IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. --Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities

I hope you don't mind me starting out with one of my favorite classics to set a stage. Things often do seem like "the worst of times" but I hope this tale will show you otherwise. By taking the smallest and the largest donations from our recent fundraiser for Kira Middleton who is fighting Stage IV Hodgkins Lymphoma, I hope to inspire you to the possibility that there is much good in our society, that people are basically good and generous, and that there is tremendous power in community.

One little girl came to the table taking money at the Sock Hop and gave a heavy envelope with Kira's name which was beautifully decorated with hearts. Carefully written on a heart was the grand total $1.30 so that it wouldn't need to be opened and could go to Kira directly. Don't you know, in your heart of hearts, that it was ALL the money this little girl had? Who knows how she earned it or how long she saved? If you happen to get this email and are her mother or father would you mind giving her a kiss and telling her that she taught a whole bunch of grownups the meaning of the "widow's mite?"

Another 11-year old girl works for Marianne Roetzheim of the Jamul Haven Bed and Breakfast. She makes $3 an hour cooking and cleaning and picking flowers from their lovely grounds. She went to Marianne and asked if she could work for 20 hours and get a gift certificate for the auction. Doing the math for you, that's $60 she offered to give up to help the cause. In her generosity and wisdom, Marianne told her she only had to work 10. This still allowed the girl to know the joy of sacrifice. The gift certificate had a value of $199 and the winning bid was $750. I never promised anyone anonymity :) so I will tell you that it was our good friend and financial mentor, Jacob Cooper of Total Wealth Management. He does not know Kira and yet bid almosts 3 times what it was worth. When I told Marianne, with tears in my eyes of the success of the evening, she was as happy as I was and promised she would take very good care of the Coopers during their stay! She'll take very good care of YOU as well should you need a romantic getaway!

Two little girls. A community of the Middleton's friends. A host of people who had never met them. Businesses and professionals offering their services. Youth finding ways to bring in some money with their skills (babysitting, lawn mowing, VHS to DVD conversions, house cleaning, jewelry making, etc.) It was "the best of times" and the power of community is real. Hearts have been touched in ways that never would have occurred without a dreadful diagnosis.

While the loose ends are not all tied together, we're estimating that the grand total raised will be $4500. Thank you for giving generously and for the many who helped make the event a success.

I just called Renee (Kira's mom) to get a phone number and she had miraculous news. The full body scan the doctors did last week found that all of her masses are GONE (one of them was 13 cm a few short months ago!!!) and that her lymph nodes are all clear of cancer. They had expected to see improvement but the fact that it was all gone?! Wow! Incredible! They will continue the chemotherapy and finish out the course to be sure that there aren't any remaining cells but the Middletons are so happy and feel that it is a new lease on life. This news, combined with this fundraiser, will allow Kira to return to school Winter semester and keep her health insurance in force! I can't think of any better way to end this very long email!

A sincere and heartfelt thank you to each of you. It is the "spring of hope..." and we have "everything before us..."

Kathy Mellor
Honored Teller of the Tale