Match It for Pratchett

The news this morning indicated that one in eight of us baby boomers is likely to come down with Alzheimer's Disease. I looked at Michael and told him he was going to be responsible for taking care of Len and I if we get it and he went white. His paternal grandmother died of complications from the disease.

Which brings me to this. A few months ago, author Terry Pratchett announced he has an early onset form of the disease. Terry, a delightful man who is an acquaintance of mine, has long been one of the funniest writers in the science fiction and fantasy field. He has collaborated with my friend Neil Gaiman on a novel entitled Good Omens, which I highly recommend. He is most famous for his Discworld books.

Terry donated $1,000,000 (more accurately, half a million pounds sterling) for research and there is now a call out to help build a fund for Alzheimer's research to match Terry's donation. You can read about it at Match It for Pratchett, which my friend Pat Cadigan, an American writer living in London, helped get set up on-line over the past few days. You can make a direct donation or purchase some of the merchandise. Like many of the writers I know, I'm doing what I can to get the word out.

Consider a donation to be enlightened self-interest.