There is a bench on Day 3 of the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day. It’s a beautiful bench, as far as benches go, with a shiny, smooth steel construction, and elegantly turned legs. It’s seated on a platform of river rocks, overlooking a fountain framed by trees. The hundreds of 3-Dayers who walk by this bench in Curtis Park may think it’s just a bench, but to 23-time participant Burt Lipshie it’s more than just a bench. This bench is the last place he talked to his cousin before she died of breast cancer.
Burt’s cousin Judy is “my dearest, sweetest cousin in the whole world. Breast cancer killed her in 2004.”
It seems like a twist of fate brought Burt to the 3-Day. “A month or so after she died, I’m sitting in my office in New York, and Judy is everywhere. She’s just everywhere. It’s a hard thing to describe.”
Burt sent an email to Judy’s daughters, saying, “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m having a Judy day today.” They wrote back and said they were not surprised, because they were, too. Why were they having a “Judy day,” other than dearly missing their mom?
Their answer to him: “We think our mom is proud of us because we just signed up to walk the 3-Day.”
Burt knew immediately that he would support the 3-Day. “I told them that I would donate… and I thought about it for two days. And then, I thought, no. They can’t do this without me. I’m going to do it too.”
Just two days later, Burt was signed up for his first ever 3-Day. “I had to find some way to fight back. This is the most meaningful way to fight back.”
There was just one slight problem – the girls had already named their team “Juju’s Girls.”
“We changed the name to ‘Jujus Girls (And boy).’ We walked San Diego that year and I haven’t stopped. This is walk 23.”
What was this special woman like? Judy was “feisty.” Burt refused to tell her age, joking that he could hear Judy from heaven exclaiming, “Burt! What?! You’re telling my age?” She was the type of woman who was dying of breast cancer, but still taking care of her 91-year-old mother. Judy lived in Dallas most of her life, so Burt had plans to meet Judy at the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day. But by then, she was too sick to do it.
Towards the very end of the 60-mile route, Burt took a break from walking. “I’m sitting on the bench and I called to see how she was doing, and we talked for about five minutes. An hour later I got the call.”
To Burt, the bench in Curtis Park isn’t just a bench. It’s a tangible memory, a place that marks the devastation of this disease. It’s a place he visits every year before he walks sixty miles in the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day, an event that he’s raised more than $208,000 for. It’s a staggering sum that has no doubt helped countless men and women fighting breast cancer. By now, Burt is well-loved by all his fellow walkers and member of the 3-Day Crew. As Burt walks in his neon pink shoes and pink Yankees hat, walkers call out to him, “My man!” slapping high fives and posing for pictures.
The bench is symbolic to all of us, because many places in the world become like Burt’s bench, marking the last place and time you talked to somebody you love.
When Burt comes to the Dallas/Fort Worth 3-Day, “It’s the first thing I do. I walk up Turtle Creek and I go up to the bench. And I sit on the bench for a little while, and I cry a little bit. And then I come back.”
Burt comes back because in this fight against breast cancer, you must always come back. You may be angry and grieving and devastated, but you must come back. Because, together, when we return to this fight, we are holding steadfast in our promise that we will never give up. And one day, Burt will sit on his bench and know that thanks to him and the help of people like you, more people like Judy will be saved.
“I walk for my wonderful sister-in-law, Sherry Konter, who would have been 62 this year had she not been taken by this insidious disease almost 16 years ago. I also walk for my mother, Bobbie Pollard, who was a 36-year breast cancer survivor when she died at almost 85. I’m Roslyn and I AM the 3-Day.”
“Why do I crew? Well, simply put, it is because I walked 60 miles once, and y’all are crazy! But really. I crew for you, all my 3-Day friends. You are fighting the good fight to put an end to this nasty disease. You are fighting to protect my family, my friends, and me. I’m Jake and I AM the 3-Day.”
“Fifteen years ago, when a friend who had recovered from breast cancer asked me to walk with her, I didn’t hesitate for a minute. My father died of liver cancer and my brother-in-law had recently died of a brain tumor. All these miles later, I’m still walking, and while we haven’t found a cure, we know so much more than we did. Just last year, my husband was successfully treated for prostate cancer. I believe that if Komen can unlock the cure for breast cancer, it will lead to breakthroughs for all cancers. I’m Mary and I AM the 3-Day.”
“I walk because breast cancer threatened to take my momma from me when I was only 18 years old. I walk because there was a time when she couldn’t. I walk because now… she can! I walk because of her strength, relentless courage and because of her fight. I walk so that my babies will never have to know what it’s like to fear losing their momma to breast cancer. I’m Megan and I AM the 3-Day.”
“I walk in honor of the many friends who have fought and won their battles against breast cancer. I walk in memory of the loved ones that have been lost. I walk so that someday, my children will never have to fear losing a loved one to cancer. I’m Angela and I AM the 3-Day.”
“I’m walking for two reasons. First, it helps my late wife, Gail, complete her bucket list. When she was told her breast cancer was terminal, she set the goal to walk in EVERY 3-Day city. Atlanta is the last one on her list. I also walk for my daughter, Britain Grainger. We have to find a cure. I’m Kurt and I AM the 3-Day.”