In 1989 my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. 5 years later she was considered a survivor and was given one of the first gold leaves on the survivor tree in the lobby of Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Illinois. As the years went on, the cancer would return and through miracles, medicine and therapy it would leave again. She is now 78 and the cancer has returned and she continues to fight. Around 2005 my oldest brother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Fortunately, it was caught early enough that it was fully removed with surgery. In 2012 my wife found a lump in her breast. Upon removal, the doctor found pre-cancerous cells that were treatable with medicine to put her at a reduced risk of it ever coming back, but the experience has made us fully aware of the fear and uncertainty of not knowing what is happening and thinking the worst while you wait for results. Then, in 2010 another of my brothers was diagnosed with kidney cancer. He fought well, but it took his life in March of 2013. Shortly after his death, his wife was diagnosed with cancer in the muscle of her leg. She has gone through multiple rounds of chemo and radiation and had surgery to remove it. The cancer has now come back in her lungs and she continues to fight. In addition to that, I grew up with a really close friend who's mother suffered from the often debilitating disease MS. She lost her battle several years ago. I also have some very good friends that battle currently MS. One of those friends started a charity fund to help find a cure for MS. Once a year I work at a fundraiser put on by him and his family. To say my family and my life has been affected by cancer and MS would be a largely under emphasized statement. My heart weeps for those that are forced to fight with this disease, as well as for those that are close to the ones fighting. I have been laden with yearning to do something to help. My heart has been heavy with the knowledge that so much needs to be done, but I do not have the monetary resources to help in a big way. The Bible that tells of 2 people, Peter and John, walking through the temple courts and seeing a lame man sitting in the entrance asking for money. Looking at the man with compassion, Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give to you.” He then asked God to heal the man, which He did through Peter. I don’t have the gift of healing, but in the same vain as that verse, I felt it put on my heart to use what God has given me to use. Music. Lyrics. Friends. Professionals. Project Management, which is my profession. I decided, through a lot of prayer, that I would embark on a project to record a song that I had written as an inspiration to people in all walks of life to keep their faith strong and persevere through the challenges that they face in life. Several years ago a friend of mine told me about a red swing that he had in his front yard as a kid. He would sit in that swing on warm summer days and watch his mom hang clothes on the clothes line. As life breezed by and he found himself drowning in the realization that life is an extremely difficult journey that brings about constant changes…some welcome and some unwanted, he longed to go back to that swing and sit just for a few minutes to feel the warm breeze and see his mom standing in the yard hanging her clothes. He wanted to forget about the pain and the strife for just a few moments. I quickly realized that we all need that little red swing from time to time. Whether its friends, music, church, a good book, THE good book or just a place to go and sit and close our eyes, and feel the warm breeze flow through our bodies. We all need something that will take us away from our worries. Our trials. Our struggles. So, I wrote a song called The Little Red Swing. The idea of the song is to encourage its listeners to take charge of their lives and take the time to find their own little red swing that will allow them to recharge and strengthen their faith and courage when life gets rough and tries to hold you down. I began making phone calls and sending messages and within a very short amount of time, I found myself with a band made up of friends and family in a state-of-the-art recording studio with a good friend and well-known, and very talented, recording engineer putting together this song of hope. The proceeds from the sale of the song will be donated to help support cancer research and patients affected by cancer, as well as to help further MS research. I’m honored to share with you, The Little Red Swing. - Rod Stare Song Writer/Musician, The Little Red Swing