I began writing in the fall of 2008 in part to keep my out-of-town brothers informed on Illinois high school football. Things really accelerated, however, after my son was hospitalized for five weeks in the summer of 2011 at Rush University Medical Center. I think in an effort to escape the pain, I manically began driving all over the Chicago area, watching high school football games and coming home to write about them. I hope you've enjoyed reading about your kids and their teams. (And I hope you also know that I've always tried to be objective and write with kindness.)
I expect a big drop-off in readers after the football season ends this weekend. I have no illusions about this blog; most people could give a rip about obscure New York Times obituaries, quirky license plates or what I think about health care reform.
But before you stop reading, I'm going to ask you to consider making a gift to the Julie + Michael Tracy Family Foundation. It's a 501c3 that my wife and I set up to improve the quality of life for young adults with autism, like my son. One of our main initiatives is Project 1212, named after the first residence we plan on opening next spring. If you've enjoyed reading about your school's football team, how about saying thanks with a gift in one of the following amounts:
$12.12
$121.20
$1,212.00
$12,120.00
$121,200.00
Or, what the heck, it doesn't hurt to ask:
$1,212,000.00
Seriously, though, if I am going to continue driving all over the Chicago area every Friday and Saturday between the last weekend of August and the last weekend of November and coming home to write about it, I'll have to justify it to my wife of 27 years. (Just because she married me doesn't mean she has infinite patience.) So you can make this all possible by visiting our website right now and donating twelve bucks. (That's the price of two tickets to the semifinals.) We'd really appreciate it.
Now get back to your family and enjoy Thanksgiving!
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