Monday, April 7, 2008

Bridges between... April 2008

Odd Shot is next post down.

Broer som Binder--Bridges between... is sponsored by Rune. It is not the physical bridge itself which is most important to the theme each month, but the concept of what a bridge does--it connects. The ellipses in the English translation are meant to convey that concept while maintaining the alliteration.

From September 7-9, 2007 I crossed a number of bridges. With my daughter Rachel, I was participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, a fundraiser benefiting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust. The event serves to raise awareness about the disease which took my mother and my sister, as well as help to fund research and patient assistance programs. It takes place in a dozen cities in the US, and we walked in Seattle.
~
The first bridge crossed the freeway in Bellevue.

I found this, which was among a number of signs posted along the route, to be quite an understatement. Many, in this case, meant about 2,500 men and women walking in support of a cause, in honor of an individual, in support of one another.
Early on that first day we crossed the Lake Washington Floating Bridge into Seattle. Shows of support came both from drivers on the bridge and boats on the lake.

You can see that we would be quite a sight on this long expanse. I always find driving across this bridge a little unnerving. Walking it was a totally different experience.

On the third day, at about mile 55 of the 60 mile excursion, we crossed under the West Seattle Bridge to get to downtown Seattle. This is surely a different bridge view from what we usually see. You can see, too, that the many people walking have spread out a bit more from that first crowded bridge view.

I will walk the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk again in September of 2008. Another 60 miles. Another series of milestones. Another three days in memory of my mother and my sister and countless others both known to me and unknown and in honor of those who have survived. The route may be different this year--but in Seattle there will always be bridges.

I think the walk itself is a bridge between... It is a bridge between the feelings of loss of those who have battled and are gone and the victories that research and support of each other has and can bring for the future.


There is a link to my 3-Day fundraising page on my sidebar.

25 comments:

Lew said...

You have captured the essence of the theme as RuneE described it. And the bridges along the walk add to the character of the post. Beautiful weather for last year's walk!

Rune Eide said...

A very thought-provoking post. You have shown us many different physical bridges of great variety and design - even beauty. Buut the essence of it all is in your last "paragraph:

"I think the walk itself is a bridge between... It is a bridge between the feelings of loss of those who have battled and are gone and the victories that research and support of each other has and can bring for the future."

I'll support that.

Paulie said...

Somehow I had a feeling your post would be about this bridge to a cure for Cancer. . .

ArneA said...

Regarding photo no 4. Is it the weight of the walkers that make the bridge bend down to the water

imac said...

What a great Bridge post and very interesting.

My Bridge is also up.

Gerald (SK14) said...

O my how you have captured here the sense of your walk. I would feel slighty nervous to be in such a huge crowd - prefer a little more space.

Anne-Berit said...

What a nice thing to do.Lookes like a lot of people joined the Walk.Great photos too:o)

John-Michael said...

Katney, my Darling Gift, your loving Spirit simply sings from the 'page' and gives my Heart wings of joy. How blessed I am to have found you and to have your influence as a part of my life.

NAMASTE

Daniel J Santos said...

That's a fantastic walk, in all aspects.

Excellent post, done.

ANNA-LYS said...

Evoking and provoking bridge post, with many levels/dimensions of meanings. I really like that take on the "Building Bridges Theme".

Thank You for Your engaging comment, I did answer You there :-D

Have A Lovely Week and keep up the spirit!

GundaM said...

Wow, what a bridge!

Nice shots;)

FANCY said...

Connection and walking over the bridge...that is a great way of unite :)

mrsnesbitt said...

Your last paragraph was so moving!

Anonymous said...

A important blog, and the walk bridges between should be followed by many more,

Pernille said...

This is a very nice thing to do. I wish I could walk there with them! Many wonderful photos and a very good text too:)
Have a nice evening:)

Unknown said...

What a great interesting Bridge post Katney! Very well done.

dixymiss said...

An eXtremely poignant and powerful post, Katney. Blessings as you walk, building bridges of hope in support of a cure.

Berit T said...

WOW it is amazing!!

HildeS/Frøken Fryd said...

What a great post.
Well done:)

FO - 2 said...

Very good post!
A post and a bridge of importance.
Walking and crossing the bridge together. For life! :)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post... power to you!!
Love your fountain shot, also.

Marie said...

I love this post! It is great!

9na said...

Wow! Beautiful pictures of beautiful bridges...

9na said...

Wow! I'm impressed...!

Cath said...

Well where have I been??? You have a serious amount of posts up here that I just caught up on (since Friday!) but apart from your odd shot (which is just awesome!) I will just comment here if you don't mind. :)

The google searches on the sitemeter are funny. I think I have statcounter which is similar. It's really useful sometimes but I do wonder about the number of visits lasting 0 seconds! Just passing through?

The walk you did is wonderful. Well done. I don't think I could do that. Love the shots of the bridges [especially the one at was it 55 of something 60? Sorry - unfamiliar terms and memory loss :( ] The sign was funny too.