[pct-l] some final thoughts

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Seriously, anyone who is willing -- more than that, she was happy --  
to touch stinky hiker socks and unmentionables with their bare hands,  
in the summer, IN THE DESERT HEAT, deserves far more than money. A  
psychiatric evaluation maybe? No, just kidding. She deserves every  
penny.

On Mar 23, 2012, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> After Action Report: It's not often that I find myself short of  
> words. Yet
> I am finding it difficult to access the vocabulary necessary to  
> convey how
> big of an impact your enthusiasm to help has had on many of us;  
> most of all
> Donna, I'm certain. When we first heard that it was unlikely that L- 
> Rod's
> washer would weather another season we were saddened by the  
> knowledge that
> none of us was in a position to help. When the idea for raising  
> money on
> our own took shape, we had to pause for a moment to consider what  
> it means
> to ask for even a small contribution in these hard times. We felt  
> that at
> best, we may be able to raise a few hundred dollars, but even this  
> meager
> sum would still be better than nothing.
>
> ...and so, we gave it a shot.
>
> The final total of your donations literally doubled the $2,000 that
> represented our most ambitious goal.
>
> In the end, the money seems absurdly insignificant to me. It's just  
> filthy
> paper. The real success story to be told round the fire-ring: involves
> something a bit more substantial...community... and further, a long  
> overdue
> demonstration of how many lives Donna and Jeff have reached. Yes,  
> we raised
> a few thousand dollars... and that was nice...but nothing compared  
> to the
> tears of joy that y'all brought to her cheek when she discovered  
> what was
> going on.