Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

Why Jack Is Jack And Not Joe Or Jim

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Yesterday was my Grandpa Milt’s 86th birthday. I was blessed to be able to visit him for a little get-together at his house. I love seeing him and I’m grateful for every opportunity. So, what does this have to do with Operation Jack? Well, in honor of my grandpa, I’m going to explain how we named Jack. There’s a definite connection between the two.

For those of you who are new here, I’m a marathoner and the father of three kids. My middle child, who will turn 6 next month, is severely autistic. I’m going to race (well, try to race) 60 marathons in 2010 to try to raise national awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. My son’s name is Jack and every time I blog, I want to try to tell you guys a little bit more about him.

Anyways, today, I’ll tell the story of how we named him.

Running Update
Today is my 16th consecutive day not running. That makes sense, huh? I’m getting over an ankle sprain, and I think it’s wise to be conservative. If I needed to run a marathon today, I could. But I don’t have to run one today. I have to run 60 next year. So, I want to be 100%. If I start next year on a bum ankle, it’s not going to get better and I’m going to be in a lot of pain the whole way.

I’m going to physical therapy three times a week, doing exercises at home and icing so much I’m feeling like a polar bear. But it’s getting better. And I’m absolutely going to run next year. I’m probably a week or so away from running again. Speaking of frozen, ….

Ice Cream Update
I like ice cream. A lot. Yesterday, I finished off the peanut butter fudge swirl. I’m now at 47 consecutive days eating ice cream or frozen yogurt. I have no idea when my next day off will be. Kind of weird that I have streaks of not running and eating ice cream going at the same time. But I’m kind of weird. So there.

How We Named Jack
The way I see it, Tiff carried the babies for nine months, so the least I could do was let her name them. All I asked for was veto power. She threw out a couple of names and then she threw out the name “Jack” if it was going to be a boy. My dad’s grandfathers were named Jimmy and Jack, but I always got confused about which one was my grandfather’s dad and which one was my grandmother’s dad. They both died in the early 1960s and I was born in 1974.

Well, my grandpa Milt (my dad’s dad) is probably the nicest person I’ve ever met. I’ve met plenty of nice people in this world, but my grandpa … what the heck, I play favorites! Anyways, I called up my dad and asked him if that was my grandpa’s father, and sure enough, it was. So I told Tiff I was totally on board with Jack — that was by far my name of choice if it was a boy. I wanted to honor my grandpa by naming my son after his father. Tiff and I were in total agreement, so Jack it was.

A month or two later, we had the ultrasound and found out the baby was a boy. I called my grandpa up and told him the baby was going to be a boy. He was excited to hear that. Then, I told my grandpa that we were going to honor him by naming the baby Jack, after his father.

Grandpa Milt doesn’t have the greatest hearing. I think part of that is because he’s been married to my Grandma Bea for 65 years. I’ve only been married for 10 years, and I know I’ve been working on losing my hearing so that the nagging doesn’t bother me. I can’t imagine how silent the world will sound in 55 more years.

Anyways, I told him about the name, he asked me to repeat myself, so I did. He started stuttering and couldn’t talk, then started crying and had to hang up the phone. Yeah, he was happy.

So, Jack was born and it was surreal to my grandpa when he came to visit in the hospital, because he got to hold Jack Felsenfeld. That was his dad’s name. He told me in the hospital (while fighting back tears, of course) that he had been sitting in his backyard the night before and he was looking up in the sky and talking to his dad. He says he saw a star flickering and he knows his dad heard him.


My grandpa holding Jack in the hospital on Sept. 17, 2003, the day after Jack was born.

The first Jack Felsenfeld died in the 1960s of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease). While in college, I worked quite a bit with my fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, to raise money for ALS research. That’s our national philanthropy. Now, raising money for Train 4 Autism will hit home with my grandparents, too. They have three sons: Alan, Robert (my dad) and Martin. My Uncle Marty (now 49 years old) has autism and is a happy guy, but hasn’t lived a mainstream life.

I won’t get into many details about my Uncle Marty here, but when I first heard that Jack had autism, I knew all about it because I’ve seen it my whole life. I was pretty shocked that I had a son who might be like my uncle. He’s actually probably a little more severe than my uncle, which is something I don’t do a great job of coming to terms with. But whatever.


Jack and Marty yesterday.

