And although I haven't been blogging, we have been dating....but barely. After taking most of the summer off...we went on a 7 date spree in the last two weeks of September. Then we had exactly one date in October, and one more in November....but the month is not over.
Date #24 was a volunteer event. When we started this dating project and began planning what types of dates we would have...volunteering was high on our list. And we kicked it right off with date #2. But now I'm chagrined to say that this is only our second volunteer date and it came almost ten months after the first. However, I will give a shout-out to TH for his volunteer efforts. He has been president of our local youth soccer league since its inception in 1985 and he sets up the fields and nets at daybreak every Saturday and Sunday in the fall....BY HIMSELF.
Now back to our date. And since it was a volunteer effort, this will not be a long post because I believe that charity should be performed as silently as possible without blowing our own horn or patting ourselves on the back.
On September 18th, we were proud to be two of the 900 volunteers at The Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk. We were stationed at the finish line in Copley Square on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon where our job was: bus loaders. We were also question answerers...or at least that's what the back of our T-shirts claimed.
TH and I directed the walkers to the yellow school bus shuttles that would take them back to the start line. And since there were 4 starting points, it was our responsibility to ensure that they boarded the correct buses. Not a very big responsibility, but very rewarding; it was great to see the smiles of accomplishment and the gratitude of the tired walkers as they realized they were done walking and were getting to put their feet up for the ride back. It was also very humbling, as many teams of walkers wore customized t-shirts honoring a cancer patient. Most heartbreaking were the T-shirts with so many photos of wonderful children who had not survived. Here's the Manchester Monarchs hockey team; they walked with the picture of a beautiful little girl attached to their game jerseys.
Copley Square was transformed into a giant block party, with a huge performance stage and food booths. Huge props to the vendors that provided refreshments for the 8500 walkers and the volunteers. The Weathervane Restaurant provided hot, fresh clam chowder all day long. Domino's Pizza and Nathan's Hot Dogs served their signature dishes. Belmont Springs gave away gallons of water, Ga-Ga Ice Cream served up great desserts, and Willow Tree had fresh chicken salad. All delicious. We tried them all....several times!
Here we are with our official volunteer T-Shirts and Caps:
It was a long date for us, but it was an even longer day for all the walkers; many that walked the entire 26.5 mile Boston Marathon route. Together they pledged to donate 7.5 million to the Jimmy Fund to assist the Dana Farber Cancer Center in their quest to eradicate cancer.
Two dates ago, we listened to Michael Moore rail against a country where colleges are forced to their knees to beg for funds to help students continue their education. Well, we would prefer to see a future where nobody has to walk or run or hold telethons or wear colored ribbons to raise funds/awareness about cancer or any other deadly disease. Until then, however, we all need to continue to do our part.
And before I end this post, for those who have been counting the days until the next Blue Velour Alert...here it is:
We have been having an unseasonably warm Autumn. Despite a nor'easter that dumped up to two feet of snow in some areas of New England the last weekend of October, we have been enjoying temperatures in the 60's ever since. But that didn't deter TH from digging out the blue velour for a trip to Ikea on November 5th.
And he didn't stop there...the very next day he wore his other blue velour. And he might have worn them again but our washer broke the following day and we weren't able to do laundry until two days ago...and he hasn't learned how to use the new-fangled washer.
So the blue velour stayed in hibernation from May 23rd until November 4th....less than 6 months.
Some habits are just too hard to break... like TH for example. I think I'll have to keep him!
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