This is my dog Rex. He reminds me of Alaska Steve's dog, Chico.
This is a tribute to Alaska Steve--although I have never met him. He lives in Unalaska and is a friend of my friends, Jane and Rich. The first time I stumbled on his blog after reading Jane's, I fell in love with his dog, Chico. The side bar on Steve's blog indicated to me something about the kind of person I thought he was: "just a middle-aged guy trying to challenge myself daily and earn the respect of my dog." You see, I think there is something about people who value dogs--as members of the family and with whom you have a relationship, not something to tie up in the yard and feed once a day--that says a lot about the character and caring of such people.
Over the time I have now been reading Steve's blog, I have come to think of him as a pretty unique human being. He is apparently a man of few words, but the ones he shares are important and meaningful. He comes across a the kind of person who is kind--to people as well as dogs. He is insightful, sometimes funny, extremely talented with photography and words. He can paint a picture with words that are as beautiful as his photographs.
Steve has been blogging about his commitment to a fundraiser--St. Baldrick's (you can see his latest post here, and go directly to his donation page here). The sweet baby you see on his donation page is the newest granddaughter of my friend Jane. Today, when I read Steve's latest post, I was quietly struck once again with his humility. What I get a sense of with Steve is that his efforts to raise money for this issue which clearly is important to him is about his commitment to ending cancer; it is not about him, or how much money people may have donated to see him shave his head, or about a competition to raise the most money, or gain any attention for himself. In asking readers once again to contribute he added, "but you can't go wrong donating to any of the shavees; they are an amazing bunch."
It reminded me of someone a long time ago who said to me, "Find something bigger than yourself."
Please join me in donating to the St. Baldrick's fund "on Steve's head" by clicking here. Pass it on.
3 comments:
He's a great guy. We are lucky to have him and his lovely wife as a part of our community. Oh, and Chico, too. :) Thanks for noticing, and for supporting the cause.
YOU are a sweetheart . . . thank you for your kind words, I'm very uncomfortable in the fundraising role but this is one I can really get behind, and the lessons I have learned about society through this process are indeed interesting, I'm still processing . . .
You probably don't realize it but you are an inspiration to me - I hope you can make it back out here one day and meet Chico and get a big ol' bear hug from his Daddy . . .
It is a wonderful cause, and what a great tribute to Steve you've written, Susan! I, too, can tell he must be an amazing guy. And being a dog lover myself, I know just what you mean. Now I'm going to start reading his blog, too. Thank you, Steve and thank you, Susan!
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