Much of the weekend revolved around my dad and his participation in Out of the Darkness. He and my mother came over before the event so we could celebrate his birthday (which was the 8th), and we had a little debate about Pallotta TeamWorks and their financial management issues. I had thought Pallotta TeamWorks was the bad guy and was all set to hate them, but both the discussion with my parents and the opening ceremonies changed my mind. Dan Pallotta started the organization because so many of his friends were dying of AIDS, and it grew into a for-profit company. I had wondered if he ever participates in these events he puts on - and he apparently did join in OOTD, because both his partner and his uncle have committed suicide.

After seeing my dad off on the walk, we (A, my mother, and I) went back to our house to sit around for a bit before leaving to cheer him on. We decided to station ourselves at the first “Grab and Go” food stop, and after a woman on crutches who had been behind my dad at the step-off point went past us, we decided we’d missed him. We packed our chairs and everything back into the car and hurried over to the next Grab and Go, which the first walkers were just leaving from. We waited at least an hour before my dad showed up - he’d been walking with an acquaintance who was much too slow for his taste. I had attached an old flat Mylar Hello Kitty balloon to a pillowcase and put it over a broom so he would be able to see us; I held it the whole time and I think Kitty gave lots of people something to smile about as they dragged on (two people took her picture).

It was kind of strange to go to bed and know that my dad was still out there walking around. He was lucky enough to avoid the wrong turn mistake some people had made - it added a couple of miles to their walk, which was already twenty-six miles. He walked almost the whole way, except when he had to get into a van because he was too far behind. He had sped up to his normal pace after leaving the slow woman, but he couldn’t advance enough to move up from the back. The Pallotta people like to keep everyone together, so they pick up stragglers in a “sweep” van and bring them to the next pit stop. He still managed to cover about 22 miles and nearly 52,000 steps in one night, and he raised nearly $1,500 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (Well, it will be less after Pallotta takes its cut, but still.)

(See also the great entry my mother wrote about the walk.)