The Web Warren

Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep.

Three (expletive deleted) A. M.

Time to get up. Three weeks ago, it would have been time to turn in, if we were lucky.

3:00 AM to shower, dress, put on makeup, and get out of the house in time to make a 5:06AM train into The City, in order to be able to reach 59th and 5th by 7:00AM.

There are very few things that will get me up that much earlier than I normally have to. (Getting up to get to a job on time is a "have to".) Most of them are "events" I am "working" (i.e., volunteering as staff) with radio friends, computer friends, and so on.

This time, I simply had to show up, put on a T-shirt, and scream maniacally on cue from an audience director, along with several other dozen people with diabetes. The Diabetes Handprint folk had managed to get us a "group" appearance on CBS's Early Show. Hey, get the word out, show the flag, raise some money, and hopefully help some people in the process. No-brainer.

I got there early enough to find the plaza empty except for technicians setting up the lights and cameras, and security cordoning off the area. I spent the extra time seeking out the nearest Starbuck's to use the restroom and purchase an un-needed muffin (I'd had a "Think Thin" bar on the train heading in, I was reading 111, and my travel coffee mug was still relatively full) and return to site. By this time, Olga from DHF* Ambassadors had arrived, as well as the Diabetes Handprint organizers, Helen and Lara (neither of whom I had previously met). As the group of us grew larger, Helen gave us instructions while she, Lara, and several other folk handed out T-shirts, hats, and Crayola washable markers for writing our words in our hands. Allison arrived about this time; LeeAnn and Katie arrived closer to the 7:00AM call time.

(*DHF: Diabetes Hands Foundation)

Most of what we got to do was move from one side of the working/audience boundary cordon to another as we were needed to "fill in" behind the anchors, and cheer and wave our hands when asked, and keep quiet otherwise. I'm not sure how visible the words in our hands were, compared to the words-in-hand on the signs the Diabetes Handprint folk provided, but they were there, anyway. (Mine was "obsession", because I feel we really need to be obsessive about self-care to survive and thrive!)

In between, there were discussions between volunteers/audience members about pumps, CGMs, diabetes camps, and so on. A few commented on the "Test! Don't Guess" button I had on my backpack. I had about a half-dozen more in my backpack from last weekend's bloggers brunch and passed them out to folk who were interested. This also got some of us talking about dLife, about d-blogging, and about diabetes advocacy. Some of these folk were from Johnson & Johnson -- most visibly from the Animas division.

By the time we were released at 9AM, we had all made a number of casual connections, some less-casual connections, and left feeling good about being able to do something to help other people with diabetes. Thanks, CBS Early Show, Johnson & Johnson, and Diabetes Handprint for helping us get the word out!