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Zenyatta loses! :(

I don't know what's gotten into me.

I hadn't even heard of this Thoroughbred race horse until last Sundays 60 Minutes featured her. She was 19 for 19 in the win column, and was poised to make history by winning her 20th consecutive race at the prestigious Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs, and then retire.

She didn't win, but she sure made it a horse race. Coming from dead last, some 20 lengths off the pace, and in a field of 11 other males, she almost pulled it off with a tremendous stretch run to finish second by a nose.

What's surprised me was the emotional connection I (and a lot of others as well) developed for this horse. I didn't have any money bet on her, nor would I have benefited in any other way from her winning, but still I felt that connection. It's sort of how I feel when my beloved Steelers lose, but I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and I've been a fan of the Steelers ever since I can remember. But like I said, I only heard of this horse last Sunday.

It's sort of how I felt after reading this story by Rob Wahrhaftig in Coping with Cancer.

The story is about how the author relates his experience to dealing with Mantle Cell Lymphoma to a white pelican he discovered trapped in a 55 gallon plastic barrel.

I felt the same connection to that white pelican. The only difference was that story had a happy ending.

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