|The South Marysburgh Mirror 13} | IT ALREADY GIVE! A few short weeks ago there might have been a knock at your door and on opening it you would have been confronted with a person who was collecting money, (YES, IKNOW, ANOTHER ONE!) and this time for the Canadi- an Cancer Society and cancer research. I wonder what your response might have been to that request by a well inten- tioned person. “Talready give” or perhaps “TI have no change at present,” or “I only give to my church.. or “I was wondering when you would be round. Here is my donation,” Does it really matter? ‘e all do what we feel is right for us. In that pro- cess we might be seen as benevolent and generous in the way we choose to help others, either by offering support in monetary terms or by giving of our time, perhaps in a simi- Jar way to that person who was collecting for the Canadian Cancer Society. For others, giving is difficult and reaching beyond their own lives to try to assist or influence people in a beneficial way is quite beyond them. It takes many colors to make a picture complete and any community is a blend of all shades. Yet consider for a moment that in the process of living out our lives, we WILL all at some point become faced with tremendous challenges. They might be work re- lated; or about a relationship; they might be about a child; they might be a crisis of personal confidence or a problem of addiction; they might be related to personal health, whether that of ourselves or a loved one. Amazingly, it is often those people who have been so affected that take on the sometimes ‘onerous’ task of doing door to door collec- tion on behalf of a cause that they feel is worthwhile and should receive their support, as well as hopefully the sup- port of others. These thoughts, related though they are to what I am about to tell you, were very far from my mind when on Monday May 1*. you would have found my wife Irene and myself in Ottawa walking past Parliament Hill, taking in the sights and sounds, when we had what I will call our: “Terry Fox Moment.” ‘Terry Fox.’ It is a simple name; unpretentious...could be the son of a neighbour living in the house next door. It is not a name that can be connected with a great invention or dis- covery. This person never served in politics or other public service, yet that name is indelibly ingrained in the minds of Canadians and indeed many others who live far from our shores. On that Monday in Ottawa, as we suddenly came face to face with a larger than life bronze statue in his memory, we remembered Terry and his accomplishments. We examined the magnificent likeness in all its power and de- on the plaque beneath his feet. — I want to share them with you: 6 “On April 12". 1980, Terry dipping his artificial leg in Fag the Atlantic waters off St. 3 John’s, Newfoundland. Terry’s run, which he called the ‘Marathon of Hope,’ would do so much ans in support of his heroic desire to better the lives of others. On September 1*. near Thunder Bay, Ontario, and 5373 kilometers later, Terry’s footsteps ceased as cancer reclaimed his body. Ten months later it would claim his life......... ry’s steps still echo in the legacy he continues to weave today through the example he set for all of us: that dreams can come true.” There are ordinary people in this world who, when circumstances are apparently totally against them, seem to gain a supernatural power and strength to do the impossi- ble. Their example touches the hearts of others and very oc- casionally they become legends in their own time. On that windy and warm Monday afternoon, the evocative power in the figure before us, and the words we had read, caused tears fo form on our cheeks. As if the words beneath his feet were not enough, they were followed with this quote by Terry Fox himself: “I was lucky to do what I did. How many people ever get a chance to do something that they really believe in.” How can anyone who, at the age of 23 years and at the end of their life say: “I was lucky!” What is it that has caused his life and actions to become legendary in the minds of people throughout the world? I believe that his profound personal experience of severe illness prompted his dedication and determination to reach out to others in spite of his own physical problems. erry Fox made a commitment to unde: “impossible” dream of running across Canada on one good leg, and in the process, caused Canadians to waken up to the fact that the disease cancer, was and IS claiming the lives of people of all ages. Since that day on September 1*. 1980 when Terry’s Marathon of Hope came to a painful end, millions of dol- lars have been collected in pennies, nickels, dimes and dol- lars. The research these funds have financed are producing treatments which have lengthened lives and brought about Continued on page 14