I’ve always been pretty close to my grandparents, but this has created a completely new bond. I would have never thought that we’d get real solid parenting advice from my 80-something grandparents at this age, but we have. They’ve been through what we’re going through, and now we’re seeing a different side of them that I’ve never seen. I have a better understanding of my grandparents and a new bond with them.

So, that’s the family history of where Jack got his name. I know y’all were dying to know!

Help Wanted!
I’m not hiring, but I will take volunteers! Anybody want to help me bring more people into Operation Jack? No cost to anybody, no obligation. I just figure that the more people who know, the more who will participate. So, if you’re on Facebook, go to the Operation Jack Fan Page and send it to your friends! See the image below … it’s pretty easy stuff.

Also, if you register here at operationjack.com, it will help me keep in touch with you as we get closer to next year. I’m not going to pressure you (I’m not a salesman, that’s for sure), but I’ll have more Operation Jack-specific information for registered users. Of course, no obligation, no cost, and your information isn’t going anywhere.

Operation Jack Shirts & Stuff
I established fundraising levels for t-shirts, tech shirts, sweatshirts, track jackets and things that go beyond that. Check the sponsors page for all the details.

Save The Date
Not totally sure of the details right now, but we’re looking at having an Operation Jack fundraiser in Southern California on October 17. It’s probably going to be a barbecue and we’re going to keep it affordable to get more of you to attend. Just like Operation Jack, we’re looking for participation from a lot of you, not just big help from a small crowd. It’s a team effort. I’m just the guy writing the blog.

So, if you’re in Southern California, I’d love to have you there. We’re probably going to do it in Ladera Ranch, but maybe in Lake Forest. My wife is in charge of this and I’ll have more info fairly soon, but if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, let me know!

Video Of The Day
Two good friends of mine, Debbie and Melissa, are on board with Operation Jack and running the 1/2 marathon in Carlsbad, Calif. next January. They’re excited about doing this and they want to do it for Jack. I’ve known them both for close to 20 years, but it still blows my mind that they want to do this. It’s totally surreal, and yeah, I know I use those words every day. And speaking of totally surreal, I got an email last week from a friend of mine named Dan that left me speechless. Still don’t really know what to say. I was listening to music while working yesterday afternoon, and I heard this song come on, and I thought, hmmmm … yeah, I can grab that and dedicate the video of the day to them.

Have A Great Day/Week/Weeks/???
I’m not sure when I’ll blog again. Probably not for another few days or maybe a week or two. Try not to work as hard as I have to right now. See you soon!

I'm All In

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As I mentioned yesterday, I’m a typical, imperfect guy. I get upset about things, I do some things right and some things wrong. I was on the verge of calling off Operation Jack because I didn’t think I was strong enough mentally to handle this. Physically, I’m not worried. Mentally, I am.

But yesterday, it became clear to me that even if I don’t have what it takes to handle this mentally, I have great support from all over the country and since I know y’all won’t let me down, I won’t let you down, either.

I’d also like to say that I misinterpreted a few things late last week and misjudged some people as a result of that. To those of you I’m talking about (and you, too, D), I apologized to you yesterday, I meant it, and I still mean it. You guys are good people. Anyways, I’m not going to go into much more than that.

I said yesterday that it would be my last blog for a little while, until I finish The Project, but I changed my mind and I wanted to leave something else up here that’s a little more positive.

Operation Jack is going to be my attempt, in my son Jack’s honor, to get lots and lots of people across the country to make a difference. As I blog throughout this journey, I’m going to do everything I can to introduce you to Jack. For those of you who don’t know him, he’s about six weeks shy of his 6th birthday. He’s severely autistic, and he’s a total sweetheart.

I wanted to show you his newest thing. He LOVES to watch the same Caillou tape over and over and over. He hops up on the chair and rewinds it and as you can hear, he tries to recite some of the lines. This clip was taken July 27, 2009.

Hopefully, you’ll be able to watch him progress throughout the next 17 months. I’m excited that you all will get to know him.

Ice Cream Update
Peanut butter fudge swirl last night, 41 straight days with ice cream or frozen yogurt! Yeah!

Spread The Word
Help me get people here! If you’re a fan on Facebook, recommend the page to any of your friends who might be interested (there’s a link right below Jack’s picture in the column on the left). If you’re not, be a fan! And if you’re on Twitter, you can follow me at @operationjack.

