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INDIVIDUAL:
Agent Jennifer Ann Ogren, Age 28, female, very pale with floppy sun
hat.
GROUP SIZE: 4,600 people but only 193 males
NATURE OF GROUP: All walking 60 miles to raise money to find
a cure for cancer.
INCIDENCE OF SOCIOMETRY: Humankind. Be Both.
DAY 0: LINES, LINES, & MORE LINES........ Registration day....
My dad was going to drop me off in Santa Barbara but then he decided
to carry in my bags for me. He ended up staying the 3.5 hours with me
to watch the safety video and register. I knew this was a different
place when the bag check in ” consisted of just leaving your bags in
a pile without a security guard or tag. The video talked about severe
dehydration, comas, deaths, and then said know you are all thinking,
what did I sign up for?!?!? ” hahaha....
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DAY 1:
MAKING NEW
FRIENDS....... I woke up at 5 am to be shuttled to the opening ceremony.
The sky was an amazing sea of pink clouds, the official color of the
fight against breast cancer. There was a poem spoken about why we
are doing this. Talking about the sisters, friends, mothers and grandmothers
that we will no longer hear their voice, see their face or hold them
tight. They played the song I will survive as I started my trek out
of the fairgrounds. Many people wore pink feather boas or velvet pink
cowboy hats or all out crazy outfits. Me - I was just covered in sunscreen
and a floppy hat with a laminated sign on my back explaining that
I was walking in memory of my mom with some pictures of her. People
would look at each other’s signs and give your shoulder a squeeze.
It was interesting to be in the middle of a sea of strangers that
were acting more like friends. I met two random boys on the walk,
pretty amazing since the ratio was something like 23 girls to 1 boy.
One of them (Louie) said he just liked walking and was into the cause
while the other one (Ken) was walking in memory of his mom and had
pictures on his shirt of her. How sweet, huh? All of us had signed
up alone. After getting back into camp, I helped my tent-mate set
up our tent after we figured out that our sticks were too short the
first time around. Then I took a weird shower in a truck with about
20 other girls, I felt like I was in the herd of cattle and accidentally
banged some girls bare butt. Ooops! The shower was the best I had
though. Of course I was dirty again in 5 minutes since the dust in
the campground was stomped on by the 4600 other walkers and the countless
volunteer staff. Then we had dinner and one of the guys had run into
another friend Michelle so the 4 of us became a group. we named ourselves
For mom plus one
DAY 2: WHAT?!?! WHERE ARE THE REAL BATHROOMS? Woke up at 5:30
am in a wet sleeping bag and said, I MUST be crazy! Then I saw outside
my tent that there were thousands of silhouettes in the dark moving
around the campsite. I ran to the bathrooms only to discover the outhouses
got much worse overnight... I opened 5 different ones and the stench
was too much so I decided to wait. As I gagged after closing the 5th
door, a lady saw me and said honey, you gotta learn to rough it! I
ran to get some hot chocolate only to accidentally sniff the brown
powder up my nose in my sleepy stupor. I found my friends and we set
off. About 4.5 miles into the day, I started to get really hot and
felt a little dizzy. I saw a 7-11 and was excited at the prospect
of a flushing toilet. As I stood in line, more people asked me about
my sign and one asked me to sign her memory book. That is when I lost
it, my vision, my legs, my emotions. I felt like I was about to faint
so I sat down. Then before I knew it, I was crying like a crazy woman
and missing my mom. I usually talk about it in third person but on
this trek with so many other women who lost their moms, it really
hit me and I didnt even have the strength to stand up. As random people
gave me hugs, water and salty snacks, the medical taxi rushed to my
aid and carried me out. At the medical tent the doctor took my blood
pressure and asked me about symptoms. I then realized the pounding
headache I woke up with that morning and the fact I didnt get up to
pee once in the middle of the night meant I was severely dehydrated.
After resting for a few hours and drinking 8 gallons of Gatorade I
felt better. At camp that night, Jim Belushi performed and then the
four of us sat in the 4600 person dining hall all alone till almost
midnight chatting it up. The going to bed at 9 pm thing is really
not me.
