Lucky, Bill and the BABE rally

Have you heard about the BABE rally? New York to New Orleans in a vehicle that cost no more than $250! My MINI friends Steve, Joe and Jock will be driving this event in a ’95 Plymouth Voyager nicknamed Lucky (and a hell of a good acquisition by Joe, apparently!)

Tonight I learned that in addition to planning to have a heck of a good time, Lucky and companions will be raising money for another MINI friend, Bill, recently diagnosed with “an Intraocular Malignant Melanoma in his left eye” – Steve writes:
How many times have you heard the MINI truism that it’s not about the car but about the people in the car? And, with a moment of thought, each of us might easily list many fine and true friends we’ve made through various MINI events. Friends help friends when a serious need arises. Now is one of those times.

Bill Bayerle and his partner Libby are good ol’ MINI veterans. They orchestrate the famous Trivia Contest at MINIsOnTop each June. Bill is a Cape Cod native and, thus, suffers from a number of maladies including self employment, stubbornness and willingness to work with me on a number of construction sites.
Now he has another hurdle to face. He’s been diagnosed as having an Intraocular Malignant Melanoma in his left eye. I don’t know about you but each time I think of what that means, I get the shivers. His options are just two: the eye can be removed completely leaving Bill half-sighted yet dashingly handsome in an eye-patch or he can undergo 5 laser-proton treatments at Mass. Eye and Ear to erase the tumor.

Stubborn Mr. Bayerle has opted to go for the treatments. His previous attempts at two eyed piracy were unsuccessful and there is no evidence that one-eyed piracy would be his forte! The true problem is simply one of cost. The cost for these 5 sessions totals around $40,000.00 Each session lasts a single minute. And Bill, as so many Americans, self-employed or not, does not have medical insurance. Keeping the eye absolutely still during the 60 second treatments is paramount. Bill had the requisite surgery on January 11, 2007 where 4 metal anchoring rods were implanted in his eye. His first laser treatment is January 22 and I have the pleasure of being his chauffer to Boston and back that day.

Certainly all avenues to help with this astounding cost will be explored but we can help our pal and his family in the way we are known for responding to events like this. What we MINI folk seem to do (and I may be creating a verb here) is to outpour. With happiness or grief or support or presence, the response when a call is issued quickly becomes a wave. I’m asking your help to create a wave for Bill.
Joe Rose, Dave Brushett, Jock Holden, and I have purchased, for $250.00, a beater vehicle in which we will motor from the Big Apple to the Big Easy in May, 2007 – The BABE Rally. The van, christened Lucky, will be festooned with 500+ rubber ducks. The ducks are at my house right now. You can have your name on a Lucky Duck and have it installed on or in the van for a donation of at least $10.00 to this Bill’s Bills campaign. A small price for a buddy’s health and you get to make rally history to boot!

Together, we can make a huge difference in Bill’s future and I just know that you will want to help a friend in special need …

Bill’s a great guy; my thoughts (and a donation) are on their way to Bill, via Steve.