When their son Jeff McIninch was a youngster, Donald and Linda McIninch, who now live in Newport, packed him and his two older brothers into their car and drove them from Old Town to Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

Now, Jeff and Maggie Sinclair McIninch of Stockton Springs want to make that same trip with their children, 14-year-old Melissa, 10-year-old Brian and 7-year-old Neily.

But the young couple doesn’t have much time, or money, to pull this grand adventure together.

Jeff, 34, has been diagnosed with terminal brain and lung cancer. He has been told he has three to six months to live.

This young father’s dying wish is to take his children to Disney World, which was just the Magic Kingdom when he was little.

He wants to retrace his travels so he can leave his children with the same wonderful memories he has of that special family excursion so many years ago.

“He wants to go by car,” older sister Kathy McErlain of Ellsworth told me, “because he wants them to remember the trip like he remembers it. He told me he remembers fights in the car, the whole thing. He remembers waking up with somebody’s head in your feet, and he said he wants them ‘to remember me’ like that.”

So often in this column I write, and you read, about “dream wishes” being granted for terminally ill children.

Well, this is the reverse: A terminally ill adult has a “dream wish” for his children, and lots of people are trying to help make that wish come true.

Through Tom Salisbury I learned that American Legion Post No. 207 and Auxiliary of Ellsworth is collecting funds for the family so they can travel, as Jeff did, to Disney World.

McErlain said the hope is the trip can be made “sometime in mid-May, when he is done with radiation.”

Jeff realizes that, because of his health, they may have to take it a bit easy, she said, “and he has promised to pace himself.”

Because the family car is small, the plan is to rent a minivan for them, “and we want to make sure they have cell phones” to keep in touch, McErlain said.

Jeff, who was employed by Irving Big Stop in Searsport, and Maggie (a former Sanford and Bucksport resident), who works for MBNA in Belfast, plan to do all the driving, and McErlain is relieved to know there are plenty of hospitals along the route, in case her brother needs assistance.

And although donations are being made in his name, the officers of the American Legion post are collecting and overseeing the funds.

Donations for this special father’s Disney World dream wish can be made out in the name of Jeff McIninch, and sent in care of Rae Jean Young, American Legion Post No. 207, P.O. Box 8076, Ellsworth 04605.

“We’re going to do our best to get him there,” his big sister said, “and anything anybody can do to help is just so appreciated.”

“He’s got enough to deal with. We just want do to this for him,” McErlain said.

Volunteers are needed to assist with the BACORD, the Bangor Area Citizens for Responsible Development, cleanup of Penjajawoc Stream from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 24.

BACORD volunteer Dick Andren of Dixmont reports, “We currently have Boy Scouts helping, and we have a group from the Bangor High School SEED program participating.”

SEED stands for Students Ending Environmental Destruction.

Andren said the event also serves as a fund-raiser for the organizations involved with the project, “and we are asking for financial sponsorships” as well.

For example, he said, “the Bangor Mall has been a generous sponsor” of the project.

If you can help in any way, physically or financially, call Andren at 234-2706.

Jodi Helsor of East Millinocket, the mother of a young boy with autism, wrote to remind readers that April is National Autism Month.

She also wrote to express her appreciation to the staff of the two school districts in her area “that have wonderful teachers and ed techs, speech therapists, occupational therapists and consultants who are helping and training our special children.”

“[Their] dedication and compassion for children is unbelievably reassuring,” she wrote.

Autism is a neurological disorder affecting the functioning of the brain. It reportedly affects 1.5 million Americans, and is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the United States.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.