Over and over again I hear people poisoned by cynicism, believing and uttering negative messages like, “it doesn’t matter,” or, “there’s nothing I can do about it,” and the worst and most cynical of the lot; “one person can’t make a difference.”

One of my favorite Christmas programs is “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” If you know the show, you know that part where Linus counters Charlie Brown’s bemoaning of Christmas and its commercialization with his Whitey the Man blast.

“Look, Charlie, let’s face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It’s run by a big eastern syndicate, you know. “

Linus Van Pelt represents the conflict of the post-modern world we live in. And like Linus, we can choose to recognize that forces bigger than ourselves control aspects of our lives, yet not throw in the towel (or blanket) and still do the little (local) things that make a difference.

For the fifth year in a row, local rock music DJ, Mark Curdo, is channeling the spirit of Linus and a host of other local community difference makers, by hosting another Mark-a-Thon.

I blogged about Curdo’s efforts last year. He’s become a true local hero, making the sacrifice of time (and sleep) to raise awareness and money for the Center for Grieving Children, a worthy local nonprofit that provides support to grieving children, teens, families and the community through peer support, outreach, and education.

Basically, you get to request a song for a donation. Any donation gets you the privilege to request any song, cheesy, or not.

Last year, I went from being a lurker to an actual donor. I’ll be giving to a worthy local cause again this year, beating back the negative crowd and naysayers, recognizing that yes, the world we live in has problems, but I can and will be part of the solution.
Not sure what my request is going to be this year.

Thanks to someone’s generosity and request yesterday, now I can’t get “The Duck Song” out of my head.