Everbody Thanks Brandon By fan Danielle Hi. My name is Danielle. Without going into my life story, I'd like to give a little information to "set the stage". Quite a few years ago, I attended a game where a ball boy handed me a foul ball hit by Paul O'Neill. Instantly, he became my favorite player and it was my goal to get him to sign my ball. fast forwarding quite a few years one of my younger brothers, Brandon, developed a really cool mitzvah project (for his upcoming bar mitzvah). "Hits for Autism" was designed to raise money for autism awareness. Autism has touched our lives, because our youngest brother was diagnosed back in 1999. Tonight, Brandon was at the game (ALDS 2007, Game 3) and got Paul O'Neill's autograph. I just think it would be great for Paul O'Neill to hear this story because it is not just about a girl who names him as her favorite player, or a thirteen year old boy who is ecstatic to have his autograph. It's about a thirteen year old who came up with this great idea to support an extremely important cause through baseball -- a mode that our family loves, a true American pastime. It's also about a boy who is only 11 that is directly affected by autism. A boy who participates in a baseball league, even if he'd rather jump on his trampoline and watch the same video over and over again. This boy who finally says "I love you" whether it is a memorized phrase or truly from the heart. I'm not sure what, if anything, Paul O'Neill could do to recognize my brother, Brandon for his creative fundraising project. I just thought maybe he would like to hear about a family of fans and their story. Thank you. Danielle