Sorry folks, I’m not done gushing about CWD Friends For Life. I left off with Jay Hewitt on three TV screens, and some evening basketball with Gary Scheiner.
I had just as much trouble choosing sessions on Friday as I did the day before. I’m a big fan of Tom Karlya, also known as “Diabetes Dad“, which made my morning decision that much easier. He and Kimberly Davis, Director of Federal Affairs at Johnson & Johnson, did two great sessions on “How to Talk to Your Congressperson”. It was fantastic. They were fantastic.
Did you know that in Province, RI it is illegal to sell toothpaste and a toothbrush to the same customer on a Sunday? Or that in North Dakota it is illegal to go to bed wearing shoes? Or that in Kentucky it is illegal to transport an ice cream cone in your pocket? In Dayton, OH only men can be hired as hotel bellhops. I could go on for pages with these.
These are laws. Someone cared enough about these ridiculous things that they spent a lot of time and energy convincing their local Representative to sponsor the bill and work it through the process. It takes a lot of time and energy from a lot of different places.
Don’t do nothing! If someone cared enough about those silly laws, you care more about diabetes. Tom drove this point home with such passion. Don’t do nothing. I was a fan of Tom before hearing him speak, after seeing his passion in person, I became his number one fan.
I spent part of the afternoon listening to Rick Philbin talk about sports and pumping (titled “Finding the Right Mix”). It was another great session that I got a bunch of useful information from. Great presentation from Rick, and some awesome questions from the crowd.
I think all of the excitement finally caught up with my buddy Chris Bishop though:
The closing keynote speaker was Will Cross, who has done some amazing things while living with type 1 diabetes. He has walked (yes WALKED) to the North and South poles, and has also climbed Mount Everest. He gave a great closing keynote, and stuck around afterward to chat and answer questions.
It was another amazing day for me, full of inspiration and incredible memories.
