Saturday, September 28, 2019

Effort 28 – 28: A Dirty Little Secret


I will share the joys, pains, and dirty little secrets of my life with multiple sclerosis. My goal is to find a reason to convince you to support/share my fight against MS. Please donate today: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/eleanor.

I require more than 30 Efforts, less would create an unsubstantial portrait of the man who needs your support. 30 days is an unrealistic timeline — once discovered, neither accurate words nor the courage to write them, develop so quickly.  How many efforts will this take, and how much time will require to share them? I don’t know the answer, so I will just continue writing.

This is Effort Number 28…

It did not take 27 stories to get to this point. In truth, it took 20 years.

Actually, the story began 47 years and 9 months ago. December 28 was the day I was born.

April 28 is the day Eleanor was born.

October 28 was the day we celebrated the birth of Monte!, our fearsome Jack Russell. Yes, his name does have an exclamation point at the end of it.

June 28 was the day I reported to West Point.

For so many other reasons, number 28 holds close to my heart. Tonight, September 28, is the 2019 Portland MS Gala. NEVER STOP NEVER QUIT is the advocate sponsor for the event. For all intents and purposes, my foundation is investing money in my sanity – desperate hopes to create another reason to hold the number 28 close.

September 28, 1999, I pulled myself off the flight schedule. The numbness and tingling were too intense and starting to affect my vision. I did not feel it was safe to pilot a helicopter. As the commander of an air cavalry troop station in South Korea, I had plenty to keep my mind occupied.

“If I don’t feel better in a couple of days,” I told myself, “I’ll go see the flight surgeon.”

It was a Tuesday.

Like I did back then, I hope to distract myself tonight.
…to be continued.

Listen, my friend, and I'll tell you a tale
of excitement and wonder that's sure not to fail
to amaze all the children, the big and the small.
It's the tale of the greatest number of all.

If you ask Eleanor, “What's the greatest of great?”,
her reply might surprise. She’ll reply: 28.

So why, you might ask, wouldn't it be
an easier number, like 1, 2, or 3?
Sure, they are faster to write, I'd agree.

28 is the sum of those numbers plus more,
adding 7 and 6, a 5, and a 4.
Even a zero can add to the plate
of the digits you’ll use and amass 28.

Maybe you'll say, “Well, an 8 or a 9
don't have a complaint, they should be just fine.
That crazy idea is yours, it's not mine.

“Such a number!”, you say, “Now how can that be?”
“Well, the story is rather complex now, you see.
It started way back, a long, long time ago
before I was born, before any would know
twenty-eight is a number with a tale like no other.
It's the birthday of Eleanor’s dad and her mother!
They are in different seasons but, just to be clear,
28 is our favorite time of the year!

I hope the stories will inspire your donation to my fight.

Because it is a fight.
The fight is not over and it won’t be over until a cure is found.
It will never stop…nor will we
It will never quit…nor will we
This is why we ride!

100% of the royalties earned from my books go to the National MS Society, to support our fight: http://neverstopneverquit.com/books

Never Stop… Never Quit…®
Kevin Byrne
Portland, OR

Never Stop… Never Quit… Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.


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