These days when asked how I am, my standard reply includes a list of things which do not plague me.  It’s an extension of the response that I borrowed from the late Judge Leonard Hughes Jr., who would intone from the bench, I woke up this morning, which is more than a lot of people can say; so let’s get this show started.

I add: “There are a few things wrong with me, but so many diseases and problems that I don’t have.  ALS, cancer, MS, poverty. ”  As Karen Carmack says, I’ve become a bright-sider — or perhaps, in my case, a bright-sider-wannabe.

It’s easier in the morning.  At night, I am tired, my legs ache, and I often lapse into self-pitying whines, mostly internal but occasionally in e-mails sent to one or two kind folks who forgive  me, knowing that my gumption flags when fatigue settles over me.

To my list of things that I don’t have to suffer, I’d like to add this:  Being a ten-year old girl who has dwindled to 51 pounds and a 31% chance of survival, with one less kidney.

Click the below-appearing link to read one local news account of ten-year-old Camille Clark’s personal battle with cancer and her love of “Fight Song”, a tune by recording artist Rachel Platten:

#CamilleMeetsRachel

So Bright-Siders of the World: Unite, and throw that hashtag out there.  Let’s count our lucky STARS and encourage Sony to bring Rachel Platten to Liberty to meet one of her biggest fans, Camille Clark.  Come on people, get your hashtag on:

#CamilleMeetsRachel

And while you’re at it, get your own show started, because like me, you woke up this morning, which is more than a lot of people can say.