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friends:

PAN may want to elaborate on this themselves, and Charlie (as usual) has the
basic story straight, but here's a couple of additional details for those who
like to study complex public relations events:

the people behind a new internet website -- "ivebeengood.com" -- teamed up
with fao schwarz, the big new york toy store, to promote a pre-christmas
strategem to get kids to tell their families and friends what they would like
for holiday gifts (much like a wedding registry).  they needed a celebrity
and decided to sign up michael j fox who -- just concidentally -- was getting
prepared to promote his new film, an animated feature about stuart little, an
amiable stuffed rabbit.  (in the movie, mjf provides the voice-over for the
chief character.)  he decided to turn over his fee for the engagement -- a
cool $25,000 -- to Parkinson's, via PAN, his main link with our community
(because of his interest in the washington front, which you will have surely
noted in the gale of publicity surrounding his momentous september 28
appearance before a key senate subcommittee).

joan samuelson attended the event (which was at schwarz' fifth avenue
flagship store) and spoke wonderfully.  her nieces did, too, and got followed
around the toystore by an NBC news crew wanting to see how well an 8- and
10-year-old negotiate the "ivebeengood" site.  charming event, altogether,
and another great contribution from mr. fox.

robin elliott, exec director, parkinson's disease foundation

ps.  i also went along.  it was a temptation not to make some sassy comment
about the amusing vision of a "fox" cuddling a "rabbit" -- however large and
stuffed the latter, and small and friendly the former.