Jill Painter: July 2008 Archives

When you see a fundraising table outside a grocery store does it make you run to the other entrance or avoid eye contact? Well, I was the person some Ralph's shoppers were trying to avoid on Sunday morning. I am fundraising for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Sept. 13-14 in Long Beach. I know the economy is tough, but many people were gracious enough to donate whatever they could, and I earned $205 over 2 1/2 hours. Several folks told stories of their loved ones who are battling cancer or how they've done a walk, etc. But for every nice person, there was someone who would race in to the story or not bother to respond to a simple hello. The worst was a lady who asked if she could donate $200. I couldn't believe my luck. The woman told me she had to go to her car to get the money. Instead, she just got in the passenger side of a vehicle and the car rode off. A simple no thanks would have sufficed.

I went to The Greek for the first time and saw Kenny G in concert on Saturday. What a great outdoor theatre. Kenny G and his band were superb. Stevie Wonder made a surprise appearance and played his harmonica with Kenny G for one song.
The percussionist was ridiculously talented and was smiling the entire concert. I love to watch people who love what they do. Kenny G did his best as a standup comedian, as well as incredible saxophone player. Kenny, known for his long curly hair, had this to say about the prospect of going bald, like his percussionist: ``I know if I cut my hair like that, my career would go down the toilet ... just like Michael Bolton's.'' Doh!

I'll be doing the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in September, and I haven't started training yet. Eeks! On Sept. 13, you walk 26 miles (the equivalent of a marathon) and 13 miles the following day. I figured I ran the marathon last year, so a long walk should be a piece of cake, right? (Famous last words).
Click hereto check out my Web page for the event.
There's information on the Web site in case you're interested in participating, too. In order to walk the event, there's a minimum fundraising requirement of $1,800. I know it seems impossible, but it's really not. And, it goes to a great cause. Some of the money goes toward helping underprivileged women receive treatments and mammograms, as well as research and development, etc.

Randy Pausch, made famous for his riveting ``The Last Lecture'' died this morning. If you haven't seen his lecture at Carnegie Melon, made famous by youtube., you really should. Click here to watch.