Over at ANT Bike Mikes website I found this very nice post, give Mike and hand if you care to this holiday season.

Anyone out there want to send a christmas card to an old dying man?

So here is the deal. About 4 years ago my shop van died and I needed a new $H!*%box van to use for my shop. I found a 1989 Dodge Caravan on Criaglist and had Marty at Geekhouse drive me down to Providence to see the van. The van was owned by this old couple, that were a little run down and the van looked pretty beat too, with many thousands of miles on it [200].

Marty thought I was crazy to buy the van, but I did and the couple seemed that they were going to miss it. The van was beat, but I drove it for many years and put lots of miles on it and even made some risky cross country road trips with it.

Ever since then I would get a christmas card from “Al…the guy with the van”. They must have been pretty lonely to send a card to a kid that bought an old used van, but I remember they looked pretty poor and lonely then. So I would send a card back each year.

So this year I get a sad card and letter from Al, telling me about his bad year. His wife Arlene [of 32 years] died and he had throat cancer and was treated with chemo, then later got colin cancer and he is pretty much done 🙁

He asked if I could send him a card. I just did and will probably be the last one. He must have no body, to write to a guy that bought a used van many years ago 🙁

So I thought, maybe…just maybe that someone else out there might have the time to send a card to a complete stranger to cheer him up.

All you have to say is:

Hi Al,

I am a friend of Mike “The guy that bought the van”. He told me you were having a hard time, so I thought I would say Happy Holdays!

Albert Dandeneau

10 Tell St. 1st Fl Providence, RI 02909

Just thought I would post this. You never know who might feel like doing a little something.

Thanks, Mike