Each and every one of us have needed (or certainly will need) a bit of a boost on our journeys through this world.
Now Mark is asking for donations to help him and his friend "Sixto the Wonder Dog" get through a rough place in their own road.
I think I will always feel indebted to Mark.
Mark scored BIG TIME with me a few years back. When my daughter Brie was a young teen she developed a spinal condition called "scoliosis" and needed a major operation. (The surgeons clipped out one of her ribs.. put the rib bone in a blender to use as "cement" to fuse her lower vertebrae together. Then they screwed on a titanium rod along the side of her lower spine with a bunch of screws to hold it all in place... and.. they did all this totally invasive surgery from the front side of her body, collapsing her lungs, pushing organs aside in order to fuse and splint her spine into proper shape.
..to this day it still disturbs me to even think about it.)
Anyway.. daughter's recovery was long and painful and round-the-clock attention was required. During that whole ordeal, Mark was right there to give comfort and aid where ever he could.. Daily, he came to the house to sit with her at bedside.. he played games with her when she was able.. he made her laugh (but not too much because it would hurt to laugh).. Mark did lots for her healing spirit in "kid ways" that a parent could never accomplish. As a young lad just out of high school, Mark "stepped up to the plate" for his young friend and gave her his time and his care. Amazing!
So yeah, in my world and I would imagine in many others as well ('cause that's the kind of guy he is), Mark is a champion care-giver... who now in his own turn needs just a tiny, little boost from others to also "step up" and be counted.
Well, you can get the full story from Mark himself at the Mark & Sixto web page.
Patti and I will chip in to help cover the cost of Sixto's operation. If anyone reading this is feeling somewhat generous this holiday season, even to someone you don't know, kicking in five or ten bucks would certainly give much deserved aid-and-comfort back at him, now in his own temporary need for a little help from his friends..
