Last week I mentioned my entry in a contest put together by ChangeEffect, a design group in Chicago. The goal: write an essay about how a certain change has had a profound effect on your life. The prize: a three-day, two-night, airfare-and-hotel-paid trip to Chicago, complete with a Cubs game at Wrigley Field.

Because I have an unfortunate fondness for the Cubs, I plan to win this contest. My essay is about my about my paternal grandfather, Paw-Paw, and how my outlook about him (and myself) changed when I heard his tale of being shot down and imprisoned as a P.O.W. in Nazi Germany during World War II.

The winning entry will be determine by popular vote. So…I need your help.

Please go here to read my story, which is titled “The Day I Met Paw-Paw.”

Then click on “VOTE” to vote for my story. Find my name, click the button, and enter your name and email address. You can vote once per computer and address.

If you have time to read the other stories, then they’re all collected here. I certainly wouldn’t ask you to vote for me without considering the other options. Wait, yes I would. (In fact, I’m doing so now.) But if you want to read the others and THEN vote me, then go right ahead.

Anyway, thanks for your vote. Much appreciated. I’ll send you a postcard from Chicago.