Why ?

Most who know me know that physical activity isn't exactly my idea of "fun". So what am I doing thinking that I can hike the canyon in the middle of summer.... surely I must be crazy.. maybe I am.

The idea of wanting to do something about cancer has been an itch since 1999 when Judy's dad C.L. Gilbert succumbed to Leukemia.

Last spring one of our friends - Joyce Piatt trained to hike the canyon and in the process raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society who fund research into all kinds of Blood Cancers. I was inspired.

I felt that this fund-raising would be a meaningful contribution to the world-wide efforts against cancer.

Monday, April 9, 2007

29 F

Kennesaw Mountain

After two weeks of perfect hiking weather, winter returned. Yes, it was cold ... even in the Metro Atlanta area. It was 29 degrees Fahrenheit when I left home Saturday morning. Our hike leader likes to alternate long and short hikes and this past weekend, it was time for the shorter hike at Kennesaw Mountain.

Given the cold weather and spring break, there were very few hikers (maybe around 12) in our group. It was cold enough for me to stay focussed on the hike rather than stopping to take pictures. There weren't many good ones in any case. The frost made the wildflowers look rather sad.

We got to Burnt Hickory road and back to the Visitor Center at about 11AM. The hike down from Big Kennesaw to the Visitor Center was the coldest. Even though the temperature had gone up to 36 degrees, the wind was blowing hard and it felt a lot cooler than that.

Next week, it is back to the Amicalola Falls State Park. This time we will go lot farther and up to the Len Foote Hike Inn.

Survivor Update:
Do you have a loved one who is currently fighting cancer or who battled cancer in the past? Please let me know if you would like to make a small memorial for them on my web page. After all, it isn't about campaigns, numbers or some such abstract idea. It is about real people who fight cancer everyday.

Fund Raising Update:
As of 4/9/07, We have raised 3,175.00 - We are 70% of the way there.

I still need to raise $200 to reach my next milestone of 75% by 4/15. Thank You all for the support and your generous donations.

ps - If you made a donation either on the website or by mailing me a check and if I have not sent you a personal Thank You note, please let me know. I recently heard that some website donations during the last year were incorrectly recorded and as a result the person raising the money was not credited for those donations and more importantly did not know of those donations. This was a glitch, but I want to make sure that no donations go unrecognized.

Power of your money:

  • $1,000 - supports one week’s salary for a medical researcher at Emory who may discover key information to developing curative treatments for blood cancers.

  • $500 - provides a patient with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma with patient aid to support medical treatment and to travel to medical appointments for one year.


The past few weeks I have included a couple of points such as the ones above regarding how your donation can help in the fight against cancer. These came from a document published by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

When we look at a problem such as cancer, it is easy to get discouraged about how big the problem is and what little we as individuals can do. I hope these few points helped convey the importance of what your contribution means to this fight. When we are done with this fund-raising, we will have bought 4.5 man weeks of additional research. The group as a whole will be raising $366,000. That is 7 years of research into cancer or 7 researchers for 1 whole year on cancer. Something good is definitely going to come out of that.

“Anything is possible. You can be told that you have a 90-percent chance or a 50-percent chance or a 1-percent chance, but you have to believe, and you have to fight.” - Lance Armstrong.
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Raffle

Every donor was entered into a raffle with one entry for every $10 donated. There are five prizes that can be one. Each donor can win no more than one prize. The first winner gets to choose any one of the five prizes, The second winner gets to choose any one of the remaining four and so on and so forth.

1. Flora

24" x 24" poster. all photographs by Albert Thomas. See larger image.
2. Sun and Water

24" x 24" poster. all photographs by Albert Thomas. See larger image.

3. Super Bowl I - XXX

A football lovers dream. Collectors set of DVDs of all the Superbowls from I to XXX by NFL films.

4. TaylorMade Golf Balls

A dozen TaylorMade Distance Plus golf balls. According to TaylorMade, these balls are "built to maximize distance and improve scoring for the committed player".

5. Maxfli Golf Balls

A dozen Maxfli Noodle Golf Balls.

... and the winners are

  1. Bill McGregor - Roswell, GA.
  2. Joyce Piatt - Mableton, GA.
  3. Frank Jakse - St. Louis, MO.
  4. Senthil Mukunthan - Indianapolis, IN.
  5. Push Venkat - Chicago, IL.

Options to spend money and feel good about it..

Help bridge the chasm by purchasing one or more of the following unique services. Some of these have a material cost component. This will not count as a tax-deductible contribution. Please send me an email if you would like to commission one of the following. Thank You.
1. Scan and Create Web Album from photos – 75 Photos.

Got a lot of pictures from your pre-digital days? I will scan those and create a slideshow CD. If needed, I can also upload them online and create a web album for you. I can scan up to 75 pictures. If you have more ( I hope you do), please see the next item.

Sponsorship Amount: $75 (entire amount is tax-deductible) Material Cost: $0

2. Scan and Create Web Album from photos – 150 Photos.

Got a lot of pictures from your pre-digital days? I will scan those and create a slideshow CD. If needed, I can also upload them online and create a web album for you. I can scan up to 150 pictures.

Sponsorship Amount: $100 (entire amount is tax-deductible) Material Cost: $0

3. Your own Photo Poster.

How about a photo mosaic of your favorite pictures and/or your favorite people. This will make a great gift for all those times when you have no clue what to buy (Hint: Mother’s Day is 5/13/07 and Father’s Day is 6/17/07).

  • Make poster from Digital images or Prints (up to 30 prints).
  • Poster Size - 24” x 24”.
  • Poster shown here is a sample. Click here for larger samples - Flora : Sun and Water.

Sponsorship Amount: $100 Material Cost: $30 (24” x 24” poster)

4. Painted Wall Mural.

Planning a birthday party? How about a set for the party? The mural will be painted on poster paper and affixed to the wall using push pins so you can remove after the event. No need to repaint.

  • Poster Size – 10’ x 8’.
  • The pictures shown here are from Ashley’s 6th Birthday. Click here to see larger photos of the mural - Photo1 : Photo 2.
  • My painting skills are pretty rudimentary (to say the least) and so we have to stick to cartoons. For your sake, please don’t ask me to paint someone you know
Sponsorship Amount: $200 (entire amount is tax-deductible) Material Cost: $0 ( I already bought way too much paper and paint)

5. Mondrian Coffee Table.

So what does a $500 coffee table look like? Like the dining table pictured here. This is a one of a kind, contemporary coffee table that is also a piece of art. The coffee table is hand-crafted and consists of a Piet Mondrian reproduction using acrylic on canvas, framed by wood with a metallic finish. I don’t have a picture of the coffee table itself, because it hasn’t been made yet. Click here for a larger photo of the dining table. Coffee table will be 48” x 36”.

Sponsorship Amount: $500 Material Cost: $100

6. Warhol at the Georgia Aquarium – Poster.

Warhol never visited the Georgia Aquarium. What if he had? What if he had seen the anemones at the Cold Water Quest? The poster was created using a photo I took of the anemones recently.

Sponsorship Amount: $100 Material Cost: $30 (24” x 24” poster)