Incredible firsts and tradition firsts

Good Morning! Like every morning as of late I have all kinds of neuroblastoma news. So, I have to make those announcements. However, for those of you that are tired of hearing all of the incredible things that are going on in the world of neuroblastoma but continue reading in the hopes that you will hear another twerplet story, you are in for a treat today as well. But first, to some of the stuff that I think is really cool.

I haven't received explicit permission to talk about this but I did see an email go out publicly so I am going to assume that it is now official news. Cook Children's has been named a NANT site. For those of your that don't remember, NANT stands for New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy. It is a consortium of 15 of the top children's hospitals and research centers that specialize in neuroblastoma research and in providing phase 1 and 2 trials in neuroblastoma. It is an impressive accomplishment and a sign of the hard work that the oncology team at Cook's has put in to this disease. As it stands, they put many more kids on NANT trials than most other institutions and are committed to pushing forward towards a cure. This isn't a little step. This is a big leap and a sign of some incredible things that will be happening for neuroblastoma in Fort Worth. I am extremely proud of Cook's.

Now there are two other noteworthy items of interest going on in the next month. First, "Stand up for Life" is a new opportunity to help find a cure for neuroblastoma. On Wednesday night, September 24th, 2008 in Dallas Texas at the Lakewood Theater. Comedians Aaron Aryanpur, Peter Barrera, Justin Foster, and Honor Shearer have all graciously decided to donate their time to a night of comedy to raise funds for neuroblastoma. Tickets are $25 and certainly a value. Currently we have filled 100 seats but we are trying to fill 350. Please consider making this a date night and bring your friends. I can guaranty that it will be a night of fun and laughs. You can get tickets directly from me by emailing mdungan@lunchforlife.org. You can also get tickets by calling 214-709-7199. Please consider going. It will be a blast and, as you know, it is for a great cause.

Secondly, we have a golf tournament coming up on Friday, October 24th. The tournament will be on a Friday afternoon so there is absolutely no reason not to play hooky from work. I will post more details next week.

Now, finally, funny twerp stories. Tradition's are great things. You can count on them and they are always there. They are comforting, stable, and reliable. If you have well planned traditions they can even be used to keep the family closer together and in touch. Yes, those are all of the wonderful things that can happen with traditions. Unfortunately, they can also go very wrong, as they did for us last night. I am sure you remember that one of the favorite Dungan traditions happens at the dinner table. Every night we ask each person:

1. What was the best thing that happened during the day?
2. What was the worst thing that happened during the day?

It is like clockwork and is a great way to stay in touch with what is happening in every one's lives. Well, during our normal discussion of these topics it finally rolled around to Graham's turn. At that very same moment he realized hat he needed to go to the bathroom. I guess it was the pressure. Regardless, what you may not know is that our bathroom is right next to the kitchen table. In fact, the table is probably no more than 6 feet from the bathroom door. I don't really know what the sanitary implications of this are but it is, none-the-less, the world we live in.

Well, Graham didn't miss a beat. He excused himself from the table and raced to the potty. However, instead of letting someone talk about their day before him or waiting until he relieved himself he decided to bust into his day while on his way to the bathroom. The next thing I know we are sitting at the table, Graham is in the bathroom, the door is closed, and the boy is chattering away about his day. I looked at Lynley as if "you have got to be kidding me." Graham just continued in stride. A wipe, a flush, running water, and the door opened. Here came Graham still talking about his day - all the way back to the table. He sat down and he was finished. I was busting inside. I could not believe what I had just witnessed. It was hysterical.

The only true problem with this little scenario was that Ainsley was next. Sure enough, as we asked her about her day, she stood up and walked into the bathroom. From there she jabbered away. Eventually she came out and she was absolutely beaming. I don't think I have ever seen such a huge grin. She was very pleased with herself. Lynley and I could no longer contain our laughter.

Dungan family traditions - you may not want to follow our lead.

Wow, purpose!