Dale Lewis
Dale Lewis, "Hoss” by nickname, quick with a smile and always a kind word, was a gentle and vigorous man, a stalwart Red Sox fan, and a man of the land. As a kid, I spent summers working on the Lewis family farm, Stony Brook in Woodstock, Vermont. Because we were too young to drive a tractor and too old to go fishin’, my youngest cousin Dale and I spent a good part of our time relegated to picking up stones in the freshly-plowed fields. As a "city kid” from New York, I had no idea that they "grew” stones. Only in Vermont!
Fast forward about 25 years: Dale the "baby” of the five Lewis children was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Although I was aware of his battle with cancer, as Vermont and North Carolina are far apart, Dale and I had not kept in touch.
All that changed in April 2005 when I decided to ride my new bike in the '24 Hours of Booty' bike ride to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. My wife dedicated her ride to her cousin Janey who had recently passed away from breast cancer, so I too was looking for inspiration!
I thought it would be nice to dedicate the ride to Dale, but, honestly, I was more than a little hesitant to call him after all this time. I felt guilty and maybe a little embarrassed about calling now that I needed something from him! And if that wasn’t enough, I had come up with the idea of making a photo button of Dale to wear during the ride. I was concerned that he might feel I was using him, or that he might find the photo button idea goofy or too personal.
Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know! Dale had been through so much that he was just glad to hear from me – it was as though we had never left the freshly-plowed fields and all those stones! (By-the-way, I still have a Stony Brook stone on my desk!) Dale surprised me, telling me he would be honored by my effort and that the photo button was a great idea - even asking if I would I send him one!
I re-learned a beautiful lesson that day about making assumptions and, more importantly, about the people behind the causes we adopt. First, there are individual faces behind every cause no matter how large or small! And, secondly, the people battling disease(s) or physical disabilities tend to cut through the BS – they are just appreciative, honored and sometimes humbled by the efforts of their allies in the fight! I think Dale felt that way about me.
I made the photo button of Dale, completed 160 miles on the bike, and raised more money than I had ever dreamed!
As I think back on that time, it was my uniquely inspiring and poignant conversation with Dale that prompted me to move forward with the Buttons of Hope project. Dale passed away later that year, but I am so thankful that we talked - a conversation that might never have happened if not for the button!
It's not just about the button.