 This month I bring you the happy news that compassion and generosity are alive and well in the Mustang community. I have a friend named Ed Donais. Ed is a Mustang racer in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. He is a regular competitor at his local track, bracket racing his Fox body ragtop. A while back, Ed started not feeling very well. Upon going to the doctor, he was told that he had a serious heart ailment that would require open heart surgery and that he would have to quit his job. The socialized medical system in Canada sets the when and where of major operations such as this, and weeks turned to months as he awaited a date for his surgery. While he waited, the bills piled up. Not long ago, Ed got the news that his surgery had been approved. Immediately after that he found that he would have to file for bankruptcy. The wait had been too long. Being on welfare, he had no options. Luckily, his Mustang was paid for and he would not lose that. However, among the bad news was the fact that his computer would be repossessed. This was a particularly hard blow in that his computer allowed him to have some interaction with the outside world, which his heart condition strictly limited. Being in the financial straits he was in made the computer and a free internet connection his only form of recreation. The repo man was going to take it away. I made Ed's acquaintance on the website mustangsandmore.com. I have never actually met the man, but we have conversed through the miracle of cyberspace. I've followed along through his fight with the medical system and the travails of his disease. But when I heard that he was going to be losing his computer, his only form of entertainment and interaction, I just had to do something. I put out a challenge to the members of Mustangs and More. I asked them to match a $20 bill that I put up. The idea was that we would collect enough to be able to buy Ed a nice used computer to keep him from going stir crazy and maintain him as a friend and member of our little family. My good friend Ian Chapman in British Columbia volunteered to find a system in Canada and arrange shipping. I really didn't know what to expect but I have to say that I was quite pleasantly surprised! Nearly 40 people in the US asked for the address, 5 in Canada and one in Australia! I am writing this less than ten days after my initial challenge was issued. Already I have received 22 contributions totaling $460.00, more than enough to pay for and ship the system that Ian has secured. Any more that comes in will be collected and forwarded on to Ed as our gift to him from his friends at Mustangs and More. The idea that 50 people that had never met each other would band together to help yet another person that none of them had ever met simply amazes me. I was contacted by people that were not even members of M&M; that wanted to help. The outpouring of compassion for a complete stranger in another country is overwhelming. The only common bonds between these people are a love of Mustangs and a concern about their fellow man. I am proud to say that I am a member of three great clubs: The Island Classic Mustang Club, The Mustang Club of America and Mustangs and More.com. I would encourage all of you to investigate membership in all of them. Dave  View Previous "2¢" Articles Copyright © 2002 Island Classic Mustang Club. Last modified Friday, 26-Jan-2001 11:12:15 PST. |
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