Death by a thousand cuts

So I had somewhat comforted myself with the notion that of course the IM poobahs couldn’t give lil’ ol’ me a rollover, since they NEVER do that, EVER in the history of Ironman, no matter WHAT. You could be Jesus himself, complete with stigmata, coming down from the heavens to preach to his flock and show up on a few grilled cheeses and underpasses and oh yeah, do an IM – and they’d just say “Sorry Jesus, no can do, you still need to pay the $525. Our hands are tied. Not like yours wer....oh, never mind. Pony up.” I was positive they really really wanted to give me that rollover but just couldn’t. Okay. Sucks, but okay.

But then, THEN.....I get this missive from a faithful and alert reader, who tells me that “A friend of mine wrote a letter to IMNA about a friend of hers who also had cancer and couldn't do IMC in 2003. She did get him a roll-over and at no extra cost..."

So, NOW I’m pissed. What, my cancer wasn’t good enough? The brain injury didn’t add sufficient drama? My collarbone wasn’t splintered enough? Because that’s what I’m hearing from you guys, and it’s not pretty. Or maybe you’re so worried that once you opened those floodgates, every person with cancer was going to want to rollover their IM spots, just because they could. Those damn cancer victims, always looking for a freebie. Or maybe I’m not worthy of a rollover because I’m not a GUY? Perhaps you're too busy coming up with yet more pricey Ironman schlock you can market, because the bronze/marble trophy for $695 isn't enough? Which is it, IM poobahs, huh?

Well, I just have to say: IMNA, I’m even less impressed than before. Thanks for nothing.