1 September 2002
Dear all -
As most of you know, this past year has been full of wonderful change and surprise in my life: I am now married, living in Oxford, England and traveling Europe at every opportunity. And I happily blame Tom (who can't decide if it is stranger that we are married or that we are living in England) for just about all of it.
I left the States with the expectation that for the next two years just about everything in my life would be different - it was going to be a two year hiatus from normal life. No more music business, no more dinners or movies with friends, no more family within driving distance, and no more Molly meowing and begging for attention all day/night. All hard things to leave behind.
It was also going to be two years without the Jimmy Fund Walk. I may have mentioned to some of you that you would be getting my father's letter this year, asking you to support him instead of me. It was an arrangement that I was quite happy with at the time - I was off the hook, but you weren't.
And then a funny thing happened. I was listening to them talk about the London Marathon on the radio and this little voice said 'hey Toby, maybe you could walk the London Marathon instead of the Boston Marathon this year'. I joked about it for a while. Then Tom told me about the Abingdon Marathon which is sponsored by the company I work for and is very close to home. The route is circular and mostly FLAT! Granted there's a better chance of it raining here at the end of September than there is back home, but I also get pub loos (that's English for toilets!) here instead of port-o-lets along the way. Could be good PR too. Hmmmm.
The more I thought about doing it, the more I tried to talk myself out of it. The end result - I am going to walk 26.2 miles here in England on September 29th, the day of the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk to raise money and help the fight against cancer.
Why am I walking? I am walking because like most people, I have family and friends who are either cancer victims or survivors (in the States and now here in England, too). Because cancer is a disease that in one way or another touches everyone. And because we need to find a cure. I am walking because really, I have no excuse not to.
I have a new pair of sneakers and 28 days to train. And a walking partner - Jane from my company is going to walk with me! The only thing left is your support. Send your checks to dad, who has offered to help out with the collection process. Be kind, I'll need the extra support.
Make checks payable to: The Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk and mail them to Toby Goldberg, c/o Lou Goldberg, 156 Arrowhead Circle, Ashland, MA 01721.
Or, if you are a web geek, you can contribute online! Go to www.jimmyfund.org and click on the "Support a Walker" link - enter my egiftID - TG0004 (that's three zeros in there) - and Bob's your uncle, you've done it.
As an aside, the Jimmy Fund is going to do a small article on my walking in England for their in house news letter and there may be a piece in one of the Newton papers. And for those of you who want to hear more about our adventures in England, check out our website at www.tomandtoby.com.
Hope you are all well and enjoying yourselves. Drop a note or an email and keep in touch. We miss you.
With love and thanks -
Toby