St. Baldrick's 2009!

Friends, family, Kanadians, and the rest of my stalkers,

Cancer Sucks!

With that out of the way, let's see what we can do to help find cures for childhood cancers. You know a great way to do it? Well I do. Help St. Baldrick's! Yeah. Come on out to Helen Fitzgeralds on Saturday, March 7, 2009 from 12-8pm. Throw back a few drinks and watch me get my hair and maybe even a beard buzzed.

But I always shave my head? Well you haven't seen me lately. To celebrate the anniversary of Andy's unofficially being cancer-free, I stop shaving my head on 10/31. That gives it quite some time to grow out and be ratty.

Plus, I've heard that this year Julie may even be getting her hair buzzed!

Fun and games aside, think about something for a minute. One day everything is just fine, the next day you're being told that your child, your own precious innocent flesh and blood, has cancer. You ask questions about prognosis. They can't be answered. You have to wait to see what MRI and CT scans look like. You have to wait to see if he or she will respond to chemo. You have to shave his or her head as hair starts to fall out. You have to clean up puke because of the nasty side effects of chemo. You have to wake up every morning only to learn all over again that this may be your last Christmas with your baby.

No matter how old you are, cancer sucks. But when it happens to a child, a baby, that did nothing wrong, it is a life-changing experience for everyone, regardless of the outcome.

The proceeds from St. Baldrick's events go toward finding cures for childhood cancer. Please help in any way you can. Even if it's just a dollar! I know these are trying economic times, but surely you can afford $5? $10? Maybe even $20?

Please go donate today. Honor Andrew Kelley by donating to have my head shaved at http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/shavee_info?ParticipantKey=2009-55917.

One final note. This Thanksgiving, be most thankful that your children are healthy. And if you don't have children, be thankful that you are healthy.

Thank you for your support. It truly means a lot to us.

- Dan, Julie, Andy, Emma, and Joey

P.S. Hey "Neighbor" - I'll (finally) submit your check for you. Thank you!