Friends, As many or all of you know, I lost my mother to ALS only a few short months ago. You know how moved I am to action in finding a cure for this horrible disease. Maybe you didnt know a key item about ALS. It Falls under the MDA umbrella. MDA, the same Telethon that is held every Labor Day weekend every year of our lives. For 53 years Jerry Lewis and his team have worked to raise money for Neuro-Muscular Disorder Reasearch in order to stop all 40 diseases.Now is the time to help.Donate to MDA this Labor Day Weekend to help find a cure.

Do it for me, do it for your family, do it for everyone.

Find a cure.



http://www.als-mda.org/



Take care of eachother, and, God Bless you All. Always.

AmyK, (and the whole king family)

"Country Road"

Country road, Take me home, to the place I belong..

Not West Virginia, but Somewhere north of Florida and south of the Mason-Dixon line. I admitted to myself long ago that South Florida isn't the spot for me. But because I love the boyfriend, I duty on. Good girlfriends, Friends, Wives husbands Children alike- we all kinda soldier on. Like ducks falling in so much midway shooting gallery, we ping and snap to attention on command. It's a quality not often seen in people on 'this generation.' We don't always keep our promises and wash our hands of things before our hands are really that dirty. Dedication to something, anything, is uncommon. I think that is why when we see people with a dedicated path or profession, it fascinates us. Its that one thing that should make us awe and wonder for our parents and grand parents, their parents who suffered through trials we would roll our eyes at today.

I'd like to take - Letter writing- for example. My Mother's Father - was a soldier in WWII. He, like all dutiful & loving husbands, wrote letters to my Grandmother. Weeks and months went by with no word and no comfort from the father of her 6 children. There was no 'I love you' sent by text message from the other side of the world. There was nothing but the sharp unknown. A void filled with worry laced with sorrow spiked with hope. (Three feelings that hardly come together for good these days. ) The times between letters were anxious times. But when the letters arrived, Oh the joy. The Relief, the exhale, the tears and the sharing of laughter. The exchange of hearts and minds. But- it was the dedication to the love that they shared that made the good times great, and the lonely times bearable. I don't know someone today who goes more than a few hours or days at the most, without talking to the people they hold closest. Even Military wives are video conferencing and emailing their husbands every day. Some even know where their loved ones are stationed every day. An idea that would have eased minds in our grand-generation's.. But the Letter... letter kept everyone together. Letter writing is arcane now a-days, It makes you seem old fashioned if you put pen to paper. Something you would hate to have to do. Can you get dedicated to something as simple as writing a letter? I recently made a promise to my godmother to keep in better contact with her. I write her every few weeks, and she writes me. We don't call or email. But we communicate with each other vividly and profoundly.

Yeah, I can get dedicated to something. I hope it's something good - like going to church or training for a triathlon or saving money. That'd be great. But for now, and the foreseeable future, I'm dedicated to making life livable here in the new city. North of Miami, South of Civilization. I hope we can make a move that we're both happy with soon. Because I'm afraid of what is going to happen when the music stops, and we're all we have... are we that dedicated to each other?

Full Metal Jacket

Full Metal Jacket. *bling*
It was the night of the Olympic Basketball - Gold Medal game. So you know I'd been awake for almost two weeks of late night Shananagens and Olympic Good stuff with all the Michael Phelps and Boys Gymanstics and all... when the boyfriend decides it would be a great idea to snoogle up in bed and tuck into some "Full Metal Jacket." Yes. 'what is your major malfunction? you climb obstacles like old people fuck..aint war hell? Me so Horny - me love you long time, my corps, your corps, we all love, marine coprs' full metal jacket. I didn't think I could have gotten more disturbed about death- but there is a new low. I know, I was in it. I thought the worst thing I could have watched after mom died was "Steel Magnoilas." God help me, I knew better than to watch that. I did get 40 seconds into Shelby telling her mom she was pregnant that I lost my mind. Literally lost whatever hold I had on my oh so fragile state of wellness. I can't watch alot of stuff for this reason. I've been doing alot of video game/youtube to escape. And -Sports, Olympics- Praise the Maker- distraction. So you know how great I was. Was, until Private Pile and 2:30Am. I twisted desperatly into this ball of raw nerve and tender rage. I get scared. who the heck doesnt get scared about it. Now, I'm scared and angry, Rethinking the moments before 'it' happened. I say that now. "IT" the Moment, The Big Chill.
I can't even talk about it. So I watched the movie. I boiled and scratched, ground my teeth and lay in my own sweat. (Of course Jason fell asleep. Jerk) And I thought about alot of stuff. I think I made it over a mental hurdle- I felt like clogged river, finally punched a tiny bit thru some mud wall and the stream washed away the rest. I can't help but to remember standing in front of everyone, talking about how mom wanted us to live and dream and love. This quote is always on the tip of my nose. "what lay behind and what lay ahead do not compare to what lay inside." What is inside of me? I stayed up all night, watching basketball. We won if you didnt hear. It was a not a game, it was an instant classic- it was hard for them.. it was hard for us to watch, it was a lesson in perservere. I stayed up all night. Do you even remember the last time you stayed up until the sun rose- pushed thru the sleep into the next day. I carried on Sunday with a renewed sense of self. God Truly blessed me with a strong mind. It's time I put that strong thing to use. Mind or body or spirit or home or life or just Myspace..There is a river breaking through- I don't know where I'm going. But I can Paddle, and I can swim. I'm ok with daydreaming about what is coming next for me. I'm dreaming about Michael Phelps and the what-if's. -what if the only way he can do it is by being superhuman- then he starts becoming superhuman. Willing himself into what he wants and needs to be.. Why can't we all? So, I had a truly superhuman day today. True. Super. Gold Medal. Gold Star. Full of pride. Full of hope. Full Metal Jacket.