother's breasts, and her health."

"Umm," the stranger replied, "Yeah."

"And I wear this ribbon to honor my wife," the middle-aged man went on.

"And she's okay, too?" the other guy asked.

"Oh, yes. She's fine. Her breasts have been a great source of loving pleasure for both of us, and with them she nurtured and nourished our beautiful daughter 23 years ago. I am grateful for my wife's breasts, and for her health."

"Uh huh. And I guess you wear it to honor your daughter, also?"

"No. It's too late to honor my daughter by wearing it now. My daughter died of breast cancer one month ago. She thought she was too young to have breast cancer, so when she accidentally noticed a small lump, she ignored it. She thought that since it wasn't painful, it must not be anything to worry about."

Shaken and ashamed, the now sober stranger said, "Oh man, I'm so sorry Mister."

"So, in my daughter's memory, too, I proudly wear this little ribbon, which allows me the opportunity to enlighten others. Now, go home and talk to your wife and your daughters, your mother and your friends. And here." The middle-aged man reached in his pocket and handed the other man a little pink ribbon.

The guy looked at it, slowly raised his head and asked, "Can ya help me put it on?"

This is breast cancer awareness month. Do regular breast self-exams and have annual mammograms if you are a woman over the age of 40. And encourage those women you love to do the same. Please send this on to anyone you would like to remind of the importance of breast cancer awareness.

A CANDLE LOSES NOTHING BY LIGHTING ANOTHER CANDLE. PLEASE KEEP THIS CANDLE GOING!

Tigress

"Name a shrub after me. Preferably one that's prickly and difficult to eradicate."

-Captain Jack Aubrey
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"

honorman
Registered Member

Date Joined Oct 2002
Total Posts : 1137

Posted 9/12/2003 10:29 AM (GMT -6)

Remember also the millions of children who die everyday because of bad sanitary conditions and lack of proper medicine which are readily available in US. It is easy for americans to get behind the PC diseases, to wear their pink ribbons and show how much they care. It is harder to care when no one sees it.

DLW
Registered Member

Date Joined Apr 2003
Total Posts : 2457

Posted 9/12/2003 10:34 AM (GMT -6)

Unfortunately,

It may be part of our human nature that we value the well-being of the people we have social contacts with much more than those we have no contact with, particularly those in the under-developed world. This is evidenced by our willingness to give a lot for diseases we face, when the same amount could save lives easily in the under-developed world.

In my view, I think it would be good to levy a small tax on advertising and use it to subsidize the advertising of organizations that seek to help people in the under-developed world.

dlw

Niebuhr thought that sustained moral energy in politics depended on religion's power to mobilize reason along with self-transcending love. The prophetic tradition, meanwhile, gave Jews and Christians some protection against the temptation to identify their social causes with God's will. Lincoln's second inaugural address expressed the prophetic insight, "The almighty has His own purposes."

Tigress
Registered Member

Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1252

Posted 9/15/2003 11:17 AM (GMT -6)

quote:
Originally posted by honorman

Remember also the millions of children who die everyday because of bad sanitary conditions and lack of proper medicine which are readily available in US. It is easy for americans to get behind the PC diseases, to wear their pink ribbons and show how much they care. It is harder to care when no one sees it.

Honorman,
Someone sent me this e-mail and I thought it might be a good thing to post to remind people to check themselves for cancerous lumps. (Men need to do this, too.) I don't think it's appropriate to just shoot down something like this just because other diseases are not being mentioned. No one's saying that child hunger isn't just as important. Maybe that message hasn't gotten out there because people like you haven't proclaimed it like someone did with this e-mail about breast cancer, but instead do nothing but complain about the fact that this message is going forward and not the other one. Maybe instead of putting down messages like these, you should post messages about the things that you're concerned about - like child hunger. There's enough e-space out there for the both of them.

Tigress

"Name a shrub after me. Preferably one that's prickly and difficult to eradicate."

-Captain Jack Aubrey
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"

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