Jackson Toast

This is cool:

It's a simple idea. On Sunday, September 30th, at 9:00 PM Eastern, we're raising a glass to Michael Jackson, and raising money in his name for the National Parkinson's Foundation.

We hope to have a list up soon of bars and brewpubs that are participating; I know for sure that Monk's Cafe and the Grey Lodge are doing it in Philly. If you are a bar or brewpub owner, and would like to join in, e-mail me and I'll get you the information, and a template we've made for a flyer/poster.

Be generous, folks: this is for Michael, the guy without whom a lot of this would not have happened. As Tom Peters said to me, "I'd really like to be able to hand a check for $100,000 to the Foundation in Michael's name." (Tom's donating the evening's profits at Monk's, and will be passing the hat for direct donations as well.)

There will be other, ongoing opportunities to honor Jackson's name and legacy, but this one, as Sam Calagione said, is from the heart. Here's to Michael. See you on the 30th.

Dunno if places in Portland are participating, but you could send Lew an email and find out howw to participate. In any case, mark the toast on your calendar. That's six, Portland time.

In other Jackson news, he did a video interview just three weeks before he died that you can watch here. Toward the end, he mentions that he was planning to write a book called I Am Not Drunk about his struggle with Parkinson's. "I know a lot of people were saying it, wondering whether I had a problem or not."

[Update: Belmont Station is on it. I'll update the post if I learn about more pubs that might be nearer you.]