people continue to surprise me (Dallas, Austin: health, rank, donation)

[woodinvilleguy]

Originally Posted by Schnaiy

Woodinvilleguy, what a great inspiration you are to your kids!
I'm sure you're also heartened to see so many here in this forum would support the kids' efforts next time. Did I miss which part of Austin you're located, if it's the Northside, I may even swing by myself. Good luck with the Mount Rushmore bike ride. Do you partake in any local ones? We have the Prima Vera bike ride every year in Lago Vista at the beginning of March.

I'm in Cedar Park. I'll let people know when the kids do it again.

I ride in local rides, I've done the Houston to Austin ride twice but it is very crowded. So I thought I would venture around the country to ride at least once a year. I've never seen Mount Rushmore so I am really looking forward to that.

I'll check out he Prima Vera ride next year :-)

[twange]

Originally Posted by woodinvilleguy

I know a couple people with MS. When I lived in Washington state there are a lot more people with MS for some reason. Over the last 2 years I have raised a lot of money for MS research with my rides (over $6k) so my daughters hear me talk about it a lot. In fact, in 30 days I'm riding at Mount Rushmore as a fundraiser. that may kill me. 15000+ feet of climbing.

I very much appreciate and thank you for your hard work and generosity, as someone very close to us has recently been diagnosed(last two years).

Check out this map - Folks who live in Northern climates are at far greater risk, suggesting an environmental/geographical cause, possibly a vitamin deficiency:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MS_Risk.jpg (broken link)

[woodinvilleguy]

Originally Posted by twange

I very much appreciate and thank you for your hard work and generosity, as someone very close to us has recently been diagnosed(last two years).

Check out this map - Folks who live in Northern climates are at far greater risk, suggesting an environmental/geographical cause, possibly a vitamin deficiency:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MS_Risk.jpg (broken link)

That is an amazing graphic.

[JazzOne]

Originally Posted by love roses

JazzOne, It's just kids, no hippie bums.

Yes I know. You all aren't paying attention to what I'm saying. I wouldn't even notice that it was kids because I'm so accustomed to the bums. I don't even bother to look at who's selling what because Austin has WAY too many peddlers. It's kind of like when telemarketers used to be more prevalent. You would see "unavailable" on the caller ID and not even bother to pick up and see who it was. It could have been some kids calling for MS donations on the phone, but most people wouldn't bother to pick up. Same thing. I'm so used to the hippies, I don't even bother to figure out whether someone is legit.

Now I'll wait until the next person tells me the kids aren't poisoning the lemonade. *Sigh*

I'm trying to make a point about Austin culture, not about this group of kids.

[Schnaiy]

Jazzone you're too funny
It reminds me of the horses that would be fitted with blinkers over their eyes so they could only see straight ahead and less likely to be startled by anything outside of their restricted range of vision.
I do completely SEE your point.

[Naomi Manischewitz]

i definitely would have bought a class if i saw that while i was on that side of the street and not in a rush, or walking. usually when kids are raising money for something important i will buy at least one of whatever they are selling. just last week i bought a pack of m&ms for 2 girls that were raising money for their cheer leading team.

[JazzOne]

Originally Posted by schnaiy

jazzone you're too funny :d
it reminds me of the horses that would be fitted with blinkers over their eyes so they could only see straight ahead and less likely to be startled by anything outside of their restricted range of vision.
I do completely see your point.

lol

[love roses]

Originally Posted by JazzOne

Yes I know. You all aren't paying attention to what I'm saying. I wouldn't even notice that it was kids because I'm so accustomed to the bums. I don't even bother to look at who's selling what because Austin has WAY too many peddlers. It's kind of like when telemarketers used to be more prevalent. You would see "unavailable" on the caller ID and not even bother to pick up and see who it was. It could have been some kids calling for MS donations on the phone, but most people wouldn't bother to pick up. Same thing. I'm so used to the hippies, I don't even bother to figure out whether someone is legit.

Now I'll wait until the next person tells me the kids aren't poisoning the lemonade. *Sigh*

I'm trying to make a point about Austin culture, not about this group of kids.

I see where you're coming from and I didn't mean what I said to come across accusatory, just a little light ribbing.

[stan4]

Seems like if you want to make money in Austin, fake that you're an injured vet and beg at the intersections.

[Schnaiy]

Originally Posted by stan4

Seems like if you want to make money in Austin, fake that you're an injured vet and beg at the intersections.

I NEVER GIVE TO THOSE PEOPLE who make a living out of begging in those places. I think most people can discern the difference between a fake beggar and children fundraising for a worthy cause (I would be suspicious if I saw the same kids continuously though).
This is digressing off topic because WoodinVille's kids were selling something and not asking for handouts to feed an addiction or personal gain.

While we're on that subject, where I used to live in Houston, I would see a minibus or minivan pull up with a dozen kids in it at different parts of the city, and they were dispatched to get donations for a religious group - I elected not to give to these kids as it seemed too organized and unclear on their collection containers exactly what they were collecting for. I suspect there are modern day fagan types who are unscrupulous and send kids out to get fake donations to line their own pockets. If you saw Slum Dog Millionaire you would see the fagan types in operation in India go even further and purposefully blind the kids (after they've trained them to sing beautifully) because they know people are more likely to give to a blind kid!
Thank goodness, to my knowledge, noone has gone to that extreme here in Austin for personal gain!