Had to miss last night due to getting home too late. And tonight, got home even later. After stopping off for gas, home from work around 10pm. Ugh. Can I possibly make this quick? Not likely, knowing me...

But a couple of things that have to be mentioned! First of all, had a great fundraising potluck at work today! Now I can't actually mention where I work, as they've asked me not to (I can tell you this much...it's an insurance company that starts with a letter in the English alphabet. THAT ought to help you figure it out...). My friend and co-worker Kristina organized the whole thing, and it went down today. A bunch of folks brought in food (and some great food, too! How did Dale's wife know I'm a deviled egg freak?), which got set up in a conference room, and there was a bowl there for van donations. A lot of great folks I worth with at (Mystery Insurance Company) threw in for that, and it added up fast! A fantastic and touching gesture from all involved. Really appreciated. I work with some really great people. At that company. That starts with that letter. Thank you, everybody, for pitching in. You guy are the greatest. And big, big thanks for Kristina, not only for making this come together, but for all your work and support on this thing. Your help has made a big difference in the cause. You don't just rock, but I think you mix in a little punk, some easy-listening, and a splash of salsa. Guess all those stories about people in insurance are wrong... Well, not all of 'em...

And on another front...my old wedding party partner Sarah has been at it. Sarah's part of the "Morning Faithful", or listeners to Seattle's KEXP (90.3 FM...member supported radio). She's here in Sac, but you do know, I hope, that you can pretty much listen to any radio station you want in the nation via the web these days. So she sent an e-mail to John Richards there a little while back, and it ended up in the Morning Faithful E-mail. Awesome! The whole e-mail newsletter is too large to print here, but here's Sarah's e-mail that got posted in it:

FROM SARAH:
Hey John-
I know that the KEXP listeners are the best, and have helped out multitudes of
folks with various issues from wedding dance songs to fire damage assistance. I
was hoping you wouldn't mind posting this site....
This guy Mike is a friend of mine who has Muscular Dystrophy. He needs a new van
that is wheelchair accessible and outfitted for his abilities. It is incredibly
expensive and so he's (for once in his life) asking for a couple of bucks to help
him out. He's already raised about 10 grand toward the total of 50 grand. All
needed info is in the site, including photos of the new van, and the company info
in case anyone has questions or concerns.

And the link was posted beneath it, and it's already resulted in the first donation off that e-mail (thanks, Michaela! Bellevue represent!). Awesome way to spread the word! So very big thanks to Sarah (I'm trying to e-mail you back, I swear! But it's after 1:30am and I'm outta time and consciousness! Stayed tuned!) for getting it all started, and to John Richards and KEXP for putting my link on there.

You can check out KEXP yourself by going here:

KEXP 90.3 FM

Git yer college radio groove on!

And speaking of spreading the word...boy, if anyone out there can do some more of that, that'd be great, because it's becoming clear I'm not going to have the time to do it properly. I'll keep slugging it out and doing my best (MAN I miss caffeine...), but if anyone out there has any ideas like this one, please feel free to jump all over it. As Jerry Reed once said, we've got a long way to go and a short time to get there. Yeah, I know, but it's an improvement over Star Trek references, don't you think?

10-4, good buddies. More later. Thanks to all of you, loyal readers. Much love all around.



Michael

4 out of 5 dentists surveyed recommend the Van Page