I wouldn’t call it Writer’s Block exactly. That implies that I’m sitting down and making an effort to write. Instead, I think what I have is more commonly known as Trier’s Block, wherein a person does not even pretend to attempt to write. It’s not that I’m just sitting here making murder eyes at Otto. I’ve been reading a lot. I finished a book yesterday (Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple. Although I loved her first book, Where’d You Go Bernadette, this one is a skip for anyone looking for recommendations). Today, I’m reading Good As Gone. That one is better. I’m keeping up with all of the news, as abhorrent as most of it is. And I’ve been focused as usual on my Google alerts for ALS, which let me know what’s going on in the great world of this rare disease with which I have been blessed.

And that is why I’ve recently seen a couple of studies that make my cranky motor neurons want to fight someone with their flailing little neuron fists. (I’m not a scientist, so I can’t confirm this is possible.) The first was a study showing that smoking cigarettes is bad for people with ALS. Wow. Some real critical thinking must have gone into that one. I hope that absolutely no money went into it, but that’s clearly wishful thinking. The second study, which is in the news today, suggests the very provocative theory that fruits and vegetables would be beneficial for people with ALS. I already said WOW, didn’t I? So this time, let’s see, the word I would use is… Do you think we’re idiots? Who on earth is spending money on stuff that proves what the average kindergartner is already aware of? Why would smoking cigarettes, which is proven to be good for exactly ZERO people, be any different for people with ALS?

I was watching Veep on Amazon Video last week, and there was a hilarious episode where one of the characters said to the other one “You remember the ice bucket challenge? It was really important for raising awareness of whatever ALS is.” There are references to ALS all over popular culture, and even when they don’t underscore what the disease actually is, I’m always a little giddy just to hear it mentioned. The ALS Association also still has ice bucket challenge funds from 2014 squirreled away, money that they could be using for research. But I won’t get into that, I will just say that many of us continue to work hard to fund research that can happen soon, now. So that we can help people who are currently living with the disease, giving them hope that maybe one day they won’t be living with it anymore, and they won’t be dead either. I’d like to take option C: Life after ALS. I suspect it will involve something slightly more complex than avoiding cigarettes and embracing blueberries.

On Thursday, Scarlett, Rob and I are flying to Boston for the annual leadership summit at ALS TDI’s Cambridge office. The weekend culminates in a gala fundraiser, a super important evening where we can come together and demonstrate our commitment to finding treatments that will lead to a cure. Our own #WhatWouldYouGive campaign is closing in on 180K. Scarlett’s classmate Piper has asked for donations to TDI rather than gifts for her 7th birthday. Scarlett and Piper know that cigarettes are bad. They know that vegetables are good. And they know that the money we are raising needs to go to research that will actually figure out true health benefits for people with ALS. Thank you, sweet Piper, for your selfless act of generosity. And a very happy birthday!

And look at that, my Trier’s Block is gone. Must be all that non-cigaretting.

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