A year ago today...

I know I said I wouldn't have time to post much until after next Tuesday, but I had to take a break from my studies to bring this up. Friends (and brother) it was a year ago today (December 10) that I put into action what I feel will go down in history as my greatest idea EVER. You see, it was a year ago today that I released the first Greg Horres Top 25 Friends Poll. Like most people with great ideas, I wasn't sure if the public was ready for this. So, I sent the original poll to my dear friends KC, Jenn, and Danny. It didn't take long for word to get out and that's when things started looking up. Not only were people ok with this, they wanted it. They needed it. (I have to admit, there was at least one person who was irate with where she was ranked... all I can say is if I had known her feelings on Bill Cosby at that time she might not have been ranked as high as she was). What started as a one time joke became the talk of Summerville over the next 7 to 8 weeks. I had parents of friends lobbying to get their children higher in the poll. People would call me out of the blue just to see how I was doing and ask if I'd like to hang out. I started receiving gifts. One guy even gave me a sweet deal on my mortgage just to move up in the poll (I mean really... who knew you could get a -2.5% rate on your mortgage?). I had the biggest birthday party since I was 8 years old (and received the most birthday gifts since I was 6 years old). The "Top 25" emails were the meat of my second published book.

(SIDE NOTE***That's right, I have written two books. The first, Kevin, was published in 1995 and the second, Emails for Jenn, was published this past summer. There are only two remaining copies of each book. I have one of each. The other copy of Kevin is with my brother (unless he sold it to buy my sister-in-law an engagement ring). I believe I saw where Emails to Jenn was sold on e-bay this past October to raise money for Ashley Ridge Church... though I haven't been able to confirm this yet. END SIDE NOTE****)

There is a good chance that they will show up again someday when I write a book about me (since it doesn't look like anyone else is going to write it). Anyway, I had a great time writing THE Greg Horres Top 25 Friends Poll emails and, to be honest, I'm glad I had enough friends to fill it.

Now, you and I both know that I would love nothing more than to have this post be all about me... but I want to take a minute to promote a good cause. As you know, I dislike cancer. I was young when Jim Valvano was a coach at NC State. My clearest memories of him are when he was an announcer. I liked him. I read a book about him around 1991 (Personal Fouls by Peter Golenbock) that wasn't very flattering. It made him look pretty bad. While I know books don't always tell 100% of the truth, I have a feeling that this book was more right than wrong. Still, I think the good that Jim Valvano did at the end of his life out shines any of the bad he may have done before. He was not perfect, but I think he is a good example of how God can use people. He died a good many years ago, but his name lives on through the V Foundation. This foundation raises money for cancer research. From what I have been told on ESPN, 100% of donations go to research. That's a lot. My grandfather was a cancer survivor. My dad and uncle are cancer survivors. Lucy (my oldest dog) is a cancer survivor. I'm no doctor, but I think the odds are good that either my brother or me (or both of us) will be a cancer survivor at some point. Cancer is bad. It doesn't care if you're a man or a woman. It doesn't care if you're a yankee, a Southerner, or Puerto Rican. You can be rich or poor, it doesn't care. It doesn't even care if you are old or young. I've got a friend from my days at Ashley River Baptist Church. He has a son (Chase Towne) who is fighting cancer right now. This past April when Chase was 8 months old they found out he had cancer. Since then, they've been going to MUSC for chemo... he's now on round 10. The family has a blog on CarePages.com where they update everyone on how Chase is doing. Every time I read it I am amazed at what this family (Chuck, his wife, daughter, and Chase) has to go through. Most posts bring tears to my eyes. I've never had it myself, but from what I've been told chemo ain't fun at all. The fact that he's now on round 10 is amazing. It makes me think about Jimmy V's words, "Don't give up, don't ever give up".