DAY 3: WILL WHEATON (STAND BY ME & STAR TREK) TOOK A PICTURE
OF MY ASS! Well ok, actually he asked if he could take a picture of
my mom sign that was on my hip pack... I was walking with my friend
Michelle who hurt her foot, when I realized a few miles into it that
she was REALLY hurt so we called a medical sweep van to bring her
to the next stop. She was upset she couldnt go all the way but we
told her that her foot was more important and we could meet up with
her at the lunch stop. Then a volunteer came over and hugged her and
said it was because of her that people were still living and surviving
cancer. That just her attempting to do it and pushing her limits was
what was important. Michelle got teary eyed but then we knew when
she was back in good spirits when she said joked about her crying
saying I pulled a Jennifer! I took the picture of her mom she had
been carrying to bring on the trail and we bid her good-bye. The 3
of us trekked on. Me and the boys decided to make up for lost time
and started picking up the pace, we would try to cheer those we passed
up saying things like you can do it! and where is your smile?!?!?!
Someone recognized me from the 7-11 the day before and said wow, I
guess you recovered! There were many people in vans with signs like
Honkers for Knockers or give a shit about a tit along the sidelines.
Also many people stood on their front porches waving signs or passing
out licorice. Everyone from little babies, to a 7 year old boy entertaining
us with his Michael Jackson lip sync and dance moves, to an older
lady that was bald from chemotherapy crying as she squeezed out the
words, thank you for walking. It was beautiful, a human monument.
A sign that we collectively care about mankind. The motto of the trip
was humankind - be both. When we were almost at the closing ceremony
site, I spotted my dad stuck in traffic and ran down the street yelling
dad as about 60 other people yelled with me to get his attention.
When we got to the showgrounds, thousands of faces crying and cheering
me on, reading peoples signs and just giving you a hug even though
I dont know them. It was amazing. We walked in linking arms. At one
point of the ceremony, everyone took off one shoe and waved it in
the air to the music. It was amazing to see almost 5000 dusty tennis
shoes in a victory salute. We raised 6 million dollars with money
still pouring in to fight this horrible disease and to prevent more
undeserving deaths.
When I got home, I had never been so dirty in my life. I took a shower
and fell asleep at 10:30. And can I just say- while I love my clean
toilet, I will miss living with 4600 people, instantly bonded through
a common cause. This was the last 3-day sixty mile event, but next
year there is a 2-day 39 miler in the works. (Boys, you should think
about going - you can fill up your little black book with digits in
one day with odds like this!) Thank you so much to all of you who
supported my efforts. So far, I raised $4000. I bet my mom is looking
down so proud of everyones efforts. So now I am back, done with waking
up at 7am on weekends for training power walks so if anyone wants
to go out, I am back on the party circuit....
SUMATION OF SOCIOMETRIC INCIDENCE:
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True to the trip motto, everyone
involved was instantly bonded, helpfull to neighbors, cared about others
stories and personal purposes for doing the walk. The was a natural
division of slow and fast walkers. most people were kind and well mannered,
even while trying to get ahead. There were a few people who rushed to
the front but most paid them no negative attention. The good walkers
encouraged the old, injured, overweight and tired. Everyone cheered
on everyone. When we came to the finish line, there was a sea of ecstatic
faces, both participants and on-lookers. Everyone had tears in their
eyes, gave strangers shoulders a squeeze, and stayed until the very
last walker came in the gate. It was a beautiful experience.
[You may still make a tax deductable contribution to Agent Ogren fundraising
efforts ~ is]
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POSTSCRIPT: Agent Ogrens friend found this on the message
boards.
AUTHOR: Carrie
EMAIL: blister_sisters@yahoo.com
DATE / TIME: 10/23/02 11:26 AM
SUBJECT: Touched by the gal in 7/11 on Day 2
MESSAGE: I had to make a pit stop at the 7/11 on Day 2 and saw
a young gal sitting on the floor sobbing. Another walker asked her what
was wrong and she said she had lost her mother to cancer 5 years ago
and how much she missed her and that she felt she was having an anxiety
attack. It broke my heart.
Everyone in the store was crying. I didn't know what to say to her,
so I just stood there cried with her. When it was my turn to use the
bathroom I sat there and cried and thought about my moms bestfriend
(my friend too!) that passed away in May, 2001 after a 7 year battle
with breast cancer and our other dear friend (who met us on Day 3!)
who will be a 2 year survivor.
My mom was waiting for me outside. I told her what happened. I still
could not stop from crying. We stood on someones lawn next to the store
and cried for about another 10 minutes. It was overwhelming.
I kept running into the gal from 7/11 the rest of the weekend. On the
same day I saw her at the medical tent as I sat in the Medical tent.
And on Sunday she was in front of me as we were either getting our victory
shirts or going to stand in line for closing ceremonies (cant remember
which), but I touched her arm and told her how proud of her I was and
was so excited that she made it.
I dont know her name. But she touched me in a way I dont even understand
and I will never forget.
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