Thank you.
Members of FORC. I am not very good at sending thank you cards and such things, but I definately wanted to say thank you for the kind gesture you folks extended when learning of the passing of my mother, Karen Morgan, last Saturday.
She had endured a very brutal battle with cancer (of various types) over the last 15 years and the last year has been especially tough for her and us as her family. I can write a book on everything that I have been witness to from radiation, mutilating surgery, chemotherapy and the suffering that she has been subjected to. But for the sake of making myself cry I will just say this....cancer sucks. It is an evil and brutal killer that knows no mercy and I hate it, with every fiber of my being. It has robbed me of my mother, my kid's grandmother, my dad's wife, and the only mom my wife has known since the age of 14 when her mom passed from the same disease. Words cannot express the anger mixed with sorrow that I have right now.
Thankfully, I have a wonderful support group with my family, my friends, and of course folks such as yourselves within the fine club that makes up FORC. Seeing the plant you folks sent placed next to my mom at the church brought tears to my eyes and made me remember how blessed I am to have known such a great group of folks. My mom enjoyed attending the races I did years ago as well as the 24-9 and meeting such good people, she opened up her cabin in North Carolina every year so I can bring my friends down to enjoy some of the best single track this country has to offer. She was the center of our family and we loved her tremendously.
She enjoyed spending time with and visiting with all of my wife's family as well. For those of you who don't know, my wife and Sorya Nees are sisters, and my mom loved going to Sorya and Ray's house for Cambodian food. She has know all of the Fay kids since they were in high school and loved them all. Seeing Sorya and Ray at the funeral meant so much to me, and words cannot express my appreciation.
My closest friends from PAMBA made the trek up from Peoria to support me and my family as well. I have learned that I am truly fortunate to be a part of such a great activity as mountain biking, but not just for the obvious reasons that I originally would have thought, it's because of the caring and compassionate people that are drawn to such a beautiful sport and are so willing to share their love with others.
In parting, I would ask that every one that reads this message, please find a way to donate towards finding a cure for cancer. If its through the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Susan G. Komen or whatever you prefer, just give and do it in memory of my mom or someone you know who has fallen victim to this awful disease.
I humbly thank you,
Doug
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