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Atlantic Crossing is Closer to Home Than Thought...
Dale McKinnon
03/27/09 #6012
Here it is a rainy, coldish day in Bellingham and a young man (Paul Ridley) is completing his solo row across the Atlantic, hoping for landfall in Antigua in the next day or two. My fist thoughts were, ah, another rower across the Atlantic… but… how nice to be under a warm sun…
I know I will never attempt a solo row across the Atlantic, and don't even consider my row from Ketchikan to Bellingham as anything comparable, except for the oars and sliding seats (and the appreciation for good beer and a well-told joke). The only comparison is that both rows are/were fundraisers, and I fully understand and respect the effort behind each catch, finish and glide. Paul is rowing to raise funds for the Yale Cancer Center: http://www.yalecancercenter.org/involved/hope.html
So, I delved into his blog to learn more about him, his route, and his motivation I received a shock on learning that what he is doing directly affects me. Two weeks ago I visited my dermatologist to check out some spots on my neck and chest. Two of the tiny spots were melanoma, the rest pre-cancerous KAs. All have been removed, and I will, of course, be returning to the doc in two weeks to make sure he/we got every melanomic/precancerous cell. As he said to me, when he saw the look on my face on hearing the news, “your chance of dying of heart disease in this country is 1 in 4. But your chance of dying of melanoma is 1 in 26,000… So keep rowing. Just cover up.” Paul's mother died of melanoma in 2001.
This message is specifically for rowers… but since we are all under the Sun, it is also to every member of the water tribe…
A fellow rower, Bob Glendenning has taken inspiration from Paul Ridley's solo row across the Atlantic, and has generously offered to match ALL new donations from members of the rowing community. His generosity also stems from his family's devotion to rowing and its personal experience with cancer. The Glendening Boat House at Colgate was given by the family in 2004 in memory of his mother who lost her battle with cancer in 2000.
So if you row (and paddle) and you want to show your support for Paul Ridley who's completing his unsupproted solo crossing the Atlantic, and you want to support the melanoma cancer research at the Yale Cancer Center, please consider an online donation.
Please be sure to add “Glendening Challenge” when completing the Gift Information section online at: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=28592
Many thanks, and hope to see some of you on the water (and under the sun) this summer…
Dale McKinnon
