Bras deserve our applause

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

By Mike Bressler

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-This year’s “Bras for a Cause” was held last Saturday at the Town Square Tavern and seemed on its way to surpassing last year’s total of $13,000 raised. The Wyoming Chapter of Susan G. Komen receives half the money raised and the other half provides mammograms for local women who cannot afford them.

Breast cancer is not just a women’s issue. Still, reporting from an event like this was a first for me. But when the Planet asked me to report on the evening event, they told me the job entailed watching pretty women modeling custom-decorated bras.
“Anything to further the First Amendment,” I said.

There were bras with skiers, bras with head lamps that really lit up, a recycled bra, a Wyoming Cowboys bra and one with the Tetons painted on them (a bit redundant but effective).

The most expensive bra was the McGraw Bra, which included four tickets to a Tim McGraw concert. The final bid was $1,300. A coffee beans covered bra sponsored by Calamity Jane Coffee received the highest bid of any that didn’t come with added ski, concert or fishing tickets.

I was determined to try out the investigative reporting techniques I’d practiced the night before. I approached a man who was drooling while cheering at one of the models as she shook and bounced on stage.

“Why did you come?” I asked. He looked at me a moment, noticed my reporters notebook, and then replied. “It’s for a good cause.”

I decided female spectators might provide more objective answers. I introduced myself to Rosa, who told me her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer three years earlier. Because her mother had health insurance and was reviving regular checkups the cancer was caught in time. With treatment, she recovered.

“I want women to be proactive,” she told me. She explained how access to health care could assure regular checkups and increased survival rates.

It seemed inappropriate to be discussing health policy while there were still bras to examine. But the truth is, this event was for a good cause. It affects our mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and friends. It touches everyone.

So, to the businesses that paid the $100 donation to enter a bra, to those who bid, to the models and designers, and especially to the Soroptimist International of Jackson Hole, we offer our heartfelt thanks.

Photo by Andrew Wyatt
Jessica Taylor and Cori Lowe at ‘Bras for a Cause’.

PERMALINK:
Bras deserve our applause | Planet JH News Article: General News

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