Random Notes

Several months ago, a classmate of my younger daughter was diagnosed with bone cancer. I didn't know him very well, but my wife is acquainted with him, and my daughter loves him to death. She was understandably upset over the boy's life and death struggle. After the usual therapy, the boy was given the choice of saving the leg or amputation. The upside to saving the leg was that he'd have two legs to walk on. The downside was that the leg would be so weak that he'd be unable to run and play the way a boy of his age should be able to. The kid chose amputation... just above the knee. The surgery was a couple of months ago, and he seems to have come through with flying colors. In fact, his friends and family seem to be more traumatized by the amputation than the kid was.

After the amputation, people found out that it would cost about $70,000 for a prosthetic leg that would allow him to play like a normal kid. Friends, family and the school system rallied around the lad, holding a benefit for him at the school yesterday. Hundreds of people showed up. Food, merchandise and time was donated... the benefit was like nothing I've ever seen, and it actually chokes me up a bit when I think about how much support this young man received. The school's gymnasium was loaded with items donated for a silent auction, including a football autographed by the Green Bay Packers, an authentic jersey autographed by Joe Namath, "date night" packages sponsored by local restaurants, bowling alleys, movie theaters and so forth, massages donated by local licensed massage therapists, bicycles, and more. There was a small carnival, with one of the teachers volunteering for the dunk tank, a band... it was incredible. I don't know for sure how much was raised, but I'm willing to bet that it was well over $10,000.

Toward the end of the benefit, the guest of honor spoke briefly. He said "I could thank you guys all night long. You rock." He never lost his composure, and was smiling during the whole event... especially when he dunked the aforementioned teacher. The same teacher played guitar with the boy's younger brother, bringing rounds of applause from everyone within earshot. I still choke up a bit when I think of the outpouring of love this young man so rightfully received, and I hope that it helps him turn into the fine adult I foresee him becoming.

During the benefit, I ran into a guy I used to work with at my last job. He said that he noticed I was no longer there and asked about the circumstances surrounding my departure. We didn't get into details, but I acknowledged that I left under less-than-ideal conditions. He responded with something that really made me smile. "It seems that all of the good people are pushed out." I liked the guy, and his comment more than adequately told that he liked me and respected my character. Since he's a union steward at the company, I will extrapolate and allow myself to believe that the other union folks felt similar. That means more to me than the respect of the co-workers in the office.


On a completely unrelated note, I purchased a new monitor a few days ago. Ditching my colossal old 19" Sony Trinitron CRT, I bought a 22" widescreen LCD, made by HANNspree. I was a bit hesitant at first, but I saw the device at Best Buy, and when I saw that it had HDMI outputs (which would work perfectly with my Dell laptop) I figured I'd give it a whirl. I'm happy with the purchase... especially when I watch DVDs on my laptop. I recommend it.

Speaking of the laptop... Sunny, you asked me to give you a follow-up, and let you know if I still like it after I've had it for a while. I am. It's a great bang for the buck, much faster than my old PC, and Vista is far more stable than I expected it would be.