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A handsome,
middle-aged man walked quietly into the cafe and sat down.
Before he
ordered, he couldn't help but notice a group of younger men
at
the table next to
him. It was obvious they were making fun of something
about him, and it
wasn't until he remembered he was wearing a small pink
ribbon on
the lapel of his suit that he
became aware of what the joke was all
about.
The man brushed
off the reaction as ignorance, but the smirks began
to
get to him. He
looked one of the rude men square in the eye, placed his hand
beneath
the ribbon and asked, quizzically, "This?" With that the men all
began
to laugh out loud.
The man he
addressed said, as he fought back laughter, "Hey, sorry
man,
but we were just
commenting on how pretty your pink ribbon looks against
your blue
jacket!"
The man calmly motioned for the joker to come over to his
table, and
invited him to sit
down. As uncomfortable as he was, the guy obliged, not really
sure why.
In a soft voice, the middle aged man said, "I wear this
ribbon
to bring awareness
about breast cancer. I wear it in my mother's honor."
Oh, sorry
dude. She died of breast cancer?"
"No, she didn't. She's alive and
well. But her breasts nourished me as
an
infant, and were a soft resting
place for my head when I was scared or
lonely as a little boy. I'm very
grateful for my mother's breasts, and
her
health."
"Umm," the
stranger replied, "Yeah."
"And I wear this ribbon to honor my
wife", the middle aged man went on.
"And she's okay, too?", the
other guy asked.
"Oh, yes. She's fine. Her breasts have been a
great source of loving
pleasure for both of us, and with them she
nurtured and nourished our
beautiful daughter 23 years ago. I am
grateful for my wife's breasts,
and
for her health."
"Uh huh.
And I guess you wear it to honor your daughter, also?"
"No. It's
too late to honor my daughter by wearing it now. My
daughter
died of breast
cancer one month ago. She thought she was too young to
have
breast cancer, so when
she accidentally noticed a small lump, she ignored it.
She thought that
since it wasn't painful, it must not be anything to
worry
about."
Shaken and ashamed, the now sober stranger
said,
"Oh, man, I'm so sorry mister."
"So, in my daughter's
memory, too, I proudly wear this little
ribbon,
which allows me the
opportunity to enlighten others.
Now, go home and talk to your wife and
your daughters, your mother and
your
friends."
"And here," the
middle-aged man reached in his pocket and handed the
other man a little
pink ribbon.
The guy looked at it, slowly raised his head and
asked, "Can you help me
put
it on?"
This is breast
cancer awareness month. Do regular breast self-exams and
have annual
mammograms if you are a woman over
the age of 40. And encourage those
women you love to do the same.
Please send this on to anyone you
would like to remind of the importance
of
breast cancer awareness.
A
CANDLE LOSES NOTHING BY LIGHTING ANOTHER CANDLE.
PLEASE KEEP THIS
CANDLE GOING!
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