“Every Day Is a Gift”
Road Report from Ted Chiodo:
10-29-2006: Our next stop was in Austin, Texas. where John Kerry attended the first ever Live Strong Summit with Lance Armstrong. The Live Strong Summit is a three-day event produced by the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
According to the summit website, the event was intended “to organize, inspire and direct the efforts of cancer survivors from across the country to change the face of cancer survivorship.”
The summit took place at the massive Austin Convention Center two blocks away from our hotel. It was a sunny bright day and I headed over early to make sure I had a good spot to grab a video of John Kerry’s speech (plus I heard they had some breakfast—a sometimes-rare meal on the road).
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The breakfast rumor turned out to be true. Around the table, I met people from around the country who had beaten cancer and wanted to change how this country views cancer and cancer survivorship. These men and women had two things binding them together: first, they were Americans; and second, their lives were fundamentally affected by cancer. I don’t really get too emotional in my line of work, but this room full of brave Americans was truly inspirational. I really have a hard time putting it into words.
The speakers were Lance Armstrong, AOL founder Steve Case, Elizabeth Edwards, and John Kerry. Plainly put, this was a from the heart speech by John Kerry that you have to see. Please check out the video and remember to wear your LiveStrong bands proud!
As John reminded us, “Every day is a gift.”
Mahalo!
-- Ted
18 Comments
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Great photos and a great post.
“Every day is a gift.” - great words to remember and live by.
I thought Armstrong was a Bush supporter. Is he changing his mind and supporting someone who might work toward cures?
off topic, but be sure to see today’s Boston Globe, for account of Sen. Kerry’s rallly with Patrick Murphy in PA and responses to swiftboaters: http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles/2006/10/30/kerry_defends_democrats_wartime_service/
Thanks MBK and here is the link: http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles/2006/10/30/kerry_defends_democrats_wartime_service
Of course the BG cannot do an article on Senator Kerry without snark and a bit of misinformation, they call it journalism, I call it lazy journalism.
Between the snark and misinformation are actual quotes, I especially like this:
Spot on, Senator Kerry.
Thanks so much Ted for the video. As you said Ted, it is hard to put into words.
After watching the video, I am even more proud of supporting a man who cares so deeply for ALL Americans not for a few. I can only imagine the stories and the emotions in that room, but through the video, I think I know.
We all need to catch the wave on that inspiration, and work very hard for the next 8 days, so finally we can start the journey for a healthier, prosperous and caring America. That is a gift we all deserve.
Fedup,
I so agree with you and only wish everyone could see this video. I didn’t think I could be more convinced that Senator Kerry was and is the right choice for President than I already was. This speech is absolutely incredible. All I can say is we are lucky to have this good man fighting to fix the world.
Thanks for the update and the video, Ted!
Great video. This is a very moving and personal speech. I agree with Karennj and wish everyone could see this video.
There are very few people in public life who actually care about people. Senator Kerry truly cares and he’s a good and compassionate human being.
Combined with his knowledge, his experience, his tenacity, strength, toughness and his ability to learn and improve make him about as presidential as anyone on the planet. We are lucky to have him fighting for us.
I’ve often said something that sometimes make people look at me strangely: it is both exciting and a privilege to live in the time of John Kerry. Most people do not look that far down the road, but if you think of the future and look back from that perspective you sometimes see things more clearly. How will future historians view John Kerry? My guess is that they will view him as ahead of his time, as one of the great leaders in history.
We cannot go back into history and meet great leaders and heroes of the past, but we are given the opportunity to recognize and appreciate today, those who history will look back on and say, “There was a great leader.”
Kudos for John Kerry! He is a very caring, compassionate human being. I try to keep up-to-date, on a daily basis, on what he is doing. I too, get “goose bumps” when I hear him give his speeches. I hope he runs for president in 2008, because if he does, he has my vote.
Thanks, Ted, for providing that video. It was a very moving speech, and without going into details on this public blog, I identified a lot with what the senator said. I’m also at a loss for words beyond that.
Thank you so much for posting the video of Sen. Kerry’s speech. Very, very moving. I’ve sent the link to many of my friends, of various political persuasions, because the wisdom and humanity of the speech transcends partisan issues.
And, I agree 100% with Ann R.! and Phyllis D’Andrea!
Wow. Just wow. Thank you so much for posting this. What a incredibly powerful, heartfelt speech. John Kerry’s life experiences, both with the death of his father due to cancer and his own experience with the disease, connects him to millions of Americans. His deep desire to prevent others from having to go through what he has gone through is obvious. What a difference it would make to have someone with such compassion in the White House.
That was an incredibly moving speech! Thank you Senator Kerry for addressing the confusion families with loved ones who experience life-threatening illnesses face, and the importance of trying to find cures.
Everyone should see this video!
Is anyone else having technical difficulties with the video? It keeps freezing up on me at the same spot about 8:00 minutes into what sounds like quite an eloquent speech.
I, too, have difficulty with the video, but I do with all videos stopping every few seconds. I am still dial-up, so may make a difference.
I would like a transcription, although I’d miss the personal delivery so important to his personal story.
Senator Kerry gave a very personal yet informative talk on the sad and at times devistating effects of cancer on the family as well as the individual. I appreciated his candor. A diagnosis of cancer does indeed change lives over night and no one can ever be certain cancer won’t intrude on their peaceful lives at one time or another or come back to strike again. As the daughter, daughter in law, and neice of cancer victims, my father and uncle are ,so far, still cancer free. My father in law sadly died before seeing his new granddaughter, I have learned from them to be greatful for every day. Senator Kerry reminded me eloguently of that again today.
Thank you, Ted, for posting the video. It was an amazing, powerful speech. I have a friend who is dying from liver cancer, and I so appreciate what John Kerry and so many others are doing to try to help make this sort of tragedy more rare and preventable.
I especially appreciated his remarks on the role our lifestyle choices and the way we treat the environment play in helping defeat these terrible illnesses.
Thank you, Mr. Kerry, for your honesty and openness and for sharing your heart with those at the conference, and those of us online. You are greatly appreciated.
There is news today about cancer ‘gene codes’ that sounds very promising. My sister is cancer free for a year now, she was lucky that it was caught early. This new science sounds like it will lead to even earlier diagnoses and more specific treatments. Hopefully this Foundation will enable survivors to be medical advocates as well as mentors to other patients. Great idea - Live Strong indeed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5325206.stm
Great counter punch Senator Kerry, do not let them twist your comments in any way, shape or form. Always offense!