Well, the pig has been kissed. It happened on Tuesday, at
the fair, roughly 6PM. I didn't kiss the pig, I didn't get
the trophy and I missed the top smooching honors by less
than 100 bucks. I came in second, which is fine by me.
Smooching Harley the hog on the lips isn't my idea of a
fun night on the town. A lady named Jo Prang got that
dubious honor. She raised more cash than I did, so it
was her night.
By the way, I want to thank those who sent checks on my
behalf and stopped by on their way through this area to
stuff my piggy banks. It made me feel good to see the
support you gave me, and it will go toward a good cause.
For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I was a
contestant in a fund-raising contest for the Black Hills
chapter of the American Diabetes Association. The contestant
who raised the most money had to kiss a pig named Harley when
the contest was over. You might think we are all nuts, but
we all tried to win. Out of eight contestants, I took second
place honors.
What does any of this have to do with Fly Anglers On Line or
flyfishing? Well, nothing and everything. We were all working
towards a goal of making life a little better for someone who
has an unfortunate and deadly disease. We did it for free.
We worked hard at it with no personal financial gain in mind.
There was a moment of recognition and the top two finishers
won small prizes (mine is a meal for two at a local eatery).
The winner gets to display a trophy for a year; then pass it
to the next winner.
Isn't that a lot like what we do here? We aren't fighting
deadly diseases here, but we are trying to make things a little
easier for those who need the help. Unlike many other web
adventures, we have no intention of making money at this game.
Everyone who writes for FAOL does so for free. Granted, there
have been a few items sent to some of us to try out or field
test once in a while (like the small prizes at the pig event),
but the work we do here is a labor of love; free to all who
care to visit.
Have we lost our collective minds? Probably; it seems to be
thing to do these days. We are committed to the idea of sharing
what we have been fortunate enough to learn; and we share that
information without charge. It's our way of giving back a
portion of what we have received. Like contestants in a
pig-kissing event, we labor to share with those who can
benefit from our work. We are committed to the task, we
do it willingly, sometimes we take some painful criticism
for our efforts; but we do it without thought of profit or
personal gain.
Some people can't understand the idea of doing something for
someone else without the thought of what we will get in return.
"What's in it for me?" is a common question a lot of people ask
themselves before they commit to anything that would benefit
another person; especially if they have never met that person.
They can't grasp the concept of doing nice things for other
people without thinking about what they will get in return.
They probably never will either.
And, they will never understand why eight people would work
hard for two months trying to raise money for less fortunate
folks, just so the one who raised the most money could kiss
a pig as a reward. To those people we are just a bunch of
fools; nut-cases ready for the funny farm. Nope, they'll
never understand that one. But we know better, don't we.
~ AC
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