A Wonderful Day

Posted by Gabe on October 26, 2009 under Kids Are Heroes Day, Kids are Heroes | 7 Comments to Read

Many times when a large event is staged, things can seem almost anticlimactic after an arduous journey of planning.  The days after can also be a letdown as the anticipation can sometimes be greater than the event itself.  Neither of these held true for Kids Are Heroes Day this past Saturday.  I am still replaying the images and the emotions I happily experienced over that very short six-hour period.  For the second year in a row we were greeted by a heavy downpour whose duration coincided with our entire time slot.  But once again it was sunny and beautiful inside the mall.

I was thrilled that all the heroes who were scheduled to be there made it as did the musical performers.  Reconnecting with some of the local heroes who were here last year was just great.  And we also met some new friends — many heroes and their families came from out of town. I was so impressed with all of them that I cannot say enough about how great they all were.  As I write this I find that whatever writing talents I may or may not have, they fall embarrassingly short of being able to convey the wonder that was in the mall that day.  It’s kind of like taking a black and white picture of the Grand Canyon, showing it to someone, and saying that’s what it looks like.  As the day ended I just remember saying to someone. “..the world should know about this….”  Well, the good thing is that we had Michelle Lindsay (photographer) and Digital Bard Video Productions (videographers) there to take a better “black and white” picture than I ever could.  So be warned that there will be plenty of related tweets and status updates as this material starts flowing.

I must thank once again all the special heroes who attended: Addison White, Adele Taylor, Anna Lemick, Julia Lemick, Austin Pierce, Calista Pierce, Casey Landahl, Catherine Grant, Emily Zimmerman, Kayleigh Crimmins, Evan Frank, John Sun, Miranda Mossburg, MaryMargaret O’Neill, Mercedes Blouin-Escoto, Nichelle Upton, Winston Duncan and Katie Foxx and Bridget Bittner representing Thurmont Middle School. 

And I also must truly thank Christina Steinbrenner of the FSK Mall for creating and hosting this event.

After the event we held a reception at our home and many of the heroes and their parents were in attendance.  We got to know some of them for the first time which was a precious opportunity.  The kids had a great time in MaryMargaret’s “tween lounge” downstairs, although young Evan was a bit put off as the girls were trying to put makeup on him.

And I must send a very personal thank-you out to Austin Pierce, who touched my heart in a way that no one else in my life has ever done.  Austin is the 12-year-old who is involved in Special Olympics in Crawford County, PA.  I won’t go into too much detail but suffice it to say that it was a true honor to meet him and I know that my life is now better as I consider him a true friend.   I so look forward to next year…

Check out the wonderful pictures Michelle Lindsay took of the event.

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