Thank You

Thank You.

If you're reading this, you are likely a contributor to my anniversary cruise. I had intended on surprising a few of the people that I had spoken to about the cruise that had showed interest, but either had (in the case of one guy) stated that he couldn't afford to go on the cruise, or I had suspected that was the case. I didn't want anyone to miss out on what I had hoped would be a really big event.

Well...that isn't the case. We had initially had several dozen families that were either "YES" or "MAYBE" when first planning the cruise. As it turns out, there will be a total of 4 families going, including my wife and me. I contacted one guy and offered him the money, but he still wasn't able to go. There may be other reasons, but I guess money wasn't the primary reason why he could not go.

To say that the turnout wasn't a disappointment wouldn't be altogether honest, but it is what it is. Twenty five years is a long time, and we have all traveled down different paths, and getting everyone to one location at the same time is a bit of a challenge. I'll be thrilled to see my friends and meet their wives, even if it is just a few of them...and we might spark something for a later date, if they see some of our photos on Facebook and wish they had joined in. Who knows.

The real reason that I am writing this though, besides thanking you once again, is to let you know what I plan to do with the money. I am donating it to a charity that I support: Disabled American Veterans. They do a very good job of keeping administrative costs to a minimum. I prefer them over some similar charities, but I'm sure they all do some pretty good work.

Since I suspect that your donation to my "cause" was motivated primarily by your high regard for military service, I suspect that you won't mind that it ultimately ends up helping with a much greater cause than helping out some vets get on a cruise! Anyway, this is the website for DAV:

http://www.dav.org/

And as cliche as it sounds, I really can't thank you enough! I am always humbled by people that show high regard for the military, and it honestly isn't something I spend a lot of time thinking about personally, but I suppose that is because I work and live around so many veterans and Active Duty Soldiers. I do appreciate you taking the time to donate, and just thought I'd write this up since I'm too lazy to personalize it for everyone. =)

Kevin