If the shoe fits: Old sneakers for a great cause

For those who have been in the vicinity of what used to pass as a track office at the McCann Center in the past several months ... well, it just got a lot neater today. We have been collecting old, worn-out and well-past-their-prime sneakers for the past three months, and today we finally connected with our very worthy cause: Gifts from the Heart for Downs.

Ulster County resident Kimberley Adams founded this wonderful organization several years ago. The organization provides gifts and makes dreams come true for those living with Down Syndrome. Kimberley has two adoptive children who have Down Syndrome -- Matthew (who is in the photo above) and Judy (who, to date, has collected more than 158,000 dimes for her "Dimes for Down Syndrome by Judy Adams initiative; look it up on Facebook and LIKE it). Also in the photo above is freshman distance runner Nick Salamone, who helped load the sneakers into the back of Kimberley's Mazda 5 minivan behind the McCann Center. Kudos and thanks to all team members who helped donate and sort the sneakers, today and over the past several months. Sophomore distance runner Lizzie Peper has done a great job in mobilizing the team effort. And today, team captain Ken Walshak cleared out my office by heaving the bags of old shoes from the balcony of the racquetball court down to the floor below.

This shoe drive, for lack of a better term, is ongoing. So keep the sneakers coming, from near and far. And don't worry about the tidiness of my office. This kind of clutter is wonderful. Kimberley takes the sneakers and gets a per-pound amount for them, which she in turn puts toward another gift or dream come true for someone living with Down Syndrome.

  Last point: For those keeping score at home, you'll notice in the photo above and the one I just inserted on the left (taken by my daughter Natalie on her iPod; I don't do selfies!) that I am currently clean shaven. Take note of that bare facial skin, because that is the last time you will be seeing it for quite some time. That's right. The Winter Beard is coming back, in full force. Junior distance runner Pat Rynkowski started the momentum several weeks ago. The conversation went something like this:
Rynkowski: Hey Pete, why don't you grow that beard like you did a few years ago?
Idiot Coach: Because I am happily married and want to stay that way.
Rynkowski: Oh. Come ON Pete, we all LOVED it.
Idiot Coach: Yeah. Well. Heidi doesn't exactly love it. Who do you want me to keep happy; her or you guys?
Rynkowski: Us. Of course.
Idiot Coach: OK. I'll think of something.

Well. Here's what I have come up with, sort of in line with the sneaker collection. I will go the entire winter season, roughly 100 days, without shaving or trimming my beard. In an effort to put some meaning to this nonsense (and to justify my hirsuteness at home), I will informally collect per-day donations for each of my razor-free days (a penny per day = $1; a nickel per day = $5; a dime per day = $10), and I will convert all the currency to dimes and give them to Judy Adams as she strives to reach a quarter-million dimes for Down Syndrome.

And yes. I will periodically post non-selfie selfie-type photos of my mountain man progress throughout the winter.