There is a BNI chapter near my house that I am interested in joining and one of the members asked me to sub for him because he had to go out of town. During the meeting, one of the guys announced that he and 2 others were going to shave their heads for St Baldrick's children's cancer charity. At the time, my only input was that I may know a barber or stylist that could wield the clippers, but there was no way I was cutting my hair, let alone shaving it off.
After the meeting, Intuition started whispering to me to join the pack. I ignored it! But I thought I might at least put out some feelers to promote donations.
Intuition kept whispering. My first response was... "Hell no!" My hair has always been the one thing that I think is truly attractive about myself and shaving it would only show off my big face and gigantic forehead. I've only cut my hair 5 times in my whole life. I would be ugly.
Intuition wouldn't leave me alone. I couldn't stop thinking about it. Then intuition reminded me of why I liked my hair long and when I first grew it out. It is a memory that I had all but forgotten. My cousins Karen and Rhonda. I was in elementary school but the girls were teenagers. They both had long straight black hair. They were the prettiest girls I ever knew. I idolized them so I decided I wanted my hair like theirs.
Just a couple of short years later, Rhonda was diagnosed with Leukemia. She went through chemo and, of course, lost all of her hair. She also endured the radiation sickness that goes with chemo. It was awful for her but she went through it because the doctors said it was supposed to prolong or hopefully save her life. It wasn't long after that Rhonda lost the battle with her disease and she passed away. She was not yet 16 years old.
That was more than 35 years ago and our family still feels that loss. But the real kicker is that medical science has not improved in all this time to find a better way to treat this disease. My question became, "Why is that?" Then I decided that since it was Rhonda who inspired me to grow my hair, I could shave it to honor her. So on March 8, I will join my compatriots and I will shave my head.
My team and I have a goal to raise $10,000. If you feel led to support this cause, you may check out the link. Your generosity in any amount you can spare would be greatly appreciated.
http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/681131/2014
Yes, always research any organization before giving.
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