Relay For Life

Follow the money.

Ever since Watergate and Deep Throat, that has been the mantra for journalists pulling threads at the ragged sleeves of selfishness, greed, and corruption. Money, it seems, has often marked the path to our more disgraceful instincts, and following the money has not always been a happy trip.

But this Saturday night, we intend to follow the money — a lot of money — at the Newtown High School stadium, and we already know what we will find at the end of the journey: selflessness, generosity, and hope. The upbeat opening ceremonies of the 2005 Relay For Life start at 7 pm, June 11, and relay teams will keep up the pace all night long, raising money as they go.

Last year, Newtown’s inaugural Relay For Life raised an amazing $175,000 for the American Cancer Society’s efforts to serve cancer patients and to find a cure for their disease. Initial pledges this year suggest an even greater outpouring of support by the people of Newtown.

Those who were there last year will never forget the sights and emotions of that memorable night: more than 200 survivors and their caregivers walking the first lap; thousands of people filling the darkened stadium; 1,590 luminaria ringing the track; hundreds more candles tracing the progress of the relay teams; and finally that eternal emblem of hope — dawn.

This year’s schedule of events for the Relay For Life promises many more memories for participants and those who come to cheer them on. In addition to the luminaria and the ceremonies opening and closing the event, there will be movies, music, games, and team competitions. (Spam carving at 1:30 am — don’t miss it!)

What we like most about the Relay For Life, however, is the absolute sincerity, commitment, and devotion of this incredible crowd in the middle of a June night. Cancer affects lives in many ways, and we all know and fear its capacity to inflict pain, loss, and grief on innocent lives. But the Relay For Life, an annual nationwide campaign involving thousands of communities like Newtown, shows us a face of compassion that rises to meet this dread disease even in the darkest hour of the night.

People we never see at other community events in Newtown are at the Relay For Life; we know that this cause moves people in ways other causes do not. There is no need to look in each person’s heart to see what the motivation is. We all want to believe that this world is not about selfishness, greed, and corruption. And it is certainly not about money. It is about lives touching other lives.