Glen here…
Well folks, I have an idea. Always a pain-in-the-ass.
Problem is: this idea really should have been formulated a few weeks ago, because mentioning it now doesn’t leave the notion very much time to grow to fruition. None the less, I wanted to put this out there for readers to consider, because if we act fast enough, it’s not too late.
I was walking into Target yesterday, on a desperate quest for Kenner’s Electronic Boba Fett 12 inch action figure (it talks and does all kinds of cool stuff). I didn’t find Boba, by the way. On the way into the store, I noticed this Marine guy - totally decked out in full dress, standing guard over a collecting bin labeled "Toys For Tots". He’d been standing there for hours, stern, resolved, dead-serious about collecting donated toys for kids who probably won’t get too many toys this Christmas. He was going to be there through the rest of the day, and the following day (today) as well. Standing there at attention, making an impression. He didn’t have to be there. He wanted to be there.
I asked him about the project - I was wearing a frumpy T-shirt, scuzzy shorts, and frankly looked like shit - but still this Marine talked to me with great respect, called me "sir", and articulately explained the project he had volunteered for. More information about "Toys For Tots" is available through this link.
This started me thinking: this web site reaches hundreds of thousands of people a day, sometimes over a million people a day. That’s a lot of people, who could make a lot of difference in some little kid’s life this Holiday Season.
As such, I am proposing this: if you are interested in sending one toy…doesn’t have to be big or expensive toy (but let’s at least make it a new toy)…to me (Glen) here at Aint It Cool News, perhaps I can take up some donations, and contribute them collectively to a worthy cause in the name of this web site’s readership.
I mean, the Jamison Gold banner across the bottom of each AICN article refers to AICN as a "virtual community". We share our thoughts with each other through Talkbacks. Harry and I communicate with our readership through e-mail, sometimes we even talk on the phone with readers who decide to give us a call. Why not get together as a community, do something which brings us together in a cause - but also helps those who might be needing a little help twenty days from now?
I know this is short notice, but there is still time if we act quickly. It might even mean you’d have to mail your contributions off by mid-week. But it’s really not that hard, and really not that much effort when you stop to think about it. And if it is hard for you to do this, or if it is a lot of effort for you to do this - then simply don’t contribute, and be sure to take care of yourselves.
Toys are sold at malls, at toy stores, at grocery stores. Even if you just contribute a set of marbles, an action figure, or a little plastic dinosaur - that might…just might…be enough to bring some kid, somewhere, a smile.
Let me know if you’d like to participate by e-mailing me through the link below. Please do not send these toys to the PO BOX listed on the "Contact Us" portion of the site, as it would be logistically simpler if they came directly to me - and this way we won't be interfering with Harry's substantially more voluminous incoming mail. Just e-mail me if you’re interested, and I’ll let you know where to send something.
And if getting something and mailing it is just too complicated due to such short notice, please think about donating something on a local level. Even though I haven’t a lot of money, I often find myself forgetting that there are people worse off than I am in the world. I think we’re all guilty of that to some extent. Whether through AICN or in your own home town, a little bit of effort on our part could help to remind someone that people really do care, and that the world isn’t as big and bad a place as it sometimes seems to be…
