I am writing this from a motel room in McPherson, Kansas. It’s June 19, the eve of the 75 Days of Summer, a special “Make Every Mile Count” event hosted by Drive Toward a Cure, an automotive-centric charity founded to raise funds to fight disease. of Parkinson’s.

I am writing this from a motel room in McPherson, Kansas. It’s June 19, the eve of the 75 Days of Summer, a special “Make Every Mile Count” event hosted by Drive Toward a Cure, an automotive-centric charity founded to raise funds to fight disease. of Parkinson’s.

From June 20 to September 5 I drive and you pay, at least I hope you pay. I already made my first contribution when I registered for the program. My goal for the summer season is to travel at least 7,500 miles, and I hope my friends, family and many of you readers will support my efforts by contributing 1 dime for every mile traveled.

If I hit my 7,500 mile goal, you would send $ 75 to help beat Parkinson’s disease.

Because part of my itinerary includes driving to watch a granddaughter and her teammates play at the AAU Junior Nationals Volleyball Championships in Orlando, Fla., I got a head start and, in the last few days i have traveled about 1,300 miles.

Hi, here’s an idea: Besides contributing a dime per mile while I drive, why don’t you sign up for your own 75 Days of Summer with Drive Toward a Cure? There will be weekly prizes and grand prizes, and while you might not match my mileage, you probably have more friends and followers than I do, so ask them to contribute a dime or dollar for it. every mile traveled.

As I mentioned, I got a head start on the official 75-day event, and this first segment of my road trip involved a different kind of charitable effort, which is why I’m here in Kansas farmland. Over the years I have accumulated hundreds, OK, maybe a few thousand books on automotive topics.

I know it’s common to try and sell such things when you’re done, or at least when you run out of library space. But selling is not my skill, so I donated it to the library at McPherson College, the school in Kansas where you can get a 4 year degree in automotive restoration.

I loaded a trailer with the first ones and delivered them a few years ago. Now that the pandemic has subsided, I have put down another 20 boxes of books on my way east.

If you are reading this article, you probably have car books or tools or maybe even cars that you no longer need. Sure, you can put them up for sale, but why not contact a high school store class or one of the many colleges that offer auto business and restoration courses and see if your business could find a new home that you love.

I have informed McPherson that I still have more car books that will arrive someday. And I hope one day is well advanced because I still have stories to write and I need these books for reference and fact-checking.

Oh, and I also plan to have many, many more miles to cover in the years to come. Hope to see you somewhere on the road.