Day 19, 5 May 2010

Not so many followers on this site, which is kind of disappointing. I thought I was going to be a big media darling or some such thing. If I recruit followers with multiple personalities, can I count them as more than one person? Hey, gotta buck up those numbers somehow!

I chose this charming self portrait to lead today's post, first because it was developed in Pittsburgh, but also because we need to talk about a serious subject. Yes, I understand that, if you wanted to read something serious, you wouldn't stop by my self-centered little yak fest (or yuk fest, as the case may be.) I am having a lot of fun but I grew the beard and start yabbering online to help beat cancer.

Every single one of us has been touched by cancer. We all know someone affected or killed by cancer. Many of us had to watch wonderful people wasted away by this horrible disease. But we have a chance to do something about it. Researchers have made tremendous strides in cancer study though there is so much more to learn. We have to hire the best and the brightest to beat cancer and that takes money. I routinely see people asking me to change my Facebook status to support the fight for cancer. That is great effort and it does a really nice job to raise awareness, but it well past time to move beyond talk. It is time to pony up and take a stand.

I know that I am a regular Don Quixote. No windmill is too tall for me to attack. I am going on the attack here, too. I am number 70 in the race to raise money for cancer treatment and a whole pile of cash seperates me from the leader. I want to win this contest so I can get all that cool swag, auction it and double the amount of our donations. I need you to help me do that. I will add to my donation every time the Pens move forward. I will put up posters at work (yes, in Caps territory!), decorate my car and advertise any way I can. Please consider chipping in to help. Five dollars; ten; whatever you can spare will help. I'll even take that 37 cents in grody pennies from the drink well in your car. Buy your coffee from the gas station instead of the Starbucks for a week and donate the $400 you saved. Go a few days without beer and...oh, wait...what was I thinking? Bottom line is that, working together, we can get this done.

For the Pens, for Mario, for all the loved ones who could still be here with us, let's make a difference.