Wednesday May 26
Nasties: A couple of announcements, a brief diversion and a shout out! Announcements:
1) Sunday Trail Runs start June 6. Read the "Sunday Morning Runs" page for details, but this year we have a special offering thanks to the yoga instructors at lululemon...a free post-run yoga session (to be held on site). So bring a towel, and your trail shoes and join us starting the week after Memorial Day.
brief diversion
Lost is over and the ending was seriously disappointing...at best. Here is a great article from the NYT. Personally, I think that the writers should have decided what the island was and make it a story that ended after a couple of seasons. Instead the show became another "Matrix". (i.e. great first movie followed by two convoluted, misguided sequels as the writers tried to "explain" things.) But, I guess advertising dollars speak very loudly.
2) Bring your old shoes! Our goal is to have an inventory of over 200 shoes as we go into the cross country season this fall. If you don't know what I'm talking about, East Nasty will take your old running shoes, clean them up, and offer them to local track and cross country teams that can't afford new running shoes.
3) Run #8 this week. Check out the link on the right side of the post.
Shout Out!
Were any of you guys thinking last week, "I wonder what East Can is going to do with all this dog food??" Well, below is an email that Elizabeth sent me:
Dear East Nasty,
I cannot thank you enough for your continued support of East C.A.N.! (East Nashville's Community Action Network)
You may not realize it but the pet food donated through your drive this week gets used in the following ways;
* When a die-hard softy offers to foster a desperate animal even though they already have a bunch of their own to care for...we can try to make sure they don't incur additional expenses just because they are kind hearted.
* When someone calls and says "I just picked up an animal wandering on Riverside Drive. I can keep it here at my home for a while but can you help me with some food and a crate?"
YES, WE CAN!
* When someone on Shelby Ave. calls and says "My neighbors just got evicted and left their dogs in the back yard. We'll keep an eye on them for a while but can you help with some food and dog houses?"
YES, WE CAN!
* When a runner e-mails me and says "I've been running past this house everyday and I'm worried about a dog that hangs out in the driveway and is really skinny."
WE CAN DROP OFF A BAG OF FOOD WITH A CARD INTRODUCING EAST C.A.N. AND OFFERING ANIMAL WELFARE ASSISTANCE IF THEY NEED AND WANT IT.
I could go on and on with stories about this last one and believe me, IT DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK, but I'll share my absolute favorite story with you. In order to get the full effect I'm just going to share a few of the e-mails from a neighbor who was trying to help a neighbor.
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Hi guys,
I was able to get close enough to her today to feed her and take some videos. She breaks my heart! I left a bag and some cans of food and wrote them a note on a business card saying that I may be able to find her a foster home and that they were sweet to help her. We'll see if they call...
Her shaky back legs are the saddest part to me and I am so thrilled to find the assistance to help her!
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Hi again,
Total change since my last email. The man called to say thank you for the dog food and told me that she is in fact his dog. She's 14 years old and been with him for 10. In his message he said that the dog food I left was one of the nicest things he's ever seen and he had been out of work for the last quarter of the last year. So sweet. Now what? I can take them food every couple of weeks I guess? She is still soooo skinny.
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I spoke with him today and he couldn't have been nicer about everything. He was so moved by the gesture of the gift of food and thanked me profusely. I told him about the help that has been offered when we thought she was a stray (her name is ***) and he said he's back at work and would be fine. She eats twice a day while the tubbies in the back yard eat once since they are younger. One of them wears a sweater and all of them come in at night so I think they are okay. She's loved and just a grandma of a girl at this time. I told him I was so happy to know that she was cared for and that I had completely mis-judged the situation and was happy that he was understanding about it all. He said that it's reaffirmed his faith in people :)
On that note, you have all done the same for me. I would love to offer any services to East CAN anytime you need a thing. I love the outpouring and the mission that I've seen in the last week and would be honored to be a part of the organization. Thank you, thank you, thank you for what you do. Again, it makes me feel less alone in wanting to help in the hood.
Best,
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I hope this touches you as much as it did me.
Yes, we want to be advocates for the animals who have been let down by theirs and for those who've never had one, but in the end it's all part of a much bigger picture. I'm proud to be a little piece of the big picture and I hope you are too!
