PORT TOWNSEND – It was a moment that comes along once in a blue moon.
It was 4 a.m. and Ray Grier was walking around the track at Blue Heron Middle School track during the 2006 Relay for Life.
Pledging to walk the entire 24 hours, Grier was the only adult on the track – the others were teenagers who had been commandeered to cover the early morning shifts of the 24-hour fundraiser.
It was dark, the moon only partially visible as the clouds scudded across the sky. The teenagers had all bought glow sticks, and were wear wearing them around their arms and legs.
Against their dark clothing, all that showed were the glowing rings of light.
“They looked like aliens walking around the track,” Grier said. “It was eerie.”
Grier, 63, will again attempt to walk the entire 24 hours of this year’s Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, which will start tonight.
But instead of aliens, he will see Robin Hood, Pinocchio and Captain Hook and Tinker Bell.
Not to mention Puss-n-Boots and Pirates from, if not of, the Caribbean.
“The theme is ‘Once Upon a Relay,’ ” said organizer Deborah Parker. “We’re doing fairy tales and folk tales.”
Last year, the event raised more than $70,000 for cancer research and patient support programs.
“We’d love to hit $100,000 if we can,” said Roberta Scott, who is heading up this year’s Relay for Life.
