I'm Seeing So Much Pink I'm Starting To Feel Like Beebe Gallini!!

PRETTY IN PINK?

RECENT OBSERVATION: As I was running around town doing errands in my hometown recently, I found myself surrounded by a sea of pink at every turn Pink at the Post office, at the CVS, at the Hallmark, and at the Independently owned Gourmet Grocery Store, where the bag of chips I purchased were pink. And I swear to God, I started to feel like Miss Beebe Gallini!

SIDEBAR: How's that for an obscure TV reference? I got a million of them!!!

I know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I'm for all it. I've had friends and family with breast cancer and I've walked their walks and donated in memory of loved ones to find the cure.

With that being said, when October ends and November rolls around around, a.k.a., National Diabetes Awareness Month, I want Diabetes education, awareness and fundraising to cure diabetes to step to the forefront, and I want people to embrace the diabetes blue of it all.

So when I walked into the pink post office and asked the lady behind the desk if the USPO had planned on doing anything for National Diabetes Awareness Month in November.

Postal worker: Not that I'm aware of.

Me: Well you really should, It November is National Diabetes Month and November 14th is International Diabetes Day.

Postal Worker: Well, the main reason we focus so much on breast cancer is that we promote their stamp.

Me: Well, you had a stamp for diabetes awareness as well. I remember it well because my family and I bought a truck load of them.

Postal Worker: Oh.... yeah......we did.

And then I mentioned a multitude of Diabetes Month suggestions including, Blue Circles, blue lights, Blue Fridays and since I was at the United States Post Office, I mentioned The World Diabetes Post Card Exchange.

And then she promptly told me that I was holding up her line.

And then I left and went on to give the same old, same old to the folks at my CVS, and Hallmark, and Gourmet Market, and once again, nobody really seemed to care.

And that just pissed me off!

And once again I realized that because diabetes is invisible for the most part, even to those of us we clip our electronic pancreases on our hips - which 90% of the time has people thinking that it's a beeper, and that those who wear said insulin beeper are some sort of time & space continuum time traveller from 1992!

But, I digress........

A member of our DOC family knows this fact all to well. Barbara Campbell lives with diabetes, and was diagnosed with breast cancer,and she wrote an an amazing and eloquent post about the public disparity, sympathy, understanding and awareness regarding the two diseases, and I strongly suggest you read it. http://babscampbell.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/at-least-its-not-cancer/

So once again, it's up to us, the DOC to spread the word to the public, while at the same time encouraging diabetes organizations to work together to promote National Diabetes Month & International Diabetes Day.

But if anyone can make it happen, the DOC can ~