The second weekend that I ever went to visit Matthew, after almost a year of long distance corresponding (one might say that we had an epistolary romance, though I would argue that one of us was definitely more romance-minded than the other, ahemnotme), I was taking a shower and he ran in and dumped ice water on my head. I did not like it. I screamed like a terrified schoolgirl. I cursed like a drunken sailor (is that actually a thing?). I was not pleased, and yet had to behave with some dignity, given that I knew in my heart I was going to marry him someday and would need him to feed me and do my dishes. And so I have waited 14 long years to get back at him. And I have finally been given the chance, thanks to the writer/illustrator/father/son-Bobbledy-Book-subscribin’ team Michael and Diego Mongue of Awesome Robot Science Fiction Comix, who challenged us to take part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

If you don’t know what the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is, please take some time to check in with your facebook or twitter feed. If you don’t have a facebook or twitter feed, please recognize that this is the 21st century and you are missing out on 90% of the useless information that is consuming the rest of us. So the basic idea is that you dump a bucket of ice water on your head as part of a viral fundraiser to support the ALS Association fundraiser, take a video of it, donate some money, and then challenge someone else to do the same. We had grand plans that involved slow-motion and kids, but at the end of the day we couldn’t find the time to actually orchestrate anything. So this morning I woke up and discovered Matthew was already in the shower. I remembered that fateful day 14 years ago and filled up a mixing bowl with ice and crept downstairs, shaking with anticipation at the shrieks I would witness.

Well, damn it! He barely even hooted! Who was this man that I thought I married? Where was his weak spine? His tender skin? His delicate constitution? (He cannot touch the steering wheel of the car in the middle of winter because “it’s too cold,” for goodness sakes!). I am wholly ungratified and am now on the hunt for something better. LOOK OUT, MATTHEW.

At any rate, given that it’s a fundraiser as well as an awareness campaign, please take a minute to check out the ALSA website HERE, learn a little and donate what you can towards research as well as support for those suffering from this debilitating disease. Donate and be glad that I am not challenging any of YOU to the ice bucket challenge!!