When Terry Pratchett announced to the world in 2007 that he had an early-onset form of dementia, two things happened: (1) those of us around the world who loved his work and his wit and his soul were pretty horrified, and (2) suddenly, Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia became a matter of loud public concern. People wanted to stamp out the horror that is dementia, and which took that amazing writer from us last year.

When this gift exchange was announced, I asked that my Santa (J.B.) make a gift to the future: support a cause s/he cared about with a donation. And if s/he wished to donate to Alzheimer's research, I asked that the donation be made in the name of the late Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE.

Santa loved Terry's works, too, and he agreed that gifting to the future was a good way to celebrate the coolness that is science fiction.

Thank you very much, Santa J.B. I got the letter today from the Alzheimer's Association for my state (but really, any state's good works would have made Terry happy), telling me of your gift (and your note that you loved Terry's works, too). Here's a picture of Terry (since the letter has too many names named). He'd be delighted.

ADDED 4/20: BTW, Santa J.B., I just got your note in the mail today. (The other was directly from the Alzheimer's Association.) Your letter was very kind, and thank you so much for the personal touch. You rock!