The Agony of Defeat

So last night I was watching the Olympics before I went to bed (as all good patriotic Americans should do), and saw Katie Hoff edged out for gold in the 400m freestyle by SEVEN HUNDREDTHS OF A SECOND. Yee-owch. I mean, silver is great too, but that margin of victory is just STUPID. Basically the winner had slightly longer fingernails than the loser, when it comes down to that. Harsh.

Then in the very next race, the men's 4x100 freestyle relay, the US team won the gold by EIGHT hundredths of a second. Talk about parity in the field.

You know, I often think that getting rejected by a magazine I thought I should be able to break into was soul-crushing, but put in this perspective...not as much.

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Support Scott in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes!

As everyone who knows me knows, I've been a type 1 diabetic since I was 17 years old. Once again, this year I'll be taking part in JDRF's Walk to Cure Diabetes along with one-half million other walkers across the country, as we try to reach our goal of raising $100 million.

Last year I did great work fundraising for the JDRF, and I hope to do at least as well this year...with a little help from my friends. :) If you can and would like to, please follow the link below to donate a little money toward the effort. Any donation is greatly appreciated--$5, $10, whatever you can spare. You can even put it on your credit card! What could be simpler!

Thanks a lot to everyone who can and feels like supporting me in this effort.

Go to Scott's Fundraising Page at the JDRF Website

The official spiel:

Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes, is a devastating disease that affects millions of people--a large and growing percentage of them children. Many people think type 1 diabetes can be controlled by insulin. While insulin does keep people with type 1 diabetes alive, it is NOT a cure. Aside from the daily challenges of living with type 1 diabetes, there are many severe, often fatal, complications caused by the disease. Possible complications of this disease include blindness, neuropathy, kidney failure, heart disease, circulation problems, amputations, and death. While advances in the last century have made living with diabetes easier, it's still a leading cause of long term health problems and death in this country. Constant need for blood glucose monitoring and medications take a considerable financial as well as emotional toll on diabetics and their families, to say nothing of the health care system.

I have now lived longer with diabetes than I lived without out. It's my hope that, with the help of research the JDRF is funding and through donations from people across the country, one day I can say that statement is no longer true. I haven't always been hopeful about this, but now, for the first time, scientists are predicting that we CAN expect to see a cure well within our lifetime. It's enough to make me dare to hope.

If you're able to, please sponsor me on this year's Walk to Cure Diabetes. You can go to the link below to donate online--$5, $10, whatever you can spare--or, if you're nearby, see me to give a check. Every donation means a lot.

Thank you,
Scott Standridge

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