Last weekend, The Max Cure Foundation was preparing for its 4th Annual Roar For A Cure Carnival to be held at The Ross School in East Hampton. It is a family day event that brings out the best of the East End community, the summer residents and the weekend travelers. The carnival, a fundraiser for pediatric cancer, reminds us of that which is important. In other words, "don't sweat the small stuff." In 2009, this carnival was our first event and represented our family's voice against pediatric cancer. Since inception, it truly has evolved into a ROAR. "You think it won't come through your door, and when it does you pray that it will go away. We are the ones out searching for the cure; the one that you may need one day." Quite often, people wait till they need something or for something tragic to happen in their lives before they take a stand. That happened to me. On May 2, 2007, the day before my son Max's fourth birthday, he was diagnosed with cancer. In the days following his diagnosis I took a stand. Weeks later Max Cure was born.
On Saturday morning at approximately 6:30 a.m., I was standing in the middle of the field at The Ross School. The tents were up, the inflatables and rides were on site, Bayberry Nursery was unloading more than 100 different sized potted flowers, plants and trees which they so graciously loan to us every year for our event. It gives the carnival flavor and color. In Thyme Catered Events, our preferred caterer who provides food for all of our carnivals, was setting up.
At 7:30 a.m. it started to rain, and at 9:00 a.m. I had to cancel the event. We postponed it to the next day. It was a hard decision to make. There were more than one thousand people who were planning their weekend around our event. The thought of canceling was upsetting and stressful but to think that people would enjoy themselves let alone come if it was raining was the question with an easy answer. The decision was made -- cancel!
Standing under the tent, watching the rain come down, it occurred to me that storms and cancer appear to have a lot in common. We can't control when it comes or what it will do when it gets here. We pray the storm will be contained and not spread. We do everything we can during the storm to prevent damage. We surf the Internet for answers and tune into the experts for advice as to when it will end.
The next morning when I woke to sunny skies, I went over to the field to get ready for the big ROAR. On that drive, I realized storms and cancer are far from similar. We can prepare for the storm. We know when it is coming and how strong it will be. It can pass within hours, skies turn blue, the sun shines and we go one with our day.
I want to thank all those who attended The Max Cure Foundation's 4th Annual Roar For A Cure Carnival last Sunday, which was once again presented by TOWN Residential. I also want to thank The Max Cure Foundation Ambassadors, NY Mets Hall of Famer John Franco and NBA World Champion Trent Tucker and their families for continuing to support our efforts. To our event chairs, Robin Katz Boyarski, Alison Brettschneider, Lisa Daniel, Amy Kass, Bonnie Ponte, Ramy Sharp, Lyss Stern, Gail Tobias, and Samantha Yanks, thank you! Good friend of Max Cure Aida Turturro invited Edie Falco who came to ROAR with her kids. NHL Stanley Cup Champion Rod Gilbert was at the event signing autographs. Thank you Charlie Walk for bringing the ROAR to Lacoste at Nobu, and raising awareness for MCF with Rosanna Scotto, Kelly Rutherford, and Katie Lee Joel amongst others. Seeing everybody there reinforces that we are making a difference and making an impact. Was this great storm a test?