I would like to thank all the wonderful fans who chose to celebrate my birthday by making charitable donations in my name, from helping to preserve rain forests in Costa Rica, adopting endangered animals, supporting the ASPCA, Greenpeace, PETA, and other organizations who seek to help save the planet from the forces of global warming, neglect, factory farming, cruelty, and other nemeses all within our power to effect.
There was a time not too long ago when many of these same fans, all with the best of intentions, would send gifts of stuffed animals, boxes of chocolate, games, and other things that represented celebration in the conventional sense. But in fact, because we travel almost every day and space in our suitcases, wardrobe cases, personal bags and trucking is so already spoken for, 99 percent of these gifts had to be left behind. Once we communicated this, as well as the message that we really did not expect fans to give us gifts, something changed, practically overnight and the idea of charitable gifting took over.
It reminds me of the old song I used to hear at the end of one of the gospel television shows every Sunday when I was growing up in Montgomery, Alabama that went something like this: "If everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be..."
I used to think that was such a corny sentiment but now that we've all begun to let the idea of going green into our consciousness, it makes perfect sense. Just do the math.
Thanks again for giving some beautiful and positive spin to my September 11 birthday!
T Shaw
