I'm not much of an athlete, but I've always been a baseball fan. Growing up in the suburbs of New York City, I was fortunate to spend many weekends at Shea Stadium, watching the New York Mets. My parents, like many Mets fans of their generation, had been Brooklyn Dodger fans until the Dodgers deserted Brooklyn for LA. Being a real Brooklyn Dodger fan meant sticking with a team year in and year out, that frequently disappointed. My parents always told me that becoming Mets fans once the Dodgers were gone was logical for two reasons; they weren't the detested Yankees, and there was always hope for a winning season, but they would frequently let you down, like their Dodger predecessors.
I was there, on a very cold October night at Shea Stadium, during the 1973 World Series. It was so exciting, and there was so much hope, with Tug McGraw's cheer of "ya gotta believe." But ultimately the Mets lost the series.
Making change in Washington can be a bit like being a Mets fan. But April 14 and the weeks since, have been a winning streak for childhood cancer survivors and their families. You'll remember from my previous blog that the Children's Cause for Cancer Advocacy had it's first lobby day on April 14. 42 survivors and parents went to Capitol Hill to ask members of Congress to support HR 4450, Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act. The meetings that these advocates made had a direct impact, with 7 additional members of Congress agreeing to co-sponsor the bill since April 14! And, a Senate version of HR 4450 was also just introduced, by Senator Hilary Clinton.
This is really just the beginning for this bill. All of us can make a difference and it will take the collective voices of survivors, friends and families to move this bill through Congress. We have to be patient and PERSISTENT. 42 advocates told their stories, and members of Congress listened. So, we can like those fans who only care about their teams when they are winners. There will be loses, and there will be wins, but "ya gotta believe."
As a side note, since I have been in Washington, DC for almost 10 years, my adopted baseball team is the Nationals (I still root for the Mets too). The Nats started this season with a miserable record of 7 consecutive loses. Now, they won 7 out of their last 9 games.
Tug McGraw had it right.
I was there, on a very cold October night at Shea Stadium, during the 1973 World Series. It was so exciting, and there was so much hope, with Tug McGraw's cheer of "ya gotta believe." But ultimately the Mets lost the series.
Making change in Washington can be a bit like being a Mets fan. But April 14 and the weeks since, have been a winning streak for childhood cancer survivors and their families. You'll remember from my previous blog that the Children's Cause for Cancer Advocacy had it's first lobby day on April 14. 42 survivors and parents went to Capitol Hill to ask members of Congress to support HR 4450, Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act. The meetings that these advocates made had a direct impact, with 7 additional members of Congress agreeing to co-sponsor the bill since April 14! And, a Senate version of HR 4450 was also just introduced, by Senator Hilary Clinton.
This is really just the beginning for this bill. All of us can make a difference and it will take the collective voices of survivors, friends and families to move this bill through Congress. We have to be patient and PERSISTENT. 42 advocates told their stories, and members of Congress listened. So, we can like those fans who only care about their teams when they are winners. There will be loses, and there will be wins, but "ya gotta believe."
As a side note, since I have been in Washington, DC for almost 10 years, my adopted baseball team is the Nationals (I still root for the Mets too). The Nats started this season with a miserable record of 7 consecutive loses. Now, they won 7 out of their last 9 games.
Tug McGraw had it right.
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