I really, truly think I’m signing off for the next couple of weeks or so. I’m looking forward to my next blog, because they’re fun to write and it’ll mean that my project is done. Until then, thank you all for being so supportive. I say this a lot, but I really, really appreciate it.

Do I Really Want To Do This?

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Normally, I try to keep things on the upbeat and positive here. We’re chasing a good cause and I like to have a good time, so typically, I’m going to try to write nice things. But after the weekend I had, that’s not going to happen today. I’m teetering on the edge and on the verge of calling off Operation Jack, and while what I write might turn some people off, I’m not going to sit up here and be dishonest with you guys. I’m a regular human being, which means I’m far from perfect. And here, my friends, is my imperfect side.

Let me start by telling you how much Operation Jack means to me. Simply put, it means EVERYTHING. I spent close to a year brainstorming ideas, talking with people, bouncing ideas off people, restructuring my plans, canceling my plans, resurrecting my plans, finalizing my plans, and then doing a ton of dirty work to get to where we are now. And of course, we’re not very far into it. If I keep driving this bus, it’s going to be 17 more months until I can put it in park.

For the past year or so, I’ve been thinking a lot. I’ve tried to change myself a lot to think about myself a lot less. God has had a huge part to do with that. I had a huge shift in my religious outlook, and my faith has carried me in the direction of Operation Jack. If I had to pick a verse that I would apply to Operation Jack, it would be Galatians 6:9. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. That is the only thing keeping me going right now.

Operation Jack means the world to me. For starters, it brings purpose to why God saved my legs when I broke my neck on November 7, 1991. I was never athletic, never fast and I never ran when I was a kid. There’s a reason I have my legs still, and there’s a reason why they turn pretty well. I don’t think God’s main purpose for them is to run a marathon in less than three hours. I’m hopeful they might bring a little bit of purpose to Jack’s autism.

I don’t think words can sufficiently explain what it feels like to have a child struggle like Jack does. Jack will turn 6 next month. I remember my 6th birthday like it was yesterday. I was in the first grade, I had a party at Shakey’s Pizza, my dad bought me a red Schwinn and I got a booth full of presents from my classmates. I’m pretty strong at math and I was able to do long division. Here’s the extent of Jack’s math skills:

He can actually get up to 30, although about 1/3 of the numbers aren’t pronounced very well, and I’m not so sure he understands the concepts of the numbers. It’s pretty tough to think about it. I try not to, because it’s upsetting. He’s in a fog and realistically, he’s probably never going to mainstream. If he was 19 and chose to do drugs and ruined his future, I’d be upset, but I’d know that he did it to himself. But he didn’t do anything. He didn’t ask for this. It affects his siblings. He was supposed to bridge the gap. Instead, he’s the one who steals attention unknowingly. Ava and Benjamin have fun playing with each other, but it’s not the same and while it’s not what we planned for, it’s what we have and we don’t love any of the three any more or less than any of the others.

But it’s painful as a parent to know that your own kid didn’t get a fair shake. And this Operation Jack is a way to maybe make a purpose for his autism, for there to be a reason for what he’s going through and what he’ll go through for the rest of his life. So I’m all-in emotionally. This is a big deal to me. I can make something out of my son. I can put a purpose to it all.

And let’s be realistic: I’m all-in financially, too. We don’t have a lot of spare change, and we’re risking probably about $25K in expenses to make this happen, although I’m pretty optimistic I’ll be able to nickel-and-dime my way to that. Without Operation Jack, I have a ton going on in my world. I’m totally overloaded, and I would say I don’t know how I get to everything, but I don’t get to everything. I’m behind in every area of my life, and raising money for Operation Jack and Train 4 Autism is one of those areas.

Here comes my imperfect side, not that any of that was perfect.

I put about 8 or 9 months of planning into this. Before it launched, I’d estimate I spent about 125 hours on everything, capped off by an all-nighter of programming (do you know how hard it is to write code at 5 a.m. when you got up at 4 a.m. the previous day?). Since then, it’s been at least 30 hours a week of Operation Jack work. I’m in some money, but I’m not worried about it.

