Once more for the money, one more for the road

Yes, my grousereaders, we are nearing the end. This Saturday the Rock and Ride Against Diabetes team, to which we have recently recruited Dinni Jain of CHHS '86 fame, will set off to ride 30 hilly miles through the lushly bemonied and sparsely betrucked New Jersey countryside, in an effort to raise consciousness and cash in the fight against Diabetes. Diabetes, we will recall, is on the rise:

• The incidence of diabetes has increased by 61 percent since 1990 and continues to rise at an alarming rate.

• One out of every three Americans born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes.

• More than $132 billion direct and indirect healthcare costs are attributed to diabetes (2002 statistics).

These are some serious numbers, but we can all help. I'm calling on all of you out there, you vast readership you, those of you who haven't yet given, to reach down and make a contribution and help me make up the small remaining gap between where I am and my ambitious goal of raising $2000 towards a cure.

Every dollar helps.