Fios coverage of our 2011 Sky Dive

Fios coverage of the 2011 SkyDive

Waldo Cabrera covered the Sky Dive fundraiser. Thank you - so much for spending time with us - many hours - so happy you did take advantage of a jump!

 ( thoughts to Waldo - next time voice over would be much better! )

"It is one thing to be in the proximity of death,

to know more or less what she is,

and it is quite another thing to seek her."

~ Ernest Hemingway

The True Alpha Male......

PREFACE:2009

So Debbie, what have you gotten me into now? As I arrived at her house for a day of "no kids" (except Jack - who was asleep) she presented me with an article about "Leap for Life." "LI Attorney Leaps for American Cancer Society" - Rick Collins raised more than $13,500 for ACS.

Debbie us so excited about this attorney, author of the "Alpha Male Challenge" (hmmmm), bodybuilder and defender of steroid use (what???), lecturer, magazine columnist - yada yada yada. I allowed her to go on, took the article to read and we went to work on the wellness weekend.


So, shame on me - let us not be judgemental! We met with Rick Collins today, what Debbie was able to extract from reading his web site, his bio etc, I was presented with in person. A gentleman, articulate as any I have heard, passionate about health, fitness and nutrition and willing to spend an hour or more of his time with Strength for Life.


His opening statement (isn't that like a lawyer) was how an individual is in control of what they eat and what they do! Especially during disease (dis-ease) that uncontrollable aspect that presents itself - we do have control of some aspects of our life. Evelyn Knapp (the reason for Strength for Life) said that exercise gave her a sense of control in an uncontrollable situation.


Debbie ran to buy the book - sold out in Border's, Commack. I have not read the book, I am interested in reading the book now after meeting Rick. I have looked through the table of contents - no quiche in there but there is cilantro! There are wonderful recipes for food and there is a full recipe for fitness! There is information that I recognize GAS - not as in flatulence - as in the General Adaptation Syndrome - our body's reaction to stress. The excerpts are inviting - you will want to run out (like Debbie) and buy this book. It covers it all diet, exercise and ATTITUDE!

Thank you, Rick Collins! We are gaining altitude for the Strength for Life Leap!

Please take the time and visit Rick's web site - I could not begin to add his credentials to this blog. www.rickcollins.com .

YESTERDAY:

My plunge of yesterday was directly related to Rick Collins - again we visited his office in late Spring (recall he is a motivational speaker) and I shook hands on taking the plunge and jumping from the plane.  I pride myself on keeping my word - so, although my senses told me not to do this - I shook hands and went through with the jump. 

There will probably be another blog about this jump - because I am still recalling many aspects of it - some quite amusing.  Who is falling from a plane and worried that their capris are riding up - I actually considered it and adjusted them - my daughter would be proud because she consistenly reminds me "it's all about the look!"

The most difficult part of this jump was sitting on the lap of Adam - my young Brit and having him  slide us both from the very front of the plane to the very back of the plane - OMG - that was torture - THEN, Adam decided we would stand and leave the plane - the alternative is to sit - let me tell you looking down 13,500 feet, strapped to someone I don't know and being able to leave that plane was surreal..(to be continued )

Anyone wondering about my shocking pink BOA??? Debbie ran her first 1/2 marathon last weekend, the Diva Half,  and she lent me the boa  - to be seen - or perhaps to really look like I was as crazy as someone about to jump from a plane ;)

"How much do I want Strength for Life to succeed? Enough to fall from a plane to raise funds to keep us going. And - fyi - I am afraid of heights - so dig deep in your pockets and give a little or give a lot - just help us achieve our goals and continue to help others feel their absolute best. We are blessed to receive testimonials that give us the reason to continue. One person has an epiphany, or reclaims an activity that slipped away in light of the disease - that is why we do what we do. Help us - and come watch me suit up and be "fall-an-throp-ic".

 

The event was covered by FIOS and Waldo Cabrera who also highlighted a wellness retreat for us on MYLITV - last year. The coverage is phenomenal for Strength for Life and this man is an incredible gift - his patience, manners and professionalism is beyond all expectations. So be on the lookout for this event.

How did I get "roped into this" - I shook hands on it - and followed through. Reminder to self - be very careful when you shake on something!!! ;)


Off my bucket list! Somehow I was not nervous and/or excited - and it was better than I dreamed! We raised nearly $4000 on this event - almost enough to pay for one Wellness Retreat.


It was an exquisite day for this, many people came out to support Strength for
Life and Leap for Life - so thank you all - and everyone please know
donations are always gratefully accepted. The programs that Strength for Life
offers have been at 'no cost' to cancer survivors and it is only by our fundraising efforts that we can continue to do this. We have expanded our programs this year and have held classes at five locations. That is how we have spent this year - but in doing so our fundraising efforts were put on the back burner - we can only spread ourselves so thin. We have classes in Port Jefferson, Stony Brook, Hauppauge, Copiague and East Meadow; have made incredible connections and have been able to help a wider scope of survivors.


Our next FUNraising events are a "Psychic Night" to be held on October 23 at Popei's in Deer Park, followed by our 2nd Annual "Evelyn Knapp Run to Remember" a 5K at Sunken Meadow State Park on Sunday, November 20 at 9 am, with a Kid's Fun Run at 8:30.


We have a "Today is a Gift" 2012 Calendar - for a dedication date and/or
month for you to honor a loved one. All proceeds help Strength for Life
continue to offer FREE services to cancer patients/survivors.


Next year our goal is a hiking relay FUNraiser from Hecksher to Sunken Meadow" along the Greenbelt Trail; continuation of the SkyDive and Run and we remain open to suggestions. Last year we were contacted by a "serious" hiker, Raul, who raised money for Strength for Life and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy - by completing a 50 mile "H3 Initiative - Hammock Hiking for
Humanity" Raul has recently contacted Strength for Life and is now planning an 11 day 160 mile trek and will again raise funds for Strength for Life.


If you are, or know someone that would like to participate in any event -and fundraise - Strength for Life will help support the cost of the event - win/win.

 

Food Matters....watch this video by 10/8/11

Food Matters

By Dr. Mercola

"Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food."

That famous quote by Hippocrates, who is often referred to as "the father of medicine," is somewhere around 2,500 years old, and for a long time this sentiment was treated as fact. Today, many scoff at this notion, thinking nutrition and medicine have very little in common; using food to quench hunger and little else, while turning to pharmaceutical drugs to treat illness.
Turning our backs on the fundamental truth that "food is medicine" is no doubt at the very heart of our current disease epidemics.
Another quote by Hippocrates, which is part of the Hippocratic Oath still recited by modern doctors today, is "First, do no harm." Unfortunately, the preoccupation with the idea that there must be "a pill for every ill" now greatly compromises this oath, because the practice of medicine is primarily focused on drugs that oftentimes do FAR more harm than good… Meanwhile, modern doctors receive virtually no training in nutrition.
Food Matters, produced by James Colquhoun, Laurentine ten Bosch, and Enzo Tedeschi is an 80-minute long fast-paced re-education for the layman on the basics of good health, which incidentally is the only way to prevent disease from occurring in the first place. The film presents powerful evidence in support of ancient wisdom that regards food as medicine, and offers practical solutions to the current health crisis.