Page 11 - TheBlueCardJournal2013

The Blue CardMarathonTeam

My mother, a Holocaust survivor, turns 89 on October 28th. As she gets older, her own memory of what happened in Europe seventy-fve years ago fades away.

Many survivors may pass away. Others like my mother become more frail and memories fade. We are tempted to have our own memories fade.We may want to forget, or believe that the needs are less perhaps because there are fewer survivors with every year passing.

That is a fallacy. As survivors get older, resources become more limited. Their health gets worse. Their own loved ones may have left this life. Their cries for help are louder, but they no longer have a voice.

As we run the 26.2 miles through the fve boroughs of New York City on November 3rd, there will be vast multitudes cheering us on. But what we will hear in our hearts and our heads, are the voices that can't be heard - these are the voices we will hear when we run. There will be 6 million spectators cheering but we will remember six million voices who were not heard seven decades ago. And as we run we will be saying these voices have never been louder.

Thank you for all your hard work, and all your support!

Steven N. Joseph

Captain, 2013 NYC Marathon Blue Card Team