Charity. Or something like it.

This is about the much-talked-about march of dimes walk I participated in (see two posts below). It went well for those who're curious. 5.5 miles is a cinch. Inspite of the blazing mid-day sun, I was not driven to the point of exhaustion. When we returned after a 5.5 mile round of Univeristy of Houston (most of the route was on campus), I didnt even feel the need to sit down!! Most people would be happy with this, but not me. It gave me an incomplete, unsettled feeling.
You see, Charity should cause inconvenience!! What did I do here that raised money? Money is raised when people sitting at home enjoying a summer afternoon, watch tortured souls getting trampled on the streets of Texas and feel that they should do their bit for humankind like those poor selfless blokes on TV did. But last Sunday, people who watched on their TV sets as the walkers made merry following the walk, probably wished they had signed up for the free food and the live music!!

It felt like being at one of the famous college fests back home. There were tents sprawled across the stadium for all the teams that were participating, each tent blasting its own music. There were barbeque grills and boxed lunches, generators pumping cool air into the tents and free drinks. Made one wonder what they were celebrating. During the walk itself, there were 10 rest stops offering water (understandable), bananas, bluebell ice cream and so on. Here's a thought. What if, next time, they direct all the money spent on these 'perks' towards the march of dimes and help walkers raise even more money? I understand that they can not do away with the walking entirely (although it did seem a little dispensable this time around) because it creates the hype and (sadly) awareness about the issue. But the tents and generators we can do without. It may even help the walkers achieve a sense of satisfaction. I know it would have made me feel a lot more fulfilled.