Skip to main content

May is CF Awareness month and a surprising pledge

To kick off CF Awareness month, I'm making a pledge to make an entry a day for the entire month. This isn’t a big pledge, though in the past I have always had trouble writing once a day. Not this time! You can hold me to it.

I received quite a surprise this morning when a woman I haven't spoken to in some 20 years (she was a high school girl back then) wrote me a lovely email and donated to the Great Strides walk. Thank you Sara! She and I went to a homecoming dance and to her prom back in the 80's. The prom was memorable if only because it was at the height of Prince mania and the guy who drove us to the dance was a Prince fanatic. That night we went to Pennsylvania (it was Pennsylvania, wasn't it? It's very fuzzy). During the drive we listened to a Marillion album. Marillion? What's that all about?

I have to admit that I wasn't the most mature date back then. I believe you would call me... hmmm, what's that word, an ass. At least, that's the way I remember it. Still, Sara and I remained friends until I went to college and we lost touch.

Let me spell this out for the 10 or so of you who still read Thunderbolt. This woman has not seen or spoken to me in 20 years. She only knows about me through the blog. I could be an axe murderer (I'm not, Sara, really). And she still DONATES! That, my dear friends, is generosity. That is human kindness. And that is what I am asking all of you to do. Please click on the link and donate.

I promise not to preach all month. But since this is May 1, I have a right to preach. It’s my son’s life we’re talking about.


Aloha

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

MARATHON FOOTNOTES (for those who didn't think I would really footnote a stream of consciousness thought): Footnote #1 Academy Award Winning Best Picture Films from 1969 to the Present: Midnight Cowboy, Patton, The French Connection, The Godfather, The Sting, The Godfather II, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Ordinary People, Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, Terms of Endearment, Amadeus, Out of Africa, Platoon, The Last Emperor, Rain Man, Driving Miss Daisy, Dances With Wolves, The Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Schindler’s List, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, The English Patient, Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, American Beauty, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Chicago, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Footnote #2 Members of the band YES, from 1969 to the present: In 1969, Yes is formed with Jon Anderson on vocals Peter Banks on guitar, Bill Bruford on drums, Tony Kaye on keyboards and Chris Squire playing bass. This group records

100 and Counting: Introducing The Epic Playlist

It started as all playlists do, an occasion that justified music for entertainment. In this case, it was a couples weekend getaway back in February. Super Dave proposed that he and I provide the tunes and we started a Spotify playlist: three songs at a time, no song repeats, no artist repeats. Dave would add his three, then text me that it was my turn. I would then add my three text him back. This cycle repeated until three hundred songs were compiled, and we drove off to Mammoth with our wives. A funny thing happened, though, it turned out we both enjoyed the challenge of trying to surprise or outdo the other so much that we continued building the playlist. We made a new rule of just three songs each a day and still no artist repeats. Soon, we came up with amendments to allow duets (The Emmylou Exception), multiple songs by the same band if said band had multiple lead singers (The Beatles Exception), or if there was a lead singer replacement that changed the artistic direction of

A Trip Through the "My 90's Tapes" Collection Pt. 6: Joan Jett and The Blackhearts "Up Your Alley"

Column 1, Row 6: Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Up Your Alley In 1988, hair metal was on the rise and straight forward rock and roll was losing radio airplay. If the music wasn't a little slick and the mix didn't sound like the record was recorded in a sports arena, there was little chance of getting heard. There were exceptions, of course (Tracy Chapman comes to mind), but for the most part, loud and echoey was the sound of the day. At that time, Joan Jett and her latest version of the Blackhearts had been together for a few years and were clicking. The band members were Ricky Byrd on lead guitar and vocals, Kasim Sulton on bass and vocals, and Thommy Price on drums. Jett was coming off of co-starring with Michael J. Fox in Paul Schrader's film, Light of Day . Although the film wasn't a hit, it was high profile enough to bring the rock legend back into the public eye after years working the road and trying to rebuild the success of her early 80s albums, including the s