Since the start of this campaign, people have often asked "How do you know Sarah?" and "Why are you doing this?" Two really great, important questions. I'll answer the first one in this blog entry.
How I Know Sarah
The short answer has always been that she's a friend of a friend of mine whom I met while we were both living back in New York. And that really says practically nothing about how I know Sarah.
The longer answer is that I met Sarah through my close friend John Vaccaro. John and I met 27 years ago on the campus of Cornell University.
We were classmates in our freshman writing seminar called "Popular Music Today" taught by "Disco" Don Randel.
It was the fall of 1988, and Disco Don would make us ponder such questions as "What's going on with this U-B-4-O phenomenon?"
Yes, he spelled out U-B-4-0.
He made us listen and analyze Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy" over and over for an entire class.
It was brutal. John and I have been close ever since.
How I Know Sarah
The short answer has always been that she's a friend of a friend of mine whom I met while we were both living back in New York. And that really says practically nothing about how I know Sarah.
The longer answer is that I met Sarah through my close friend John Vaccaro. John and I met 27 years ago on the campus of Cornell University.
We were classmates in our freshman writing seminar called "Popular Music Today" taught by "Disco" Don Randel.
It was the fall of 1988, and Disco Don would make us ponder such questions as "What's going on with this U-B-4-O phenomenon?"
Yes, he spelled out U-B-4-0.
He made us listen and analyze Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy" over and over for an entire class.
It was brutal. John and I have been close ever since.
New York
Fast forward 20 years to life in New York City. It was the summer of 2008, and I recall "popping in" one late afternoon to John's apartment. Sitting on his couch was a "handsome" couple - Rob Goulding and his fiancee Sarah.
Rob and Sarah are one of those couple's where I am sure, upon meeting them, everyone says "That's a good looking couple!"
But well beyond their looks, they possess a complementary charisma. Almost like they were meant to be together. Rob, with his calm, confident, and "cool" vibe. Sarah with her extroverted, authentic, and sometimes quirky vibe.
What they share in common is a genuine friendliness and curiosity about other people, which immediately told me that neither one of them was originally from New York. (Sorry New Yorkers, but you know what I'm talking about.)
I recall bonding with Sarah over stories of one of John's latest crushes (sorry John!), and then just "chillin'" out on the rooftop of John's apartment, sharing a couple of glasses of wine.
And I remember thinking, "Wow, John has some cool friends!" Which is true of most of John's friends. Either he does an excellent job choosing his friends - or they do an excellent job choosing him.
Fast forward 20 years to life in New York City. It was the summer of 2008, and I recall "popping in" one late afternoon to John's apartment. Sitting on his couch was a "handsome" couple - Rob Goulding and his fiancee Sarah.
Rob and Sarah are one of those couple's where I am sure, upon meeting them, everyone says "That's a good looking couple!"
But well beyond their looks, they possess a complementary charisma. Almost like they were meant to be together. Rob, with his calm, confident, and "cool" vibe. Sarah with her extroverted, authentic, and sometimes quirky vibe.
What they share in common is a genuine friendliness and curiosity about other people, which immediately told me that neither one of them was originally from New York. (Sorry New Yorkers, but you know what I'm talking about.)
I recall bonding with Sarah over stories of one of John's latest crushes (sorry John!), and then just "chillin'" out on the rooftop of John's apartment, sharing a couple of glasses of wine.
And I remember thinking, "Wow, John has some cool friends!" Which is true of most of John's friends. Either he does an excellent job choosing his friends - or they do an excellent job choosing him.
San Francisco
Fast forward 3 years to life in San Francisco. It was August 2012, and my wife and I had just made the decision to move to the Bay Area. Rob and Sarah had moved to the Bay Area for Rob's job a year earlier.
After a full day of apartment searching in the city, I decided to do a "pop in" at Sarah's apartment in the city. I got to meet Scout for the first time, and after catching up on stories of John's appearance on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, we wound up getting coffee and sitting in the park talking about life in the Bay Area.
