I wanted to put this into a separate post. There are two parts, one a reminder and one a musing.
First the reminder. Two Saturdays from now (September 24th) Terri and I will be walking in the Memory Walk to benefit Alzheimer's research. We're walking, not only because it's a good cause, but also because my current project manager's step-father is afflicted with Alzheimers. A few weeks ago he got into his car and basically disappeared for an entire weekend scaring the family half to death. It's certainly a good cause and Terri and I are glad to be able to help. So, if you want to help us out (I know the Katrina effort has sliced into most available funds and I have no problem with that) here is My link.
And, here is Terri's link.
And we're available in all the normal ways if you don't want to donate online. And of course, thanks in advance.

Now the musing. The red cross, not normally heard from on a regular basis, has been running a series of commercials to spread the word about the relief effort for Hurricane Katrina. They are easy to spot and hear actually. There are a series of exaggerations of admiration for singers, actors, and writers that all involve the phone book (which was apparently deemed the most boring material available). They all go like this. X (being the singer, actor, or writer) could sing/read/write the phone book and I'd listen/watch/read it every time. Well, for me, Johnny Cash is one of those singers. Over the course of his career his deep baritone voice went from confident and strong to knowing and full of tremolo and never lost it's powerful effect. Anyway, it's his voice singing on the commercial. I didn't think anything of it the first time until after the commerical was off. Then it was one of those...did I hear what I thought I heard? So, the next time it was on, I paid particular attention and it was what I heard. The commercial is underscored by Johnny Cash singing a cover version of Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." I can't decide how I feel about this. I don't know if they are just going for the small clip of lyrics about helping people or if they mean the full effect of the song. In which case, is that the song you want played? I think it's in poor taste some of the time, but awfully fitting at other times. Ah who knows what they were going for.

And, Alan, wherever you are, you are still missed...even four years later.