I’m up to $235 in donations to worthwhile charities, my forty-second goal in the Day Zero / 1001 Nights project.  Happily, with only $15 left to go, I’ve realized something important that I know most people figured out a while ago.

I am charitable more or less by accident. When groups send me a request, I’m often happy to fulfill it; but until now I have not gone looking for charities to support. Oh, I contacted Greenpeace and Planned Parenthood when I lived downtown and I still support them, but everyone else has received my name from a mailing list or database somewhere.

As a result, I’ve decided to send my next charity check to the ALS Association in memory of my father. I’m glad I came to this realization – hey, it only took a couple grand over twenty years or so, right? Better late than never.