Pieathon

Never Done: Pieathon

My friend Nina Calloway just baked pies for 24 hours straight, to raise money for CancerCare. Both her parents died of cancer (as did mine) and she decided to honor them in this wonderful, creative way.

Actually, I think she baked for longer than 24 hours. She had a team of support people to help her stay focused and fed, and to help her stay in touch with the outside world, but she otherwise innovated and executed this amazing feat on her own. So why am I claiming it as a Never Done activity of my own? Because Nina was thoughtful enough to make the Pieathon interactive and participatory.

I sponsored Nina by buying a Sugar Cream pie. (I had to choose Sugar Cream, because it's the flavor I had never had before!) And then, to my delight, Nina web cast the entire bake-o-rama on UStream, and so I got to watch the action from the comfort of my own living room, and I also got to write in and interact with her and her support team and other viewers over the 24 hours. (At some point, I named the station PieTV, and then Mich named it even better: PieTube.) In a few minutes I am going over to her apartment to pick up my Sugar Cream pie, which I'll be sharing it with friends on Thanksgiving Day.

Did you catch that? One Pieathon. All that community building. I even met two people during the webcast. True, they couldn't see me (only the words I was typing) but I could see them, so when we are eventually in a room together, I will recognize them, introduce myself to them, and we will have a point of connection.

One of the 613 mitzves (mitzvot) is to respect your father and mother. Thank you Nina, for respecting yours so bountifully, and allowing us to join you. Zikhroyne livrokhe. May their memories be a blessing.