Gettin By With a Little Help From My Friends

A few days ago I had to swallow my massive pride and put out a call for financial help on the internet. I was not sure what kind of response I would get. True, I was able to raise enough money to run for Governor in 2006, help others low on cash and having to make decisions that no terminally person should have to make like food or medicine, raise money for activist trips and things of that nature, but I had never had to put out a personal call for myself and therefore, had no idea what the response would be.

Today, a mere three days later I have to tell you that I have more friends willing to help me out than I ever knew about. I have been overwhelmed with the sheer number of people willing to extend their hand with everything from $5 to $500. People I know personally and people I have never met or communicated with before, people from MySpace and people from blogs across the US and Canada. I know that a lot of people know who I am, but I had no idea that they cared about whether I could feed my kids and pay my bills for a month. They do.

The fact that they do humbles me. More than humbles me...I really don't have a word for what this outpouring of support means to me. I guess it means I have made a name for myself and built a reputation that is solid, or else no one would give me a penny. It means that people want my work to continue even if they have to support me personally with their own hard earned cash once in a while to ensure that it does, that they do not want me and my family to go without food and the other basic necessities of life and that they do not want to see me on the state welfare roster.

Today I realize that, in some ways, I am richer than Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Oprah Winfrey combined, despite being money-poor. I possess the richness of generous, kind-hearted friends, both known and unknown, willing to give whatever they can afford to help me make it through this tough time. And the friendships will remain long after the money is gone.

So, my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have given what you could to help my family out until we get back on our feet again. Thanks also to all of you who would like to give money but are unable to because your budget just can't be stretched any further. A number of you tight on cash have sent food (some of it home canned ....YUMMY!) and I want you to know that I appreciate it just as much as I do the donations of money.

I hope that I continue to live up to your expectations and remain worthy of your friendship and that one day I will somehow, in someway be able to repay all of you for the incredible kindness that you have shown to me when I needed a helping hand.

Your Humble Servant,
Loretta Nall