This was the first time I spent one-on-one time with Sarah. And I'm sure like most people who meet her for the first time, you immediately get to see her funny, warm, candid, friendly, down-to-earth, and positive personality.
I thought about how great it would be for our daughters to get to know each other, and for Minoo and I to spend time with Rob and Sarah. And over the course of the next year, we visited each other in the East Bay and in the city.
Fast forward 3 years to life in San Francisco. It was August 2012, and my wife and I had just made the decision to move to the Bay Area. Rob and Sarah had moved to the Bay Area for Rob's job a year earlier.
After a full day of apartment searching in the city, I decided to do a "pop in" at Sarah's apartment in the city. I got to meet Scout for the first time, and after catching up on stories of John's appearance on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, we wound up getting coffee and sitting in the park talking about life in the Bay Area.
This was the first time I spent one-on-one time with Sarah. And I'm sure like most people who meet her for the first time, you immediately get to see her funny, warm, candid, friendly, down-to-earth, and positive personality.
I thought about how great it would be for our daughters to get to know each other, and for Minoo and I to spend time with Rob and Sarah. And over the course of the next year, we visited each other in the East Bay and in the city.
The Email that Changed Everything
On October 5, 2012, I was standing outside the Embarcadero BART station when I received an email from Sarah with the subject header "Some Sad News." In it, she shared the news about her ALS diagnosis.
Like everyone who received it, I was in shock. I knew what ALS was, but had never personally known someone with it. And I never imagined it would affect someone so young.
Receiving an ALS diagnosis surely changes one's identity, priorities, and perspective on life. I cannot imagine exactly how I would have reacted to that kind of diagnosis, but true to her identity, Sarah had a positive, determined outlook, and took ALS on! She has been the leader of the young faces of ALS ever since!
On October 5, 2012, I was standing outside the Embarcadero BART station when I received an email from Sarah with the subject header "Some Sad News." In it, she shared the news about her ALS diagnosis.
Like everyone who received it, I was in shock. I knew what ALS was, but had never personally known someone with it. And I never imagined it would affect someone so young.
Receiving an ALS diagnosis surely changes one's identity, priorities, and perspective on life. I cannot imagine exactly how I would have reacted to that kind of diagnosis, but true to her identity, Sarah had a positive, determined outlook, and took ALS on! She has been the leader of the young faces of ALS ever since!
Speed 4 Sarah
First, she created Speed 4 Sarah, an amazing blog that brings to light her challenges and heartfelt courage of living with ALS. She has created a community of other young people living with ALS, including a Facebook page that has 2,445 followers and counting.
She has published numerous articles on living with ALS (see the Links in the right sidebar), and was the leading fundraiser at the 2013 and 2014 Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS, raising over $100,000 each time!
And in 2015, she has spearheaded the #whatwouldyougive fundraiser, raising over $77,000 through 816 donors and 72 fundraisers to date!
She has been an inspiration to all those living with ALS, to all those who know her, and to all those who are getting to know her.
I can imagine that each of the 72 fundraisers have their own reason for why they are participating in the #whatwouldyougive fundraiser. I'll share my reason tomorrow.
First, she created Speed 4 Sarah, an amazing blog that brings to light her challenges and heartfelt courage of living with ALS. She has created a community of other young people living with ALS, including a Facebook page that has 2,445 followers and counting.
She has published numerous articles on living with ALS (see the Links in the right sidebar), and was the leading fundraiser at the 2013 and 2014 Napa Valley Ride to Defeat ALS, raising over $100,000 each time!
And in 2015, she has spearheaded the #whatwouldyougive fundraiser, raising over $77,000 through 816 donors and 72 fundraisers to date!
She has been an inspiration to all those living with ALS, to all those who know her, and to all those who are getting to know her.
I can imagine that each of the 72 fundraisers have their own reason for why they are participating in the #whatwouldyougive fundraiser. I'll share my reason tomorrow.
P.S. More Blogs
Like reading Sarah's Speed4Sarah blog? This isn't her first blog. Check out her past blogs for more great reading:
Like reading Sarah's Speed4Sarah blog? This isn't her first blog. Check out her past blogs for more great reading: