Love In Action

I've recently (somewhat recently, at least) participated in several activities put on by anything for a friend, one was for myself, and the other was for recipient Angie Jones, whose event I attended.

April 21st was my first event with Anything For A Friend. The event was held at the Centerville Megaplex theater, where we watched Captain America 2. Like all of the events for Anything For A Friend, each can be preregistered for online. The night before this event, there were relatively few people who had preregistered for the movie, but to everyone's  surprise the theater of 500+ seats was nearly completely filled by the time the movie actually began! I was astounded.

I have to admit, it was a very humbling experience to have so many people there supporting me. I saw people from both high school and college, people from my neighborhood and church, and many people that I had never met before. Before the movie started, I was asked to say a few words, which is always difficult because I have to have something to say on the spot... So, I just said exactly what I felt, which was a lot of gratitude, and a lot of feelings that were difficult to express to 500 people who have been following your progress with so much love and support. Seriously though, what do you say? Thank you? Well I did, and a few more things that I'm sure no one else remembers, but I hope it came across that I was extremely grateful. I do remember saying that just like it takes a village to raise a child (as the saying goes), it takes a community to help someone like me recover and find life again. I expressed that I knew that I would be successful because of the incredible community that supports me.

Did you see this picture of all these beautiful women? They, along with many others, spent incredible time and effort to organize this event. But that's not all. They continue to spend hours and hours organizing in preparation for my main event on May 31. I've been amazed by their love and dedication, and am so thankful for the way they change the community around them through their service. I am ecstatic for my own event that is coming up so quickly. I have been able to see just a few of the things that people are putting together for the event, and I'm stoked! 

It's been almost 5 months since my injury, and the support has been amazing. Especially during the first few months, there was an outpouring of letters, visits, and support and love of every type. I've often been at a loss as to how I could effectively thank everyone who has helped, especially through this blog. I hope that my upcoming event will be an opportunity for me to personally thank everyone who has helped me, or is still helping me through this. It's finally my own chance to say thank you, and I hope you will be there to hear it!

 I got a taste for what an Anything For A Friend for a friend event can be like when I went to Angie Jones event ...and it's beyond what I thought it would be! I was expecting just a fundraiser.

I attended Angie's event and met her for the first time there. This is the picture of our first meeting together. 

We both felt an immediate connection to each other and I our first conversation was somewhat refreshing for me.

Me: "I am Carson, it's great to meet you. How are you doing?"

Angie: "I'm good" (Then with a smile) "Well...You know how it is."

Me: "Yeah... I do know how it is..."

Boom. BFFs on the spot. We were able to talk more, but not too much more. I was, however, able to witness all of the love that surrounds Angie and her family. 

The picture above was immediately after the balloon launch, where what seems like hundreds of balloons are released into the sky by everyone present, as an expression of release and freedom from whatever burden one may be facing. While the feeling at the balloon launch was especially tender, The feeling throughout the entire event was one that came totally unexpected to me. There was so much gratitude, love, camaraderie, and even excitement as we all came together for the benefit of Angie's family.