I feel like I’m laying a foundation to make something happen. I’m counting on a team of teams. It took a month of pounding the pavement, spreading the word and trying everything I could think of, and I finally got my first team. I was totally excited. But the team wasn’t what it seemed. It looks like the team got an idea from Operation Jack and then decided it wanted to secede from the Union. Call me Abraham Lincoln, because I wasn’t happy. I guess it’s a free country and I can’t control what anybody does, but it hurt me. I’m working so hard at this, and just when I think somebody cares, I’m wrong. And on top of that, I feel like I was deceived by quite a few of the things I was told, and I think that’s the part that really upsets me.

The way I see it, I’m driving a bus to get a bunch of people to the destination, which is Train 4 Autism. I don’t know how to drive a bus. But I’m trying to learn how on the fly and I’m getting a lot of input from a lot of people. If you want to take a taxi, that’s fine. We’re all going to the same place. But don’t confuse the bus driver with deception. If he loses his focus and crashes, a lot of people won’t get to the destination. The driver needs to keep going.

I can’t stomach this kind of thing. I took it really hard. I don’t know if this is going to be the exception or the rule, but I can’t stomach 17 more months of this. I’ve been thinking really hard about quitting this and just walking away. I put this up six months early to see what kind of support I could get. If I end up thinking it’s a no-go, then at least I figure that out before I start buying airline tickets. I was really upset this weekend. In fact, I pulled the site down twice and for the first time since I’ve had my Facebook account, I don’t have a status right now. I just don’t have anything I want to say.

I need to convince myself that it won’t be this way, that I will get the support I’m searching for. I can’t do this alone. I want to build big teams and make a big change for the better and do it for Jack. But if I wanted to do something for Jack and do it all by myself without anybody else, it would be to take him to the park. It wouldn’t be to leave him and the rest of my family 60 times next year. Anyways, I was supposed to get a lot of work done over the weekend, but I was too worked up to concentrate on my code, so until I complete my project, I won’t have time to write another blog.

I get a bible verse texted to me every morning. Yesterday, it was Proverbs 28:25, Selfishness only causes trouble. I think I need to keep that in mind. It’s not about me. And to a degree, it’s not even about Jack. Operation Jack will not succeed with selfishness. I got the following comments from somebody whose advice I take more seriously than just about anybody:

I have a feeling this whole Operation Jack is going to be a huge test in selflessness. You’re going to face lots of disappointment along the way (whether in marathon performances, support, etc.). But you’ll have to keep on keeping on… more so than ever before.

Be prepared to say, I don’t care if I only have 1 person supporting me (let’s say Tiff), and only $10 in support… I’m still gonna run 60 marathons because I love Jack. That alone would be worth it all.

I think he’s right. I know I have the physical strength to for Operation Jack. I just need to stay strong mentally. I’ll need to keep Galatians 6:9 in mind.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Operation Jack and Jogging 4 Jayden … A Winning Team!

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Some folks say running is like a drug, and I think that’s true. I’m addicted, and I’m going through withdrawals, and I’m miserable. I hate rehab!

Today’s Non-Workout
I think this might be the part where I start to get frustrated. I love to run. It’s a part of me. And I’ve been way out of routine for about three months. I haven’t run since last Saturday. I have physical therapy today for my ankle and I’m guessing I still won’t know when I’ll get to run again. The swelling feels like it’s going down, but it’s not there yet and I need to focus on next year, not next week. Plus, even if I could run, I have way too much work to do right now.

I feel like I’m in some kind of twilight zone, where I’m not myself. But I’ll get there. I know I will.

Talkin’ Jack
In case this is your first time here, or if you’ve never been to the rest of the site, I’m planning on running 60 marathons next year to raise awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. My son, Jack, is severely autistic and I want to do something to make a difference in his honor. In this spot in each blog, I’ll talk about Jack a little bit.

Yesterday, Jack continued to have fun at summer camp. Today is the last day. His therapy session was a little earlier in the day (usually, it’s from 4-6:30), so he got to play with his brother and sister last night. We all made a mess with play-doh, which is definitely better than therapy! He also had fun playing with a musical tiger that his siblings were dancing to. He’d stop the music, and they’d stop dancing. Then he’d start the music and they’d start dancing. He understood the cause and effect and had a blast, laughing up a storm.

Ice Cream Update
I upped the streak early yesterday. I went to Costco for lunch, grabbing a polish sausage and then a chocolate/vanilla frozen yogurt swirl. Yeah, I had my dirty work done before 2 p.m. I’m now at 37 consecutive days eating ice cream or frozen yogurt. Maybe I’ll wear a Red Sox cap if I make it 20 more days and surpass Joe DiMaggio.

