# 271 Monday, December 25, 2006  -  THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

At 6:45 AM, Fremont's Lake Elizabeth was cold and dark. The chill wind cut
into my fingers as I stretched my aged frame, getting ready for
Chinese/English lessons and Tai Chi.

I read the little Mandarin study card in my hand-"ta gang xue, bie xiao ta"-"he's
just started learning; don't laugh at him"-which seemed somehow appropriate.

In the distance, a small thin figure, Li, who walks three miles to Tai Chi
practice, and comes 45 minutes early so she and I can work on English and
Chinese.

"How are you? I am fine thank you!" she says, asking and answering the
question all at once, by way of saving time.

"Ni hao? Huhn her, shieh shieh!" I say back, which means precisely the same
thing-at least, I hope it does.

As usual, she had a sentence written out in her English notebook, to
practice. Today's was "It is a time to help poor people". She said it a
dozen times or so, word for word. Then we developed it, substituting
"Christmas" for the word at the beginning, and adding short phrases that fit
with the theme, like, "they need warm clothes and food."

Then we went over the five little cards I had brought from "Chinese at a
Glance", a handy learning tool bought from the internet.

The excitement of learning diminished the cold.

Imperceptibly the light changed, outlining leaves on wet ground.

Voices reached us.

"Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!"

First singly, then by twos and threes, our group coalesced, everybody
talking at once. Li and I kept working at our lessons, pausing only briefly
to greet everybody--

May Chen, our teacher, arrived. Although she was smiling, and never uttered
a single hint of command, instantly the cards were put away, and the voices
quieted.

We got right to work, warming up the knees and shoulders.

When our breathing was accelerated, and the blood sent tingling through our
limbs, she trotted lightly to the concrete picnic table, and changed the
music-and instead of the usual Tai Chi tunes--

An orchestral version of "Oh, Holy Night" lilted out across the shadowed
lake.

It moved me more than I can say.

And when it hit the highest note of the song, "Oh, ni--ight diviiiine-"  I
was just in my favorite part of the whole Chen routine, when the left leg
shoots out to the side, scraping along the earth, and the body crouches to
the right.  I gradually eased my way down, no hurry, until right hip rested
on right heel, left leg full out, both hands overhead-and just for an
instant I felt like the athlete I always wanted to be.

We were together, united, the spirit strong among us.

All around were men and women from every walk of life, whose only common
denominator was Tai Chi. We were Buddhist, Protestant, Catholic, Judaic, and
(although I never asked) I think one person from an island where Islam is
the most common faith.

And everybody got along.

Sometimes I become so frustrated with the overly-conservative religious
leadership which tries to block the research, that the passion rises in me,
and I forget that ours should be a disagreement among friends.

For it is men that make mistakes, not the faiths which guide our lives.

We each of us fumble, all our lives, toward a distant light.

However you celebrate this joyous time, as the world turns toward the sun
again, I wish you blessings of the season.

Spring is on the way.

EXTRA!

Here is a special advance communication from CAMR, the Coalition for the
Advancement of Medical Research, that group of groups which rallies us all.

(P.S. Look for your favorite groups-the one Karen and I co-founded is
Californians for Cures-and if your group is not listed, contact your
leadership and ask why. We all should be there!)

January 1, 2007

Members
The United States Senate

Members
The US House of Representatives

Dear Members of Congress:

We, the undersigned patient advocacy groups, health organizations, research
universities, scientific societies, religious groups and other interested
institutions and associations, representing millions of patients,
scientists, health care providers and advocates, write you with our strong
and unified support for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. We urge
expedited passage and enactment of this legislation when the bill comes
before each chamber in the 110th  Congress.

The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act will move stem cell research forward
in our country. The bill holds promise for expanding medical breakthroughs,
and hope for millions of patients and their loved ones.

The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act is pro-patient and pro-research.  A
vote for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act will be considered support
of more than 100 million patients in the U.S. and substantial progress for
research.  Please work to enact this legislation immediately and thank you
for your support.

Sincerely,


Affymetrix, Inc.
Alliance for Aging Research
Alpha-1 Foundation
ALS Association
American Association for Cancer Research
American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological
Surgeons
American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American Diabetes Association
American Gastroenterological Association
American Medical Association
American Parkinson's Disease Association (Arizona Chapter)
American Society for Cell Biology
American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Neural Transplantation and Repair
American Society for Reproductive Medicine
American Society of Hematology
American Thyroid Association
APBD Research Foundation
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Universities
Association of Independent Research Institutes
Association of Professors of Medicine
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Axion Research Foundation
Biotechnology Industry Organization
B'nai B'rith International
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
California Institute of Technology
Californians for Cures
Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation Cedars-Sinai Health System
Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation
Christopher Reeve Foundation
Columbia University Medical Center
Cornell University
CuresNow
Duke University Medical Center
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
FasterCures
FD Hope Foundation
Genetics Policy Institute
Hadassah
Harvard University
Hereditary Disease Foundation
International Foundation for Anticancer Drug Discovery (IFADD)
International Longevity Center - USA
International Society for Stem Cell Research
Jeffrey Modell Foundation
Johns Hopkins
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Massachusetts Biotechnology Council
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research
National Association for Biomedical      Research
National Association of State and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC)
National Coalition for Cancer Research
National Council on Spinal Cord Injury
National Health Council
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Venture Capital Association
New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research
New York Stem Cell Foundation
New York University Medical Center
Parkinson's Action Network
Parkinson's Disease Foundation
Pittsburgh Development Center
Project A.L.S.
Quest for the Cure
Research!America
Research for Cure *
Resolve: The National Infertility Association
Rett Syndrome Research Foundation
Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins
Rutgers University
Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research
Society for Women's Health Research
Stanford University
Stem Cell Research Foundation
Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation
Stem Cell Action Network
Student Society for Stem Cell Research
Take Charge! Cure Parkinson's, Inc.
Texans for the Advancement of Medical Research
Tourette Syndrome Association
Travis Roy Foundation
Unite 2 Fight Paralysis
University of California System
University of Minnesota
University of Rochester Medical Center
University of Southern California
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Vanderbilt University and Medical Center
Washington University in St. Louis
WiCell Research Institution
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
Wisconsin Association for Biomedical Research and Education

By Don C. Reed, Chair, Californians for Cures, www.stemcellbattles.com.

Email Don at: [log in to unmask]

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