WearYELLOW LiveStrong
I've been going to mention this for a while, but had put it off because I hadn't gotten one myself! So 3 weeks ago I finally tracked down where to find one, and have been wearing it ever since. What is it? It's a WearYellow LiveStrong wristband. Proceeds from these go to the Lance Armstrong Foundation and support people living with cancer. The're only a buck ($1.00) and relatively unobtrusive once you get used to wearing it. There's a seller locator on the WearYellow LiveStrong site, but I'll save you the trouble. The most widely available location where you can get these are at Foot Locker stores. So go now and do something good for those less fortunate than you!
Kevin said:
Dear "Matt",
I can only hope you return to my website to get this message being you were too much of a coward to put your email address on your comment. You needn't worry about me sending you 100 messages or something stupid like that. You see, I have better things to do.
Based on the tone of your comment, I'm guessing you're a bible thumping Southern Baptist from Texas. At least I would assume it's Texas, that's what your IP address told me. See, you're not completely anonymous on the internet after all. Anyhow, addressing your concerns...
1) I am a Lance fan as well as a cycling fan in general and yes, I certainly could use some help. There's lots of projects around my house that need some attention. I'm also willing to accept contribution to one of my many open source software projects. I'm guessing you don't have the time to help me out though...you're probably pretty busy with your one man crusade against Lance.
2) Yes, I do realize what kind of a person he really is. He is an incredibly focused and dedicated worldclass athlete. And although he and Kristen have divorced, I have seen quotes from her exulting what a wonderful father he is to his son and twin daughters. Being a divorce father myself, or what you term a "man who leaves his wife and children", I can only imagine the emotional strain he feels when he must travel far from them for long periods of time. Incidentally I'm fortunate enough to be able to spend a lot of time with my son from my first marriage. Actually, I spend more quality time with him now than when his mother and I were married! I also want you to know that I am happily remarried with two more children who also enjoy a good amount of quality time with their big brother.
3) Lance did not "disown[s] his faith" after what I would agree was a "miraculous recovery". But if you read his second book, Every Second Counts you would learn that he wasn't much of a person of faith before his illness and really isn't much of one now. I'm guessing that you would be really disturbed by his avowed lack of faith, wouldn't you? But I'm not. Pharmaceuticals and a personal perseverance that he would beat it is what saved his life.
4) I do hold Lance in high regard for his cycling accomplishments and his efforts to support both cancer research and cancer victims. I certainly don't put him up on a pedestal as a role model for myself, my kids or anyone else. See, I don't personally know Lance any more that you probably do. I've seen others comment that he's an arrogant jerk, etc. I'm sure he can be. Like all elite athletes he has an attitude that he's better than everyone else. And in his case, when it comes to cycling, he is. You don't get to that level without that attitude and unfortunately, very few athletes can put it aside when they are not competing. Frankly, most athletes make very poor role models anyway. Although if I did have to pick one, it would probably be Walter Payton.
5) Although I personally don't have deep religious convictions, I also don't think it is a bad idea to "pray for the people who have cancer". I think it's admirable actually, and have done so myself. You see, my mother is a cancer survivor just like Lance. (Incidentally, my mother had colon cancer not testicular cancer like Lance. I'm hoping you realize the improbability of that.) And as good as the power of prayer might be for some --maybe even all, I don't believe prayer alone is going to save them.
6) I don't find my yellow bracelet stupid nor will I be burning it anytime soon. Actually, I'm kissing it now, really! I see it as an acknowledgement of the need to bring attention to a horrible killer and our ability to fight back against it. And my weapon of choice for fight is scientific research.
So have a nice day and move along now "Matt".
Kind Regards,
Kevin L. Papendick
www.polarlava.com
Tim said:
Matt,
Support for cancer can come in many forms. Maybe you should spend less time berating Lance fans and spend more time doing something useful to fight cancer. Since you probably own a computer maybe you should start here: http://www.grid.org/projects/cancer/
And lets not forget, God helps those who help themselves.
Tim Finucane Just Another Pragmatic Programmer... http://www.speljamr.com
Kevin said:
Just a quick apology to Matt for calling him a coward for not leaving his email address on his comment. Matt did leave his email address, he just didn't leave a web address. Thus I apologize to Matt for my braindead and incorrect accusation about being a coward. Beyond that, I stand 100% behind the rest of my statement.
Tim said:
Is it me, or did Matt's original comment disappear. Am I blind?
Matt said:
All you Lance fans need help. Do you even realize what kind of person he really is? Any man who leaves his wife and children, and disowns his faith after such a miraculous recovery is a FOOL!!! Lance Armstrong is one of the worst examples I could ever imagine to be held up so high! If you people really want to support cancer survivors, burn your stupid yellow bracelets and pray for the people who have cancer!
Kevin said:
Uh, sort of. I tried to update my comment via the backend database over the weekend to add DEL tags to strike by blast at him. At that time I overwrote a number of comments because I had a >= in the WHERE clause! Big oops! I had everone's comments open in another window so I was able to recover them. I must have missed his comment. I've now restored it from my email notification. The formatting might be a bit different now, but the text of it is 100% accurate.
Tis the last time I try to edit comments on the backend!