Jogging For Jayden!
When I started thinking about using my running for charity, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I wanted to do something to help make a difference. I wasn’t staying focused enough on pushing myself and I felt like I needed to do something difference. I knew it would have something to do with autism, but I didn’t know what. I started thinking of various ideas, and then changing those ideas, and then finalizing those ideas. Operation Jack is what I came up with.

I ran numbers and scenarios in my head. I have a few targets and goals and I try to estimate participation and guess fundraising efforts. I follow the traffic and growth on the site and with the blog and try to figure out what to do to keep that rolling. And then, on days like yesterday, I get a bucket full of cold water splashed across my as I realize that behind the numbers, there are real people involved.

Now don’t get me wrong — I’ve talked with a lot of you this month and I really enjoy that. Washington, Nevada, Maryland, Ohio, Michigan, Texas … I’ll stop naming states because I could go on and on, and you know who you are and I really appreciate your support. Everything that’s happening is totally surreal and I truly, truly appreciate everybody who is excited about what I’m trying to do, regardless of whether or not we’ve met in person.

But yesterday, I saw Jogging 4 Jayden, and it totally blew my mind.

Jayden is the son of Dennis and Jacqui Barr, good friends of my brother. I’ve known Dennis for the better part of 15 years — we’re both Phi Delts (yeah, had to get a shout-out in there — he’s Nevada Beta, I’m Kansas Gamma). Anyways, little Jayden, his 3 1/2 year son who was born four days before my daughter Ava, is on the spectrum. For those of you who don’t know what “on the spectrum” means, be grateful. When you’re on the spectrum, like Jayden, you have autism, or at least display autistic tendencies. Jacqui was inspired by me when she saw my story about my unlikely path into marathoning and my passion to use it to make a difference.

Jacqui wants to do something in Jayden’s honor, so she started exercising. She signed on with Operation Jack (remember, there are no fundraising minimums and you can run a shorter race, not just a full marathon) and and has been getting advice from our coaches. She’s going to run a marathon for Jayden next December at Rock N Roll Las Vegas. I don’t know for certain that she’s made the commitment to go the full distance, but I’m using this space to tell her that she is!

Anyways, the goal of Operation Jack is participation and raising awareness of Train 4 Autism.
Apparently, my goal is working, because thanks to Jacqui’s efforts (and subsequently, the efforts of her sisters Denise and Aimee, who I have decided will also be running Las Vegas in December 2010), there are a whole lot of people out there all over the country who weren’t aware of Train 4 Autism who are now. Aimee raised $250 last night in Kentucky!

Realistically, it’s going to be easier to get people to jump on the bandwagon once I start running marathons next year. But this is the first indicator that I’m reaching people, that Jack is going to make a difference in the world. I dropped Jacqui a line and told her I was amazed. I was pretty speechless, a rarity for me.

In part, she told me, “You and Jack have inspired our entire family. … We are in this together my friend. … Let’s keep the ideas flowing n raise as much money as possible!”

I wish I could write a few sentences to explain how cool that was to read. I’m just a guy who gets up super-early every day and goes out for a run (or works when he has a sprained ankle!), goes through the daily routine, tries to take care of his kids and hangs out with his wife. I exist in my nice, quiet little world, going through my daily routine, as does Jack. To see something like that email, or the enthusiasm Jayden’s mom and aunts have, gives me hope that Operation Jack will accomplish what I hope it will.

Jacqui’s sister Denise told me the following yesterday: “Dude, you have inspired my whole family! My little sister saw what Jacqui was doing and said – I GOTTA DO THIS TOO! … THANK YOU so much for what you are doing… the fact that you have made a commitment to better yourself and in doing so you help your son, it’s huge. I KNOW you will succeed in achieving your goal and I know plenty of people will be supporting you along the way.”

I need a Jacqui, Denise and Aimee in every city I’m going to, and even those I’m not. Thank you so much, ladies, for stepping up and working to make a difference. And selfishly, thanks for helping Jack make an impact on this world. He’s thrashing the playroom right now and getting people to raise money for charity. How awesome is that?

Video of the Day
I eat ice cream every day. And I eat In-N-Out every week. If you don’t know what In-N-Out is, you’ve never been anywhere near California. And for the record, In-N-Out makes the best cheeseburger in the world. Today for lunch, I’ll have a double-double animal style, add mustard, add regular onions.

