Alzheimer’s Awareness - The Color Purple

I’ve always had a love affair with the color purple which worked well when I discovered it was the Alzheimer’s color. We are gearing up for Memory Walk so I’ve gotten into the spirit by painting my fingernails and toenails purple. Not just any purple—Xtreme Wear Deep Purple.

I dressed for church today in my “Walk to End Alzheimer’s” shirt and topped, or bottomed, it all off with my brand new purple high-heeled Crocs I bought at the Crocs Outlet in Branson.

It so happened that the air conditioning was broken so we shopped in heat more Xtreme than my nail polish. Perhaps, my brain was overheated when I fell in love with the purple shoes, or so my granddaughter seemed to think. She said the shoes were a little weird, but Crocs are comfortable shoes with cushiony padding underfoot that's a lot like walking around with a Memory Foam pillow tied to the bottom of your feet.

At church this morning during the “greet those around you” moment, the lady sitting behind me said she loved my shirt. On the way out the door, another lady admired my shoes.

“My granddaughter thought they were a little strange,” I admitted.

“They are such a fun color!” she said. I had to agree—but then they are purple slippers so gotta love ’em, right?

“They're comfortable too,” I added.

Getting into the purple zone is more than wearing the appropriate clothing and accessories. It is a time to fundraise and get out the word about the Memory Walk. On Labor Day, Jim’s Team raised $1,150 at our traffic stop.

Saturday some of us stood in front of Walmart handing out “Save the Date” cards and forget-me-not seed packets with the tiny sheets of paper stapled to it with walk information and contact numbers. We had a collection bucket available for donations, but our main purpose was to create awareness about the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk.

The Walk Committee has a busy week ahead. We plan to gather door prizes and last minute items. We will make a lot of last minute preparations so that everything goes smoothly on Saturday, September 18.

I’m trying not to panic because my books haven’t come in. Part of my sponsorship is signing and distributing Early Onset Blog: The Friendship Connection. The turnaround is usually a few days on book orders, but as of the last time I checked they were still “in production.”

A lot of work and planning goes into the Memory Walk and that cuts down on the chances of things going too wrong. Rain or shine, I know one thing for certain—a lot of people will be up early Saturday morning and head to the Fairgrounds for Memory Walk. Purple will be the color of the day when we grab up the banner and walk to end Alzheimer’s.

Copyright © Sept. 2010 L. S. Fisher
http://earlyonset.blogspot.com