Climbing for a Cure

Last night, for the second year in a row, I participated in the Climb for a Cure event to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The event consists of climbing 47 floors - 94 flights - 1034 steps up the U.S. Bank building in downtown Milwaukee, WI. When I did this event last year, I had no idea what I was getting into and it turned out to be one of the most excruciating events I have participated in since Marine Corps Boot Camp. There is really no way you can train for this. Even weeks on a stair stepper or elliptical machine didn't help much. My one major mistake last year was starting off way to fast.  This year's motto was "Slow and Steady".  Well I have to say that I beat last year's time by almost one minute, finishing in 12 minutes and 11 seconds. Once again we had a small team of us (four this time) from my workplace and each one of us made it to top successfully. Next year we hope to grow our team to continue to support this great cause.

The main reason I, and my other friends, support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and participate in events such as this one, is because of our close friend and coworker, Nicki, who has CF. Here is a woman who was diagnosed at the age of 6 months and has battled this disease her entire life. For the seven or so years that I have known her, she has never asked for preferential treatment, never asked for help, and always thinks of others before herself, even while not being able to breath normally. She is truly an inspiration.

Last year, in August 2009, Nicki received a double lung transplant. Last night, Nicki climbed 47 floors - 94 flights - 1034 steps. Truly amazing! Something she would not have been able to do before surgery. She even passed a firefighter coming up the stairs.  Sure he was wearing his full fire fighter gear, but that doesn't matter.

Here is our mighty little team. From left to right - Nicki, Me, Crystal, and Carey.

Happy 235th Birthday Marines!

I'm registered as an American

I believe in my country. I believe in the Constitution and everything that it give us, the People, the power to do. I believe in change. Throughout our nation's history, change has been constant. We have changed. We have grown. We have developed into one of the finest, strongest nation's in the world. Yet the change we need most, no one seems to want. We need to stop the infighting. We need to stop beating ourselves up.

Over the last couple of years, I have seen changes withing our two major political parties. There was a time when one was all the way to the left and the other was all the way to the right. That's not the case anymore. The lines in the political parties have become more and more blurred, yet things seem to get worse. It seems more and more people are finding themselves closer to the middle than ever before, yet we still fight.  While I am registered with one of the two major political parties, I too find myself down the middle on a lot of issues. In conversations I have had with colleagues and strangers, I have found that I agree with many things on each side. So where does that leave me?

There is so much negativity and public bashing that it is often disgusting to think that these elected officials represent us in government. If one party has complete control over Congress and the Presidency and chooses not to work with the other party, is this truly a Democracy? Or is this some sort of authoritarian dictatorship run by a group. There was a time when having a multi party political system worked. Maybe that needs to change.

Do we really need two major political parties?  Are we not all playing for the same team? Don't you think we could get a lot more accomplished if we all just registered as American?

I don't understand why it gets so ugly around campaign and election time. The finger pointing, the name calling, the bashing...it's all very juvenile. I've seen 5th graders act more appropriately. I'd like to see more politicians and/or political parties as a whole take responsibility for their mistakes. Man/Woman up people! Admit you screwed up. Have some integrity. No matter who makes the mistake, the finger is always pointed at the person who last filled the seat. I would have a lot more faith and respect for someone who took responsibility for their own actions and misdeeds and those of their party. That is leadership.

One thing I do know is that being a politician is a thankless job. It's a dirty job. It's a job I do not want. Hats off to anyone who runs for office. A great thing about the Constitution is that it gives us the right to make changes. We'll see if the changes made on Tuesday have a positive effect. If not, then we'll make more changes in two years and keep making changes until we get it right.

Before I ever decided to register with any party, I registered as an American!