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 Hello friends. With so many problems in our world, it pains me to turn to you in a plea for help. I would not ask you to open your hearts, or your pocketbooks, unless it was for a worthy cause -- but in this holiday season I must appeal to your Christian-Judeo generosity. (Muslims: exempt.) For the last year I have been mentoring an at-risk youth. Chun-Li lives in a small apartment in Bell Gardens, Calif., with her parents and nine siblings. She attends one of the toughest schools in the Los Angeles area. Though Chun-Li is at the top of her class, when I watch the frightening content of today's prime-time shows and see the graffiti covering her neighborhood, somehow I wonder if she'll manage the jump to college. And then I think about getting an iPod. Let me explain: I drive a vintage car. It runs well enough, but installing a CD player would require my mechanic to remove the dashboard, which he says could affect the alignment of the one-of-a-kind timepiece on the left console. An iPod would not only allow me to stop using the unreliable cassette-adapter I must use to hook up my portable CD player, but would also allow me to listen to a way wider selection of tunes when I visit Chun-Li's horrible neighborhood. The thing is, I've done some budgeting and with property taxes coming due on my condo and my planned ski trips to Montreal and then Geneva, money is a little short at the O'Henry household this Christmas season. Unless the checks from my parents come early there's almost no way I'll be able to buy an iPod until AFTER my Geneva trip, which would suck because the flight is really long and there's no way I won't get bored. That will make my six hours in business class feel like seven, or even eight hours. My point is, all this can be prevented. I've set up a special account -- in Chun-Li's name -- where you can send checks or money orders to help me buy an iPod that might possibly make me a smidge less bored. See? I know it's easyÊto be cynical but this is one of those cases where you really can make a difference. Also, my dad's an accountant and if you're able to send a gift -- let's say, $80 so I can get the special U2 iTunes setup -- he'll show you how to report it as a work deduction. Anyway, Merry Christmas (Channukah for Jews) and God Bless Us All, Everyone. Paws |
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