#IceBucketChallenge

Sure, I was slightly conflicted about the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) at first. In some ways it seemed like many pursuits on social media. It seemed like a form of cyber pressure, meant to get people to donate money.

In general, it is. Sort of.

It's not cyber bullying. There's no shame in NOT doing it. Best as I can tell, it's a free country, so you do what you want with your time, your money, your ice, your water.

In the end, seriously, what's the big deal? I was honored to be asked by John Kovach, and I really believe in supporting ALS research (aka Lou Gehrig's disease).

I'll donate, and I did the challenge. Why? Because it was kind of fun. It was cold for a moment. Really, briefly. It made my son's day (he was asking all weekend "when can we do it?").

To be honest, you're supposed to nominate three people. I nominated four (Ryan DeMaria, Chris Kaelin, Kris Adams, and Lisa Slocum). I would have also nominated Mick McGowan but he's not on social media (though Mick on Twitter would be hysterical). I could have nominated a lot of other people (and you probably know who you are). Some of my choices already got nominated (Harold and Paul are two, and they were both prepared to nominate me in return).

Anyway, I did it. There are always contrarians who insist on not doing things just...because. There are others who have to make it about themselves in the process of kicking their feet and saying "Hell no. No H20!" This is to raise money, which it is doing, in large quantities. This is to raise awareness, which it is doing. This is a phenomenon.

This is an honor. I was happy to do it.