Today, I walked to end Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s is a general term for memory loss which accounts for 50 to 80 percent of dementia cases. I suppose I’m getting close to calling myself a professional fundraising-exerciser. In the course of my life, I’ve done the seven day AIDS Lifecycle twice, the three day Avon Breast Cancer Walk, the Aids Marathon and several hundred 10ks. This was my first time exercising for an event which supported Alzheimer’s research— and it will not be my last.

Alzheimer’s is colorblind, class blind and gender blind. No one is immune. Very famous people have had dementia including Charlton Heston, Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, Perry Como, Willem DeKooning and Sugar Ray Robinson. Very unfamous people have had dementia including my grandmother and my uncle. So I walk. And maybe it doesn’t do much beyond raising awareness in my own little circle. But, think about it, if everyone got involved in a charity, a cause, an attempt to bring awareness to a disease which they wanted to see eradicated…well, maybe all of the little circles would eventually intersect into a massive ven diagram and maybe there would be enough awareness and money to fight the disease and finally find a cure. To put an end to both the disease and the necessity to fundraise for it.

Today, I walked to end Alzheimer’s. What did you do?