I'll probably get some good-natured crap from a few of you, just as I did when I mourned the death of Christopher Reeve, but here goes. Labor Day weekend has always meant the Jerry Lewis telethon for Muscular Dystrophy. I always considered myself one of "Jerry's foster-kids" as the United Cerebral Palsy organization is so thoroughly screwed up that they can't even run telethons every single year, and have cut back on half their programs for the kids with CP, like the summer camps. But MDA has always done well, and I'm NOT a pollyanna, I know quite a bit of that money goes to pay rich people fat paychecks that they can write off on their taxes, and, yes, there are WAY to many needy organizations out there with or without telethons, some I think more deserving of others. But I've grown up with the Jerry Lewis Telethon. I may not watch it as much, the show gets pre-empted by a Cubs or White Sox game, but I associate my affliction more with MD or ALS sufferers than those with CP. (When asked, I explain the main difference is that you can only get cerebral palsy from birth or if oxygen is cut off from your brain). Jerry always ends the telethon singing--well, I've heard worse people "sing"--"You'll Never Walk Alone." Now I never knew it was from CAROUSEL and it was a chant at freaking UK football matches, and I have the song on an Elvis gospel cassette mix. Walk on...walk on...with hope in your heart... and you'll never walk alone. I'm always pretty quiet on Labor Day...Wayne PS: The two photos at the top were a huge part of my early life. I spent three days a week in room 18 of the Cook County clinics until I was 14 learning how to make my body function as best as it can.
