"THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT"

So, there is a guy I call "Couch Pat". If you look at the acknowledgement page of Three Fallen Women, you'll see him listed as such. He's really Coach Pat Nelson, but there was a misprint on a t-shirt somewhere along the line, and "Couch" stuck. Anyway, my bad knee and I really struggled through the San Diego marathon some years ago and he found me at about the 25 mile marker and ran the rest of the way with me, about a step behind me, pointing at the top of my head and then to his ear getting the crowds to make a little noise because he knew I needed the encouragement. Being the kind of guy he is, he stepped away about three feet before the finish line so I could cross it myself. (blink, blink, blink) Yeah, he's that kind of guy.

His wife, Barbara, is equally wonderful and is running the Dublin marathon this year with a huge fundraising goal for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Couch Pat is, of course, going to cheer her on (he ran this marathon last year himself for the same fundraising purpose). As if that's not incredible enough, they are accompanying their friend, a dear lady I met about three years ago, a 7-year leukemia survivor, to scatter her mother's ashes in Dublin.

You guys, there is going to be a lot of blinky eyes and we need to show them some support.

They're raffling off airline tickets and giftcards for every $26 you donate, but that's not why you should donate. Donate because they're wonderful people, and doing wonderful things for a wonderful organization. I think most all of us can spare $26 so, please do what I just did. Click here and you'll go directly to Barbara Nelson's fundraising page. Whip out your credit or debit card, make a secure tax-deductible donation, and in about a minute, you get an email receipt for your records. So easy. It took me about three minutes. Even if $26 will blow your budget, try half that. I've run/raised money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and they are such a wonderful organization. Since 1988, more than 300,000 volunteer participants have helped raise more than $700 million, a dollar at a time.