Thursday, August 21, 2014

Taking the Challenge

Yup, I caved. And pretty quickly, too. I first heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge only a few days ago.

My daughter-in-law posted a video on FaceBook of her getting drenched by a bucket of ice-water and I was, naturally, mystified. After that, I kept seeing more and more of the same sort of video so I finally looked up ALS and found out it’s what we in Blighty call Motor Neuron Disease. And, yeah, it’s a horrible thing, well worthy of every penny (or pence) you can donate to it.

But despite people in the US dumping buckets full of ice over their heads, it isn’t something that has taken hold here. Still, I thought I could do my part.

It’s a worthy cause, but if the videos I have been watching are anything to go by, some people ought to freshen up their understanding of the laws of physics before they attempt this seemingly innocuous feat. I do hope those people are in the minority, and that most manage to drench themselves without the need to visit A&E. (That’s the emergency room, for you folks in the US, not the popular TV channel showing WWII documentaries.)

And there may be other drawbacks to this worthy undertaking, as well. If you happen to be a popular person, you’re probably going broke running down to Hannaford for bags of ice. On the other hand, if you are a lonely sort of person, this is probably akin to a protracted Valentine’s Day, with you sitting at home eating your single-serving TV dinner and with only a bucket of ice no one wants you to do anything with for company.

But all worthy causes have some sort of downside, so don’t let that stand in your way. This is a worthy cause, so make good use of your ice, like I did.


By the way, no one nominated me; I just nominated myself, and I nominated myself to do it again. And I'll keep doing it until I run out of ice or whiskey.


3 comments:

  1. I apologise to everyone here but this is the only way to seek your advice. If you were to unexpectedly come across a minor celebrity how should you act? After a classic double-take to confirm who they were should you a) leave them in their rare moment of privacy and not react? b) nod politely and wish them a good morning? c) get all excited and enthusiastic and give them a big hug? So what is best when you find yourself on a rainy public holiday standing by such a person with his wife waiting to cross the street in a quiet West Sussex town? PS "minor celebrity" is used due to surprising lack of height of the person, not their 'stature' in the community.

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    1. That depends; if the minor celebrity was on his way into town, he would probably be pleased to be recognized and stop for a brief chat (no hugs, though). On the way OUT of town, the minor celebrity might be more interested in getting home and out of the rain. ;)

      By the by, what took you into town on such an awful day? We needed thread, but I can't think of many other domestic emergencies that would justify a trek out in this weather ;)

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  2. A desperate need for an ordnance survey map so I can plan the next part of a long distance walk on The High Weald Landscape Trail.

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