Who I Run For: Paul Jordan

I often talk about the awesome place I live in otherwise known as the A-hall. I really hit the neighbor jackpot when choosing my home and am pretty sure it has kept me there all those years. When moving in, I was known as one of the young ladies as there were 4 of us under 50 at one end of the hall. The other end held two elderly couples of which we all became close with. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder were like the grandparents right down the hall. They had one child that moved away to Watertown while they remained living in their condo. As fellow members of the tribe, I was quick to invite them to all things holiday related in which Mr. Snyder became the entertainment singing the prayers and opera for the crew. My friends at Passover still talk about his belting abilities as he chanted the opening prayer. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder also ran a public access show called "You on Broadway" which was amazing. Imagine a room full of 70-90 year olds performing like they were still 40 and you have the monthly show. They took such amazing pride in it and looked forward to it every time.

About a year or so ago, we noticed that Mr. Snyder was slowing down. Mrs. Snyder took him for test upon test and his doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong. Months later, they finally opened him up to see what the cause of his stomach pain was to find that he had stage 4 cancer. The decline was fast and he was on meds to try and handle the pain. A once robust man had withered away into a skinny ball of pain who no longer could eat and spent his time awake trying to handle the situation. It was tough seeing this unfold as it seemed so fast and there was nothing we could do to help. Mr. Snyder passed away right before Christmas peacefully going out singing. His funeral reveled in the memories of him that we all had from over the years ala "Big Fish".

As I run the marathon, I will most likely have his singing voice in my head once or twice and it will make me smile. I am glad to have known him and to have made a difference in his life and vice versa.