[at-l] I'm thruhiking for MS. Want to help out? Want to explain where tuckerizing came from?

[ajwhitney@pobox.com (A.J. Whitney)]

Hey all, I've enjoyed lurking around this list for quite a while.  You've
been a great source of information and it's been fun reading your
conversations--it's like you're all old friends (I guess some of you are).

I'm finally posting to tell you about my thruhike this year for multiple
sclerosis.  Please take a minute to read this.  If you're too lazy or busy
to read this, please at least visit the website:
http://www.hikeforacure.org.

Before you do, I'll get my specific questions for this list out of the way.
I'm in need of a lift to Springer.  I'm planning on leaving toward the end
of the first week of April (maybe the 5th).  If you can offer transportation
from Atlanta, that'd be a wonderful gesture.  If you can, please send me an
email (ajwhitney@pobox.com).  I'm trying to firm up my travel plans but I'm
pretty flexible.  Also, does anyone know what the etymology of the term
"tuckerize" is?  I had never heard anyone use that term before I started
following this list a few months ago.  I assume there is some guy named
Tucker who is almost as fanatic as Jardine :)

I'm feverishly working on the content for the site--especially the section
on the AT.  Any suggestions would be great.  And the section you'll probably
be most interested in with my plan and gear list, etc. is also coming soon.

Anyway...

I am hiking the Appalachian Trail to raise money for multiple sclerosis
research and care this season.  My uncle was diagnosed with MS three years
ago and although a new drug treatment is slowing its effects, he struggles
with it everyday.  No one knows what causes it.  It often goes undetected
for long periods before it is diagnosed because there is no simple and
reliable test for it.  And, as I'm sure you either know or have guessed,
there is no cure.

I have put a website together to provide information about MS, to provide a
simple means for making donations, and to chronicle the journey.  I will be
posting pictures and my trail journal weekly so that you may follow along
with me while I am on the trail (actually, I will be mailing them and my
mother who will be posting them--poor lady, she didn't know what she was
getting in to).

http://www.hikeforacure.org

I would really appreciate a donation from each of you--if everyone on this
list just chips in a small donation, it will make a huge difference.  A 1
cent/mile donation is only $21.68 (I bet you all could have figured that
out).  Of course, a more generous donation will be very much appreciated.
All of the money donated goes to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
which is one of the most respected charitable organizations in the world.
My uncle has found the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to be a
tremendous help to him and to our family in learning to live with this
disease.  Making a donation only takes a couple of minutes and you can pay
via credit card if you'd like.

Please take a couple of minutes and make a donation today while it's on your
mind.  Send an email to your friends and family--the more people who learn
about this, the more money we can raise for MS research and care and the
more people will learn about MS.  It's likely that everyone who reads this
will know someone with MS during their lifetime--when you think about it
like that, it's really worth a couple minutes of your time and the cost of a
dinner.

There is a flyer in PDF format under the donation section of the website
(http://www.hikeforacure.org/donate/index.php?content=promote.php).  It
would be wonderful if you could print it out and hang it up at your office
or at your local church or whever you think people will read it.  I'm
expecting the hike to take approximately six months and donations are
appreciated during my entire trip so even after I have started hiking in
April, spreading the word will still be important.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this.  It means a lot to me, my
uncle, and the hundreds of thousands of people who struggle with MS in the
United States every year.

PS - The website is currently being hosted by a company which is closing its
doors.  Over the next week or so, I'll will be moving it to another
location.  I'm hoping that the downtime will be minimal but if you go to the
site and it's not up, please check back in a day or so.  I've been holding
off sending this out but I couldn't put this off any longer.

I'm making constant updates to the site so check back often...  Once I leave
for my trip, there will be pictures and trail journals to read as well.

Thanks so much.

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A.J. Whitney - MSExpress           -----   0 |   /\
ajwhitney@pobox.com               -----   []-|  / /\
www.hikeforacure.org             -----     /|| / /  \