I'm long overdue to post some information about the experiences I had performing at two different
Relay for Life events, one in Port St. Joe, Florida, and the other in Moses Lake, Washington. Being on opposite ends of the country led to the catch phrase "Coast to Coast". More on this later...
It all started when my good friend Scott Baker invited me to perform at the Relay for Life in Port St. Joe. He helped arrange for me to stay at a townhouse on the beach in Cape San Blas, and together we helped to raise money in honor of our classmate, Jeanne Bailey, who had recently lost her battle with breast cancer. Scott posted some
videos of my performance on YouTube. My whole family had a terrific time, and the Relay was powerful and fun. Many thanks to Scott and his family for being such terrific hosts and to Thom Baird for allowing us to stay in his lovely beach home. A special thank you to all of our classmates who gave so generously in honor of Jeanne. Jeanne, we miss you.
After I mentioned that Relay here in my blog, Terry Moore from Moses Lake contacted me. She had gotten a copy of my song
Celebrate a while back, but when she realized I performed at the Relay in Florida, she asked if I would do so in Moses Lake as well. It was the 20th anniversary of the Relay for Life in Moses Lake. I gladly accepted, and soon found myself on a plane to Spokane followed by a drive to Moses Lake. I performed both that night during the Luminaria ceremony as well as the next morning. Terry and Donna Anderson, pictured here, have become terrific friends and fans. In fact, Terry has now earned the title of "President" of my newly formed "Northwest Fan Club." Be sure to check out
Terry's MySpace page and the
Official Tom Willner Northwest Fan Club MySpace page also known as Tom Willner Coast to Coast (told you I would get to the birth of that phrase later). She has also posted a
custom video on sharinghope.tv about the event using the song Celebrate.
It is an honor for me to perform at the Relay for Life, which raises money to help those battling cancer. I am grateful to my new friends in Florida and Washington, and welcome the opportunity to perform at any of these events across the country.
Labels: cancer
Last year I got to vacation in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was a wonderfully fun and relaxing experience, and I could feel a reggae tune brewing. One day, while looking through the books and magazines in the gift shop, I found a book of Jamaican phrases. I picked it up, opened it to a random page, and my eyes went straight to the phrase "All fruits ripe" which means "Everything is just great. All is good." I immediately knew I had discovered the title of my yet to be written song. The phrase summed up exactly how I felt, and I spent the next few nights out on the balcony drinking Red Stripe and writing this song.
