Dirigo

One Father’s Day, I rode 180 miles across Maine with the American Lung Association’s Trek Across Maine in honor of my momma’s daddy.

J.V. (his given name) was a company man. Working in a factory in Eastern Arkansas his whole life, for long hours, in support of his family. The cramped, poorly ventilated spaces eventually got to him, and he developed mesothelioma which ended up being the thing that sent him home.

I rode in the clean Maine air to raise funds for the ALA’s mission to improve the air that we all breathe, and thereby lessening the burden of lung disease on individuals and their families. Because my momma deserved to have her daddy. And I want to make sure my daughter does, too.