When you get to be 58 and have been married 33 years, Valentine’s Day tends to lose a bit of focus I hate to say. However, this year I discovered a new way to celebrate it. I, along with friends and family and 750 of our closest friends jumped into the Atlantic Ocean at Manasquan NJ in an ALS benefit. This act started about a year and a half ago when my oldest daughter, Beth, was diagnosed with ALS. She is an incredibly strong and courageous individual who has chosen to not look back and live her life to the fullest each day. Our youngest daughter Tricia, who has done Polar Plunges before, organized a team of Beth’s friends last year to do the Joan Dancy and PALS Valentine’s Day Polar Plunge. Watching them and Beth and the true friendship and love that they shared was inspiring and caused me to want to take part this year. The Plunge benefits a foundation that uses 100% of its funds to help PALS with equipment, refurbishing their homes to accommodate their special needs etc. It’s a very worthy cause.
So in December 2014 I signed up with Beth’s sister Tricia, my wife and 11 of Beth’s friends to take the Plunge having absolutely no idea what would happen but wanting to raise money and awareness around this cause. Our team became known as Birthday Beers for Beth as the Plunge was to take place 4 days after Beth’s 27th birthday, her love for a cold beer and the fact that she wouldn’t be going in the water with the rest of us maniacs but wanted to participate in the overall liquid theme.
In 2014 the team raised about $3000, a noble achievement. I am proud to say this time we raised over $11,000 and the event raised well over $200,000. We were the 4th highest fundraising team. Now about the day. I am happy to say most people thought I was crazy – they are right. I also was offered a lot of advice on how to stay warm and what would be the coldest part of the experience. There were three choices on the latter question; (a) standing in the cold mix of snow, ice and sand waiting to plunge; (b) the water itself; or (c) coming out of the water into the east coast February weather. On Saturday the air temperature was 32 degrees, the water temperature was 38 degrees and the wind was off the ocean at 15MPH. The actual answer is none of the above.
Here is why. Before going in I got to spend a bit of time with two great friends, Theresa Thurtle and Matt Bellina. Theresa and several others put together a Valentine heart mosaic of seashells each naming a PALS that they cared about and wanted to remember, including my daughter. Matt is a Young Faces of ALS ambassador who despite this wretched disease was taking the Plunge himself along with wife, Caitlyn, as their two toddlers watched. Now how could you not feel warm in the midst of this? So I kissed Beth and lined up to plunge. Thus, the answer is clearly not (a).
It isn’t (b) either, although this came close. As you dive into the ocean your chief concern is coming up for air and not being driven to the sand by a winter wave. What you forget is that there are over 700 maniacs, many of which are running into the water behind you. Thus as you pick your head out of the water someone is knocking you down, causing your head to again disappear under the waves. In short you are too busy trying to get out of the water and breath to feel cold.
Finally, it isn’t (c) either. After getting back to the beach, clothed in a soaking wet bathing suit and T shirt, I was much more interested in feeling good about what we had all accomplished than feeling cold. The community and camaraderie was very warming and I found myself standing in the wind, just feeling good, until someone had the good judgment to order me to go change into some dry clothes.
On reflection, I think the better question would have been which of the three moments was when I felt the warmest – the answer is most definitely “all of the above” and that’s why I will always remember the best Valentine’s Day ever.

Blessings to all of you