Cancer Survivors Gauntlet (In Transition)

Bakersfield, California

This is another of the almost identical Cancer Survivor Plazas that appear in cities throughout the US. Statues depict cancer patients -- from the very young to the very old -- walking or running through distorted rectangular "gates" of treatment and recovery.

Richard and Annette Bloch funded creation of the Cancer Survivor Parks and sculptures. Like many other pseudo-art critics, we were initially shocked at the tableaux's brazen kitschiness. But in our travels, the scenes are now always a welcoming sight -- akin to glimpsing a Muffler Man on the horizon. We jump out of the car, and look for subtle differences in the plaza's landscaping and statue arrangement. We ponder friends and family who have undergone treatment.

We consider brushing past the patients and leaping through the portals ourselves, but wonder if this is a major Karmic mistake.