By Bob Watson
For several hours a couple weekends ago, I was "Cinderella."
Well, I was pretending to be Cinderella.
And walking around a track at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life (at the Jefferson City Jaycees Cole County Fairgrounds), seeking donations for cancer research - although "Cinderella" kept asking for money to help "find my prince."
There were several of us who had agreed to "dress-up" for the fundraiser, including two "Cindys," two "Snow Whites," an "Alice-In-Wonderland" and "Cruella daVille.
Collectively, we raised more than $700 in about 2 ½ hours.
And I wore short high heels (thanks for the loan, ML) that will make a second appearance on my feet this evening when I will join other men in walking "A Mile In Her Shoes" - a fundraiser for the Rape and Abuse Crisis Service.
Let me begin by acknowledging - not everyone thinks these men-dressing-up-as-women deals are a "good idea."
I have heard from several people who think they demean women or make fun of women - and, especially, in the case of the RACS event this week, don't take seriously the trauma that women experience that gets them to need a service like the agency provides.
But I agreed to do the Cancer Society "dress-up" to honor and remember the number of people in my family who have had cancer treatments.
My mother's father died from pancreatic cancer in 1964.
My mother has had pre-cancerous issues, while her sister and their mother had diagnosed tumors that had to be removed surgically.
My father's sister also had a diagnosed tumor.
My sister recently was treated successfully for Non-Hodgins lymphoma, even as her husband was dying from colon cancer.
Both of his daughters (my sister's stepdaughters) died from cancer.
My former wife's sister's husband died just two years ago, after battling several different kinds of cancer.
And, although not a member of my family, I was hit hard by the recent death of a lady who appeared to have beaten breast cancer ... only to have it come roaring back and killing her at the end of March.
I hope that the meager funds I raised can be pooled with other donations to find some cure - or at least better treatments for - the various diseases we group into the category called "cancer."
Similarly, I've known several people over the years who have used - or required - RACS' services.
From its beginnings, RACS' main goal has been serving the needs of victims of abuse, and their families.
The idea behind "Walk A Mile In Her Shoes" is not to make fun of those victims, but to show to the rest of the world - especially men - that if it's difficult to learn how to do something "simple" like walking in high heels, how much harder is it to learn to deal with abuse?
Again, I'm not out to make fun of anyone.
That doesn't mean I didn't have some fun, dressing up as a girl - with a make-up job done by a couple of ladies at the News Tribune that was so good that more than a few of the people I work with regularly had to look several times before they knew that "girl" really was a 63-year-old reporter!!
It was fun to visit with people, to have them guess who I was and - if they were so moved - to contribute to cancer research.
Tuesday, I'll wear the high heels (but not a dress, this time) - to see what it's like to do what women do every day. And, maybe, help people in that situation start to find a way out of that abuse.
Bob Watson is a reporter for the News Tribune.