Circling

Thoughts are circling, much like buzzards in my head waiting patiently for my guard to drop so they can swoop in - with some kind of brilliant ephany I'm hoping. In the mean time I'm not the least sleepy. This is somewhat shocking because I tossed and turned essentially all night last night. A busy mind. Not a beautiful one. Just busy.

One of these buzzards comes from this article by Shankar Vedantam on All Things Considered (NPR). In a nutshell it says that as we individually become wealthier, we rely on each other less and people become less inclined to give. Perhaps this is why after several weeks of badgering my Facebook friends to support my fundraising, I have had 4 donations. (Very nice, generous donations that I very much appreciate) Of course, it may also be the still poor economy and that many of my friends are struggling to make ends meet, keep their jobs, keep food on their plates and a roof over their heads. I don't know. I'm not really complaining. I have other, more successful ventures underway, and giving for the sake of giving is... well... I don't do it much, so how can I fault others?

Along that line of thinking, I believe that I may go perform some random acts of giving tonight. I'm feeling restless, so why not? I'm going to go find two people on Twitter and randomly donate a few dollars for whatever cause they have. Well, semi-random... I'll probably pick runners. I like runners.

And here's why I'm feeling like performing some random acts of generosity. Today I made a new contact with a local musician who is willing to perform and donate all the proceeds  (admission price) to my fundraiser. I'm floored by this man, previously unknown to me. How generous to immediately offer his time and talent when asked by a complete stranger. Gary Moore - today's inspiration.  Stroke awareness is a cause that is important to him - but how cool to say "Sure, I'll perform, I even know a place and I'll arrange it with the manager and get back to you with a date and time." Which is basically how our conversation went after 'Hi'. So, now I don't really have much in the way of planning to do - and my goal for the week is complete. I will have to see how well this one goes, and might have to do a second one (same place, different musicians? different place? I don't know)... $3,000 is a lot, and I'm a long way from that.

Here is my suggestion for further reading about stroke and heart disease (the two frequently come together, after all). If you are reading, please take note of the ABCS:  your modifiable risk factors for stroke - Take your Aspirin (when appropriate - talk to your doctor/NP), control your Blood pressure, control your Cholesterol, Stop SMOKING (for crying out loud, who doesn't know this one by now!)  I can't help myself, I'm a mother AND a nurse - sometimes I get a little preachy, but it's usually for your own good. 

Now - if you haven't already, please visit my fundraising page. And I'm serious - even $10 means a lot to me. I need you.