Me, Her, the Boy and a Dog
Also, I founded the GoFightWinVT Tumblr, so if you're a Hokie, give it a follow. And, feel free to check out my Project 365 Tumblr.
Meet the Team: Amanda
Business Bullpen had a photo shoot last week with our favorite photographer, Tom Daly. We all took funny pictures using musical props – mine was a microphone. Don’t let these photos fool you…I am definitely not a singer!
Amanda is a creative director at Business Bullpen. You can follow Amanda on Tumblr.
Amanda = kickass. That is all.
Sooooooo me.
(via stanastia)
@kimbaland’s post about the word “must” reminded me of an episode of Friends with guest star Jon Lovitz as a food critic. (Click on the image to watch the YouTube clip.) He was stoned out of his mind and when Monica said the word “tartlets,” he repeats the word three times and then throws his hands up in amused defeat and says, “The word has lost all meaning.” THAT happens to me a lot. Has it ever happened to you?
From RecycleNRV.com:
Today, Ryan and I joined up with some dedicated volunteers for our 1st Annual Cardboard Cruise. The holidays seem to leave us all with mounds and mounds of cardboard laying around, and we thought we’d take the opportunity to help out by providing a free cardboard pickup in the areas we will begin serving. A group of dedicated volunteers - including Henry Showalter and his son Reece, Ryan’s wife Jeanne, and Gary Cope - braved wind gusts of nearly 60 mph and collected an amazing amount of cardboard … 600 lbs, in fact! By recycling that material, we were able to save 2.7 cubic yards of landfill space and 13.8 gallons of oil.
The weather wasn’t the greatest as temperatures dipped into the low 20s and what little warmth provided by the sun disappeared behind the gray November clouds. But for a few minutes, we forgot how cold it was when the Hokie Bird came out of nowhere to meet Chase Ringler.
Chase is the 4-year-old son of my high school classmates Whitney and Rich Ringler. Chase was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma in October 2007 and has been battling it bravely ever since.
On Saturday, Nov. 22, Chase, his mom Whitney, dad Rich and sister Erica, came to Blacksburg to see the Virginia Tech vs. Duke football game. Some random Hokie alums gave the Ringlers tickets to the game and invited the family to tailgate with them before the game.
A few weeks ago, I uploaded a picture of the Hokie Bird on my Facebook site. Whitney posted a photo comment mentioning that they were coming up for the Duke game and how much Chase was looking forward to getting a picture with the Hokie Bird. I got in touch with the Hokie Bird’s handlers at the Athletics Department and was able to schedule a special meeting with Chase before the Duke game.
Then, I thought, “we can do more!” So, I Twittered Campus Emporium, a leading provider of Virginia Tech Hokies Apparel and Virginia Tech Hokies Merchandise, to see if they would be interested in donating an autograph football so we could have Coach Frank Beamer and hopefully some of the players autograph it for Chase. Campus Emporium was more than happy to help out and I picked up the football on Friday, Nov. 14. But, they also threw in a stuffed Hokie Bird, which we gave to Erica.
I took the football over to the Athletics Department Monday afternoon and Coach Beamer’s assistant said she would take care of it and I could pick it up Tuesday after lunch. Once I picked it up, complete with Beamer’s John Hancock, I took the ball to my friend Brooke Jackson, who is married to Mike Jackson, a former Hokie football player, who still has friends on the team. Mike took the ball Dick Graham, who had a bunch of the players sign it and I mean a BUNCH! The ball was packed with signatures - really cool.
Nov. 22 was Rich Ringler’s birthday and Whitney and I hadn’t told Rich about what we had planned for the day. Rich seemed genuinely surprised and was especially excited about the autographed football the Hokie Bird gave to Chase. Erica gave the Hokie Bird two big hugs.
Family and friends snapped pictures of the event and the Collegiate Times was also on hand to take some pictures. If it makes it into the paper, I’ll scan it and post it here.
After the photos, I talked briefly with Whitney and Rich and got to meet Chase. It was freezing cold and Chase was ready to be warm again - I don’t blame you, buddy! Whitney left a message on my Facebook wall letting me know that Chase actually did better than expected and stayed for the first half of the game. She said he’s still talking about the Hokies bird. Chase is a special kid and he and his family are always in my thoughts and prayers.
I’d like to thank all those people who helped make that moment happen: Jeremy Wells, Assistant Director of Athletics for Marketing and Promotions, for making time in the Hokie Bird’s schedule to see Chase; Nicholas Matthews and Meggin Hicklin of Campus Emporium for graciously donating the football and Hokie Bird stuffed toy; Mike and Brooke Jackson for taking their time to have the players autograph the football; Diana Clark, Executive Secretary to Frank Beamer, for getting Coach Beamer to sign the ball despite his busy schedule; and to Coach Beamer himself and his players for taking a few moments to sign a ball for a little Hokie fan with a big heart.
I think the lesson that I learned here is that you don’t have to spend a dime or make a major time commitment to do something nice for someone. All of those people I mentioned above said that their involvement was “not a big deal,” but it is a big deal. They came together to put a smile on the face of a child battling a horrible disease. To me, that’s a big deal and I hope that you can take the time this holiday season, and every season for that matter, to do something nice for someone else and maybe, just maybe, we can make this world a better place.
God bless, everyone!
