Saturday, May 10, 2008

Cabeza para la CuraciĆ³n

Today, I was joined by Lee Ann, Dale and Jace as we participated in Head for the Cure, a 5K run/walk to raise dough for the American Brain Tumor Association. The annual event is organized locally by the children of Ted Sapper, a prominent Indianapolis businessman who succumbed to a brain tumor in 2004. The first Head for the Cure run/walk took place later that year. The event has grown over the years and expects to raise nearly $30,000 for the ABTA this year.

We are pictured above at the conclusion of the walk, high atop the summit in Carmel, Indiana's West Park.

Jace jumped out to an early lead and set the pace for the Harper clan as we made our way through and among the hundreds of runners and walkers who turned out on this crisp and sunny day in May.

As we wound our way through Coxhall Gardens midway through the course, the clock struck 10 a.m. and a carillon began to play. Ironically, the third song was "If I Only Had a Brain," from The Wizard of Oz. The timing could not have been more perfect.

Eventually, all four of us were spread out along the 3.4 mile course, but we managed to regroup near the finish to celebrate together. Sadly, I somehow lost our two raffle tickets along the way so we'll never know if we won any of the door prizes. We conducted a hard target search of our immediate surroundings to no avail. Our spirits were not dampened, however, as there was food and drink aplenty for all of the participants.

And now it's off to a ukulele performance (Jace) followed by a soccer game (Dale). Whee!

This Day in History:
1986: Lee Ann and Terry earn their bachelor's degrees from Oklahoma State University, the "Princeton of the Plains."
2008: Terry's niece, Meghan, graduates from the University of Wyoming, the "Oklahoma State of the Rockies," and already has lined up a PR job with Dish Network in Denver.