Circumstance

It's Labor Day weekend - a bitter sweet time. It's my Mom's birthday and also the same day my sister, Jessica, was paralyzed in a car wreck in '92. There are many blessings to be counted, though. THIS Labor Day weekend offers me a new, positive experience. I am emceeing the local portion of the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon here in Fairbanks with some of our other news staff- Mike Shultz (Weather), Charlie Sokaitis, (Sports) and Chelsey Schell (mornings). I had the great privilege of talking with a family who has been affected by MD- Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) to be specific. Jerry Hallberg was 61 when he started losing mobility in his arms. His abilities are rapidly slipping away from him. There is no cure for ALS. There's not even a test for it. Doctors can only rule out other things which leaves them with one theory...it must be ALS. I'm excited to be a part of the telethon. Obviously, I know personally how such things affect an entire family. As I put together Jerry's story today, I was humbled. I can give my time and professional skill to raise awareness. I knew nothing of ALS prior to this. I believe our needs serve us well because they 0ffer an opportunity for others to help us. Last week I started my new time slot - 6 o' clock. I'm really enjoying the new schedule. The day seems to go by quicker even though I'm working the same number of hours. A funny note before I wrap up...folks around town are recognizing me often now OR they've become more vocal when they do recognize me. Whatever the case, I've had some unusual and interesting encounters with this. One anecdote- I went to the Red Cross office the other day to talk about local relief efforts for the Gulf Coast. There were several volunteers in the room who were receiving training to go down there. I walked in and one of the women looks up at me and says "How's your voice? Any better?" After a pause to think what she was talking about, I realized she had heard me on the news last week with a VERY scratchy voice (from yelling on my b'day weekend). The funny thing was she didn't say 'hello', 'Hi, I'm Grace' or anything - boom- 'how's your voice?' like we were continuing a conversation that had been going on in the days before. So, I suppose that's the effect when you're in people's homes virtually. What a trip.