In February and March my old friend, Oren Sreebny, and I will bike 300 miles through Vietnam from Hanoi to Dong Ha, near Hue, in the old DMZ. Dong Ha, in Quang Tri province, is the poorest area of VN and the one most affected by landmine injuries and the residual effects of Agent Orange.

Oren, who has been one of my best friends since the eighth grade, and I are undertaking this middle-aged adventure on behalf of KidsFirst, a Seattle-based organization that has been doing fantastic, honorable work in Vietnam since 1997. KidsFirst has established a school and a clinic in Dong Ha that provide educational scholarships and rehab services for kids who have been injured by the plague of landmines left over from the war..

Oren and I have committed to raise $10,000 for KidsFirst. We've been kind of overwhelmed by the support we've received from our families and friends. We're more than halfway toward our goal.

I thought a long time before I put this out there on dbis, but heck, you guys know me and I figured what the hell...

Here's a link to KidsFirst homepage. Please have a look if you're so moved. http://www.kidsfirstvietnam.org/index.html

Here's a link to their donation page if you're really moved. Remember, kidsFirst is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit and any contributions are fully tax-deductible. You will receive a thank you and receipt from them and my undying thanks as well. If you choose to contribute please specify "Ed Lorah #1305 and Oren Sreebny #1205". http://www.kidsfirstvietnam.org/bikeride.html

Lastly, Oren is a computer genius, kind of like Dan, and has established a blog for the ride: http://www.whisperingj.addr.com/weblog/

We are planning to post daily narratives and photos from VN on the blogsite so if you're interested please have a look. I'll also be posting here on dbis, I'm sure, when we return.

Anyway, that's all I'm going to say about this for now. Thanks for your consideration and for reading this far.

Ed