Here’s a classic In-N-Out commercial from 1981. It all looks the same today. The quality hasn’t changed!

TGIF!
That means that tomorrow I get to work! But hopefully the rest of you will get some time off to enjoy yourself. Have a great day and a great weekend. If you want to give Operation Jack a gift, let it be the gift of a referral! PLEASE send one new person here between now and Monday, and if you’re not following on Twitter or Facebook, please do so!

Donuts and Ice Cream

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Another donut — zero miles today. And of course, a bowl of ice cream last night. Yep, that’s exactly what you’d expect out of a guy training to run 60 marathons for charity next year.

Today’s Non-Workout
This is as good a time as any to (hopefully) get injuries out of my system. Better now than next year, right? I went to physical therapy for my knee yesterday just to be safe, and since I rolled my ankle after I saw my doctor for my knee last week, I figured I’d try to sneak in some ankle advice. Well, the knee is no big deal and it’ll be fine.

I’m crazy tight, so they’re going to work with me on breaking through that and stretching better. She told me the tightness is impacting my stride length, so maybe with any luck I’ll find some new speed as I get through this. But whatever, not a major concern. The concern is the ankle, which I don’t have a PT prescription for, and I’m afraid that I’m one bad step from something really bad.

She took a look at my ankle, and that was the immediate problem. It reminds me of when I went to the doctor when I was 16 and wanted to get the cut on my head looked at but the concern immediately became my, uh, broken neck. The ankle isn’t serious like that, but it’s more of an issue than my knee.

It’s definitely sprained, but it’ll get better. I’m on the shelf for the rest of the week with specific icing and home-care instructions. Here’s what I’ve done the past three nights:

Frustrating not running right now, because I’ve been off and on for a couple of months now, but it will be nice to get to 100%. I go back tomorrow and I’m three times a week starting next week.

So yeah, I didn’t run this morning. I worked, though. Fun stuff.

Talkin’ Jack
In case this is your first time here, or if you’ve never been to the rest of the site, I’m planning on running 60 marathons next year to raise awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. My son, Jack, is severely autistic and I want to do something to make a difference in his honor. In this spot in each blog, I’ll talk about Jack a little bit.

Yesterday, Jack had the fun day most typical kids normally get in the summer. Summer camp, swimming in the kiddie pool in the backyard for an hour, gymnastics (at Us Too Gymnastics, a special-needs gym) and NO THERAPY! Yeah, yesterday, it was good to be Jack!

Ice Cream Update
Another day, another dish of ice cream. Peanut butter fudge swirl last night during the Cardinals-Dodgers game. Bonus ball in that one.

The streak is up to 36 consecutive days now eating ice cream or frozen yogurt. Baskin-Robbins corporate headquarters, if you’re reading this, you’re more than welcome to sponsor me and become the official ice cream of Operation Jack!

Here’s the ice cream bowl I got for Father’s Day. Who else has one of these?

Happy Birthday Rachel!
OK, so I don’t know if my friend Rachel is going to read this today. But typically, she does. So Rachel, if you read this, happy birthday! And if you don’t read this, I’ll never talk to you again.

Am I Allowed To Make Fun Of My Father-In-Law In My Blog?
My father-in-law retired in March and decided to teach traffic school to have something to do. He knows California’s traffic laws. In fact, he lectured my wife last week for holding the phone while she was driving. That’s illegal in California.

So we were surprised to hear that he was pulled over by the Highway Patrol yesterday … for holding the phone while driving. Maybe he’ll be a student in his own class.

Video of the Day
Well, since I can’t run right now and I need to ice my ankle back down to size, I figured I’d take the old-school route. MC Hammer tomorrow?

Yeah! It’s Thursday!
For me, that means only one more day until I can work all weekend! Hopefully, tomorrow is the last day of your work week. Thank you so much for coming by and reading the blog. I know that you come by because you believe in the cause and support what I’m doing. It’s certainly not to read my bad jokes. For now, if you’d like to help, the biggest favor I can ask is for you to bring somebody new to the site. One person at a time, we’ll grow our base to help us make something big happen!

If you’d like to get an email notification when I have new blog posts, simply register or leave a comment down below. DON’T WORRY — you can unsubscribe at any time with a single click! OK, that’s all I’ve got for today. Have a good day and come back around tomorrow!