As I posted on Tuesday, I spent a little more than 24 hours in New York City in my unofficial role as “Vice President’s Husband.”
The 24th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner raised over $6.3 million towards the effort to locate a cure for paralysis. Sponsored by the Buoniconti Fund, you can read about it here.
The event, held at the Waldorf-Astoria, was filled with a) celebrities; b) beautiful people; c) folks who were both a) and b).
Here are some reflections:
- Most Thought-Provoking: Maya Angelou’s speech that referenced both “heroes” and “sheroes.” I’d never heard that word before.
- Most Eye-Opening: People’s unwavering commitment to finding a cure for spinal-cord paralysis. It might just be closer than we think.
- Most Disappointing: Every table at the dinner — and there were hundreds — had a celebrity. For example, the table behind us had Dara Torres, the Olympic swimmer. Our celebrity? I was hoping it would be Ivan Lendl. No. Our celebrity never showed up.
- Most Impressive: Buzz Aldrin, part of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
- Most Pathetic: Grown men pushing their way through the crowds to get their pictures taken with Troy Aikman.
- Most Nostalgic: One of my best friends from our college tennis team who now works in Manhattan made time in his day to stop by and visit. We hadn’t seen each other in 10 years. Nice.
- Most Jaw-Dropping. A spontaneous $3 million pledge to the cause. Unlike the way we do things at Good Shepherd — not a fair comparison, really, since this wasn’t church — they brought the donor up on stage for recognition.
- Most Unnerving. Bathroom attendants at the Waldorf Astoria. In the bathroom. Just waiting and, um, attending. For tips. No thanks.