I’ve been in a miserable mood lately. For various reasons. Editing on “The Pilgrimage” has ground to a halt as my editor recovers from illness. I’ve recently recovered from a nasty cold. {What a redundant statement – who ever heard of a pleasant cold?} My wife resigned from her work due to some co-worker who took it upon himself to make her life miserable, the direct result being that our children and I also felt miserable. However, my woes aren’t what this post is about. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hit you up to buy my book with the old sympathy ploy.
In fact, I’m feeling a little better today. Interestingly enough the thing that made me feel better was a radio commercial. {Though I think laughter is the best medicine, it wasn’t a humorous commercial. In fact, it was a very serious commercial about a very serious problem.}
The commercial began by describing how I could get a free diabetes test. The skeptic side of me immediately leapt into the fray in anticipation of the usual, “just give us your firstborn, your social security number, mailing address, email address, cell phone, and of course you credit card information to pay the so small it is barely worth mentioning shipping and handling fee.” However the usual caveat-emptor laden disclaimer murmured at high speed in a barely intelligible rush at the end of the commercial never happened. You see, the advertisement was for the American Diabetes Association, and the radio station ran it as a free public service.
I don’t need a diabetes test. Yes, I had type-2 diabetes, and yes, I was prescribed oral medication, but I eventually resolved my condition by modifying my diet. {Okay, so I might need a diabetes test, however that is a moot point!}
The real point of this post is this.
Tens of millions of Americans, particularly the poor, and specifically African-Americans, are afflicted by this treatable disease. They need all the help they can get, and there actually are non-profit organizations out there that not only can help them, but will. We live in a dark world. Non-profit organizations such as the American Diabetes Association are pinpricks of light that pierce the darkness. I encourage you to seek their aid if you might need it, and if you don’t… well. then please lend them your aid instead.
For your convenience, here is a link directly to the American Diabetes Association’s donations page.
