Red Light Stops and Lindy Hops

Today, it snowed for the first time around here. Today, from roughly 1:10 until 2:30 and dressed in entirely the wrong clothing, I helped THON's Springfield group collect money in the intersection of 202 Wawa for the Four Diamonds Fund which "helps kids fight cancer" (at no expense to the family). My uniform consisted of a tank top, sweat shirt, and miniTHON "Dance Away Cancer" shirt overtop, paired with white Chuck Taylors®, a hat, and traditional blue jeans. It was immediately apparent that my toes, and possibly the rest of me, were in danger of not surviving. However, it's okay to sacrifice these little things to pay the price for the things that are worthwhile.

My instructions were to go from car to car waiting at the red lights with my labeled bucket and be as crazy as possible, "So just be yourself." I would dance and jump and make begging faces through the windows. My dance of choice was sorta an "around the world" holding the can. After one guy donated and saw me continue the same dance down the line, asked if I knew any other dances, so I did Solja Boy for him. Other times I would hula or do the Cotton Eye Joe or wiggle in general, occasionally creeping and dancing into the line of sight.

While the snow hadn't been sticking in the beginning, eventually the median turned to slippery mess as I trudged back and forth through the mud, puddles, and slight layer of snow. Having lost coordination in my toes, I slipped once, and got what I believe was a sympathy donation. Canning under freezing conditions garners several donations out of sympathy and "you guys are crazy." One gentleman, seeing our plight, stopped at the Goodwill and circled back around so he could purchase jackets and give them to me and Jeff. By the end of the afternoon, I was incredibly grateful. I dropped my bucket at one point, and a mess of change fell out. It was very unpleasant to pick it from the snow, mud, and grass with my ungloved hands, but every penny was returned to its friends in the bucket.

A few people I knew came to the red light as the afternoon passed. Anna R., Kristina A., Lauren D., Tom, Molly, and Molly's dad. Donna passed by, but wasn't in the turning lane that I was covering. We waved. I made scowly faces at Eric G. for not donating. When Tom made it to the turning lane, he gave me a dime, or coin of some other negligible value for having more on hand. Unfortunately for him, he did not make the green light on the first try, so I harassed him a second time. He opened the door to pass me a nickel, another nickel, a dime, couple pennies, until I held open his door to invade his personal space until receiving the entire contents of his change cup. I'm sure he felt good giving to sick children.

There were a few battle cries utilized through the day, such as the general "Help Kids Fight Cancer" and "I hate cancer and love children!" Whenever we got a donation, I'd thank them for hating cancer, or loving children, especially with the change donations, telling them the kids are up against a big fight. A few people, who had donated at an intersection further back, decided to give twice because of the dancing. Many asked me where my gloves were, told me to zipper up, and voiced concerns for my health and catching pneumonia. I would respond with "at least it's not cancer." I had a few conversations along the line. One of the first was with a young guy in a Santa Hat, who asked me if I was enjoying myself. An older gentleman told me that administrators would take too many fees before the kids ever saw a dollar for him to give. At the time, I was unable to respond that THON is one of the most efficient charities on the planet. Many people wished Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and God Bless.

When we left around 2:30, the four people sitting in the back of Jeff's car were collectively frozen, wet, and numb, which I think made it easier to sit crowded together for our shared plights. Upon arriving at home base, I realized my pants were wet the entire length of them, including the pocket my cell phone was in. Our group shed layers en masse and retreated to find dry clothing. I was introduced to everyone there, we shared hot chocolate and canning stories, then went to count the soggy bills we had collected. The stacks were to be organized by every 100 bills, double counted, then rubber banded. Some bills were buried under mounds of change and others were soaked to the point of sticking to every other bill they came in contact with. After everything was organized out, we found some coin for Concord Country club, a few presidential golden dollars, Jeff was given a five-pound note, and a whole mess of screws. In total, with the estimates from the change jars, they raised roughly $4,000 today. That is over the $300 per person estimates for an entire weekend trip, and they'll be going out tomorrow as well.

Lindy Hoppin' is awesome. Mostly because the foot movement isn't 100% coordinated, as far as I'm aware.