Terry T. wrote in earlier this week to ask:
Jim:
What happened on Tuesday? Why didn’t JimHillMedia.com put up any new content on that day?
To be honest, the reason that JHM wasn’t updated on Tuesday was that I got some really bad news on Monday. Early this past Monday morning, I learned that James A. Doyle had died. Of cancer.
“Who was James A. Doyle?” you ask. Doyle was the much loved father of Florence Lange, the very nice lady who does the books here at JimHillMedia.com. And — given that Flo and Jeff Lange are very good friends of mine — their bad news became my bad news too.
Which was why I spent yesterday high up in the hills of Central Connecticut. Standing with Nancy out in the rain and the fog. Feeling helpless as my friends cried. Watching as Flo’s dad got lowered in the ground. All because of cancer.
You know — I don’t know about you folks — but I am getting pretty damned sick of cancer. It’s a truly horrible disease that — just in the past six months — has claimed one member of my immediate family (My Uncle Walter, who died of the “Big C” back in December), totally stressed out a close pal of Nancy and I (Angela R., who’s hoping and praying that her grandmother makes it through her upcoming lung cancer treatment okay) as well as made life absolutely miserable for at least one member of JHM’s staff (Sorry … But that would be telling).
So — given all the misery that melanoma has caused for my family and friends recently — I have decided to do something about it. Work toward a cure
“But what can you — an overweight Disney dweeb who has no real medical skills — do about curing cancer, Jim?” you query.
Well — for one thing — I can get up at 5 a.m. this coming Saturday morning. I can then drive 2½ hours down to Avon, MA. Where I and my over-sized ass will join a hundred other folks for the 9th Annual Janet McDonald Memorial Walk Against Cancer.
“Who’s Janet McDonald?” you ask. Well, she was a cousin of mine. A bright, young, beautiful woman. A devoted mother of three. A total health nut who walked 5 miles every day, come rain or come shine. Who tragically — in November of 1995 — succumbed. To cancer.
My family and I … we loved Janet. A lot. Even now, we still miss this fiery redhead. Which is why — the first Saturday of every April — we all gather at Avon’s Baptist Church. And then — after a brief rah-rah-rah, sis-boom-bah ceremony — we walk the route that Janet used to walk. All in an effort to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
For those of you who don’t know: The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute of Boston, MA. is truly one of the world’s leaders when it comes to the treatment and research of melanoma. Back in 1995, the good doctors who worked in Dana-Farber’s Immunotherapy Research Department strove valiantly to try and save my cousin’s life.
In the end, these guys didn’t succeed. Which is why Janet died. Of cancer.
Though my cousin succumbed, we still honor Janet’s memory and pay tribute to the people who tried to save her by holding this fund raiser for Dana-Farber each year.
I know, I know. Just a few weeks ago, I asked you folks to reach into your pockets to help keep JimHillMedia.com afloat. Many of you respond with much generosity. Which I thank you for.
But this … this is different. A donation to Dana-Farber … it could eventually wind up helping a relative or a friend of yours. Particularly if DF’s Immunotherapy Research Department makes a break-through and finally comes up with a cure for cancer.
Obviously, it’s too late now to save Janet. Or Flo’s Dad. Or my Uncle Walter. Or Angela’s grandmother. But that doesn’t mean that we still shouldn’t try.
So tell you what. If you feel like helping, here’s the address info:
Janet McDonald Memorial Walk Against Cancer
c/o Randolph Savings Bank
129 North Main Street
Randolph, MA. 02368
If you’d like to contribute, please make your check payable to the “Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.”
Okay. I know. You don’t come to JimHillMedia.com for downbeat stories. And — starting on Monday — I promise that we’ll get back to the stuff that you love. All those juicy articles loaded with inside info.
But for now, I’d just like to take a moment to remember James A. Doyle — a hard working, fun loving man — and Janet McDonald — a much loved mother of three. Who were taken — far too soon — by cancer.
Please. Do what you can to help Dana-Farber find a cure for cancer in our lifetime.
Me? I’m doing my part. Which involves getting up ridiculously early on Saturday and dragging my fast ass for five miles around Avon and Randolph, MA.
You? You have the easy part. All you have to do is open your checkbook …