The Big Idea

My mind is clicking along on overtime lately. I've got this idea that I've been rolling around, bouncing off of a few people here and there, and chewing on to decide if it's the right thing right now. And think its time has come. Those of you who know me know that I tend to get a little excited about certain causes. And that I often feel a little empty, like I'm not doing enough in the world to make it a better place. I wondered for a long time what was stopping me from really jumping in and doing something BIG, something that would let me pour all of my passion and excess emotion into a project that might actually help someone else. And in giving my family one of the biggest challenges of our lives, I think God might have also handed me the kick-in-the-ass that I needed to get moving.

Ed, my mom's partner/companion/quasi-spouse, is dying of ALS. If you don't know what ALS is, read Tuesdays with Morrie, google Lou Gherig, or check out ALSA.org. It's a disease that attacks the voluntary muscles in the body. It's degenerative, and there isn't a cure. Sooner or later ALS patients lose the ability to walk, speak, swallow, and, eventually, breath. Ed's ALS started from the top down--since last July he has lost the ability to talk to us, breath properly without the help of a bi-pap machine, and swallow most liquids. And let me tell you about Ed. This is the man who, when my mom had a heart attack two years ago, drove all night to be with us, and sat at her bedside, fed her, held her hand, and kept my sister and I sane. He's the Great Love that my mom had been looking for and finally found.

Ed is a patient a Houston clinic funded by the Muscular Dystrophy Association that is working its ass off to research this disease. The thing is, it's still a mystery. Nobody knows enough about it to understand how it really works, how to predict it and prepare for it and cure it. There isn't enough research or money being poured into it and its relatives, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. And that's where I start to feel like maybe I can be of some use. The first thing I'm doing? Telling everyone I know about ALS. Giving out red "strike out ALS" wristbands to anyone who will wear them. Pointing people to the ALS website. But that's not enough. There's something else I can do. I have a compulsive scarf-knitting habit (really, my closet is FULL of them). So why not make the idea of giving to charity a little more palitable to folks? I knit a scarf, charge $20 for it, keep $5 for materials and give the other $15 to MDA, ALSA, or Project ALS--buyer's choice. Can you imagine? If I made 50 scarves this summer (believe me, it wouldn't be hard) and got 50 folks to buy them, I could raise $750 for the cause. And get 50 people talking about ALS.

Of course, I don't know much about non-profit kind of stuff, and I need to start spreading the word--that's where the blog comes in. People who actually read this thing: does it sound like a good idea? Do you think people would be into it? Any suggestions? Any fellow knitters out there who want to jump on board once I get moving with this thing? Because I'm ready to go. It's too late to save Ed, and I know it. But it's not too late to save the hundreds of thousands who will come after him. Maybe Scarves for ALS can be his legacy, and finally give me a place to put all of my bleeding-heart compassion. Wish me luck!