The thing about cancer is that it doesn’t give a shit who you are or how old you are or who you know or how much money your folks left you in that trust fund or how many jobs you’re working to keep food on the table or how many hours you spent studying for the class spelling bee or how many Lyle Lovett CDs you’ve got in your collection. The f@#king thing just shows up one day–unannounced, like a loutish uncle–and you have to deal. But, ghastly as it sounds, it’s one thing that we all have in common: it can happen to any of us. Tomorrow, it could be you. Or your dad. Or your mom. Or your kids. Or your butcher. You just don’t know.
Scary shit, yes. That’s why it’s particularly reassuring to know that the folks at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund Clinic are working around the clock to help us deal. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to never need their services. But if you ever do, it’s good to know they’re there.
With the government too busy buying missiles and Mars probes to donate money to such worthy causes, the Jimmy Fund looks to people like us to help fund research. And if you need any motivation to help you break out the checkbook or credit card, let it be this: you’ll be helping sick kids. F@#k, when I was a kid, the toughest thing I had to worry about was where my next wedgie was coming from (a concern that, interestingly, follows me to this day). The kids who file into the Jimmy Fund clinic every day are literally fighting for their lives. And I can only imagine the special hell their parents and loved ones are going through while I have the balls to stammer around my office, complaining about the traffic and how the coffee machine doesn’t get my brew quite as warm as I like it.
That’s why Denton and I will be doing our part, collecting donations for the NESN/WEEI Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon tonight at The Lansdowne Pub right behind Fenway Park. From around 7:00pm ’til then end of the game. We’ll be in the private room but it’s ridiculously informal. No tuxedos, no chaps. Just a couple nerds sitting around, drinking beer, cheering on the Sox, and passing the Jimmy Fund donation tin. We’ll also be raffling off some cool stuff from our friends at NESN, Barstool Sports, SupahFans, TiqIQ and The Bottom Line, so you’ll want to check it out.
If you can’t make the scene, you can still do your part by clicking here. Anything–anything–you can spare to this worthy cause will help make a difference in someone’s life. And that’s the stuff that matters, Billy.
