Acting, Kindly and Almost Randomly

I decided what I would do in memory, in honor, of Martha McClain Lewallen.

And did it.

I brought a donation to the WZYP Annual "Bikes or Bust" Drive they do in conjunction with Toys-For-Tots.

I drove past the Ashley Furniture Store every day this weekend.  I saw the growing lines of new bicycles.  I saw the proud Marines standing tall in their most joyful of duties.  I saw a poor cold DJ stuck at the top of a lift in some of the most bitterly cold, wet & windy weather we've had yet this season.

I wondered, as I always did each year, can there really be that many kids here in Huntsville, or the whole of North Alabama, who need a bike? Sadly, yes there are.  Some might live in circumstances where having even your beloved bike stolen is not uncommon.  Some might live in circumstances where they had to leave a bike behind.  But for many, this might be a first.

I wasn't moved to give this year because I felt sorry for Mojo (DJs are notoriously half-a-bubble off.)  I've given books to Toys-For-Tots before and have proudly thought of my uncle who served as a Marine, but this year I was inspired by something more.

I thought of the joy a kid has when he/she gets that first bike, especially if that bike arrives in the magic of Christmas.  Whether Santa brings it or a Marine, that bike means being offered a chance to learn a skill, being granted freedom, being bestowed a responsibility.  That bike says you and your hopes mean something to the great, big world.  I will remember my first bike forever.

Hope this gift makes Ronda's mom smile-- a smile as big as a kid's on Christmas morning.