Think of San Diego as a speed bump. The Bengals Bandwagon continues to roll, albeit with a new set of shock absorbers. It doesn't stop for defeat. It barely pauses for pedestrians.

        John Allenson needn't worry. In the anxious aftermath of last Sunday's loss to the Chargers, this Cincinnati Samaritan sought reassurance that the Bandwagon survived. His e-mail was both an application and a plea. Both have been accepted.

        “OK,” Allenson wrote Monday. “They lost yesterday, right after everyone read your column, but that is no reason to derail the bandwagon. I want to be on your bandwagon because I've been on the unofficial Bengals bandwagon since I was a kid.”

Bandwagon membership card

        This being the official Bengals Bandwagon, we capitalize the proper noun. We also are capitalizing on the Bengals' encouraging start to serve a larger purpose. Whether they advance to the playoffs, however, is immaterial.

        To board the Bengals Bandwagon and obtain one of our snazzy membership cards, the only requirement is to do something for disaster relief. Make a charitable contribution. Roll up your sleeves and volunteer. Roll up one sleeve and give blood. Do as Allenson has done, or risk inhaling our exhaust fumes.

        Sunday's shortfall in San Diego may have cost the Bandwagon some slight momentum, but the seats are filling up faster than musical chairs with Michael Johnson. Blood donor Kevin Fitzpatrick of Findlay wants a seat near the majorettes. Percussionist Pat Hennigan of Austin, Texas, takes umbrage at the suggestion that some percussionists are hygienically challenged, but his money surely needs no laundering. His contribution to helping.com makes him Bandwagon-worthy.

        Eric Temple of Wapakoneta claims a boarding pass for cooking spaghetti at a church benefit. Middletown's

        Marty Moon is taking pledges for a Nov.3 walkathon. Drew Ostendorf, who teaches social studies at Oak Hills High School, has applied on behalf of home room 418, whose students raised $500 for the American Red Cross.

        Mariemont's Linda Bartlett, who has owned a succession of cats named for Isaac Curtis, Anthony Munoz and Takeo Spikes, is giving cash and blood and spending “countless public and private moments of silence and remembrance, tears and pride.” She gets a window seat.

        Rick Cron of Air Force Special Operations at Hurlburt Field, Fla., claims his activities are classified. “Let's just say I'm postured to do more than you can imagine,” he writes. Still, Cron makes no secret that the Commandos Non-commissioned Officers Association is donating half of its casino trip fund to nobler causes.

        Chris Macaluso, our West Point Who-Dey, prevailed on his fantasy football cronies to donate their membership fees to the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund. He is of no help, however, on the confounding question of why Xavier has a stronger rifle team than Army.

        Abbie Feldhaus-Denen claims to be the only Bengals fan on Maui. Philip Hays, of Fairfax, Va., recounts being evacuated from his Capitol Hill office Sept.11, leaving behind his Bengals Christmas ornament.

        Jon Schroder of West 56th Street in New York City took in a friend who was displaced by the attacks on the World Trade Center. He lost a friend, too, Covington Catholic classmate Brian Williams.

        “Over the past several years, Brian and I would make ridiculous bets with one another, whether or not the Bengals would have a winning season,” Schroder wrote. “One thing I know for sure is that Brian would definitely be on the Bengals Bandwagon.”

        We're proud to have him.

        E-mail tsullivan@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/sullivan.

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