Swimming in the Pensieve

OK. I’m posting the contents of a page to which I’m linking to from things like sig-lines, and to which I’m pointing others in my quest to make generally known the needs of a family in Austin, Texas. It’s a ‘for the sake of completeness’ type of thing, because of a couple of points that I hadn’t raised earlier, just in case you’re wondering about the obvious repetition.
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You have probably arrived at this page because you clicked on a link in one of my sig-lines, or in response to some positive statement I’ve otherwise made. I’m going to tell you–right up front–that I would like you to consider helping somebody you probably don’t know by clicking on a button that looks like this…

…and parting with a few American Dollars.

That ’somebody’ is Kenneth Starks, of Austin, Texas. He has a wife, Debbie; and three children, Yvonne, R.W., and Amanda; and is the reason for the existence of Lobby4Linux.com, as well as several altruistic projects in the Austin area. Ken also cares about others–deeply–but, I believe, Ken’s own words will suffice to lend some clarity to the question of where he has been coming from:

“Who Cares?”

I Care. And not for the reasons I thought. Not for Pride or Ego. I care in the stead of those who do not. I care because there are people who don’t know they are being taken advantage of. I care because a young girl, experimenting with eye shadow and lipstick, doing her homework and bragging to me that she beat my score at TuxRacer; needs me to. See, the ubergeeks of today…the Linux disciples who are slowly and clumsily evangelizing A Better Way are paving an important path. Those that come after us will be tied to this machine as a matter of course. The computer, regardless of its form or technology will be the centerpoint of life in the not-so-distant future. If the current trend of evolution continues, there will be companies who want to make very important decisions for us, decisions we should be making for ourselves and it will only get worse if we let it.

Chances are, in the future of which I am speaking, the “operating system” will not exist as we know it. However the tendency to let a few control the way we gather, store and use information will. Those soldiers who serve under the Banner of Linux are fighting for much more than a penguin logo on the front of a computer; whether they know it or not. They are struggling to educate, to make others aware of another option and a present threat. A threat to their ability to choose.

As in almost every war ever waged, only a fraction of a percentage of the people involved are privy to the true motive for the conflict. How does it feel now to be in The Golden Minority…to really know the reason for the struggle? Moreover…do you Care?

Yeah. So, why should you care?

Probably because Ken is one of those individuals who both takes care of himself, his family and his business obligations; as well as his fellow human beings. It might also be because of the time he stood at the end of a freeway offramp, giving away Linux CDs to people who stopped and showed even the mildest of interest; yet, many people simply gave him money, thinking that’s what he really wanted. And Ken gave the money to a guy who was, by all appearances, homeless. Maybe it’s because Ken and his family stand to lose their house, right now.

You see, Ken has lung cancer. He’s been given chemothreapy treatments and, as anyone who has been though chemo will tell you, it’s hell. Not surprisingly, Ken lost his ability to earn a living for a time; however, he’s job searching while trying to keep Lobby4Linux.com together, take care of his family, help others, live… All humans are worthy of our care and concern, and Ken merits much more than the level of concern implied by his mere humanity; because he cares for others in a way that escapes most folks you’ll ever meet.

In response to his request for assistance, Matt Heaton, President & CEO of BlueHost.com (Our hosting provider, BTW.), has arranged to take over the maintenance and operations of Lobby4Linux.com. So, for those who would sit back and smugly conclude that all of this is a scam; if it’s good enugh for Matt to ‘green light’ his own participation, it’s certainly good enough for me.

Thank you for taking a bit of your time to read this, and I hope that you will feel the same sense of urgency I felt when I learned how bad things have gotten for a member of the F/L-OSS community members–somebody you may not be acquainted with, or even heard of, prior to this moment.

So, give it some thought, prayer, pacing, let your empathy out for some exercise–whatever works for you–and give either of the buttons on this page a click.

I sincerely appreciate any consideration you might give to this matter.