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Archive for the ‘Something for themself’ Category

Day 139 – Victor R.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , on May 6, 2010| 5 Comments »

On Sunday I visited my good friends Tom and Tressa and their almost five-month-old daughter Tegan. We went to Fountainhead Regional Park and did some hiking around the Occoquan River Reservoir, which serves as a border between Fairfax and Prince William counties.

We stumbled across a group of people fishing. A young guy who had ventured out on a log a few feet captured my attention. He was wearing a dark shirt, extra long shorts, socks, and sandals. He deftly balanced his weight has he almost effortlessly cast his line in and out. As I approached him I thought he was reeling in a fish, but it turned out to be some branches that his hook got caught up in.

Victor reels in what turns out to be some branches (Photo: Reed)

Victor is a 20-year-old landscaping entrepreneur. For the last three years he has been growing VMR Landscaping in the Northern Virginia region; mostly in Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park. I asked him how business was doing and he quickly replied that the business was doing very well. “Especially power-washing. Right now that is a big part of my business.”

Victor loves to fish. He had caught about four fish that day, but only one was a keeper, a fish with some black coloring on its underside measuring in a little over a foot. His record was a catfish which measured up to his thigh. On Sunday he was mostly catching Crappies, a fish I had never even heard of, but the name alone makes me think that they are a disappointing fish.

All of a sudden he got a bite and started reeling in a fish, but it got away. Took his bait too. I asked him what kind of bait he used and he said that he usually used night crawlers, shrimp, liver or sardines. He is going to use my $10 to rent a boat the next time he comes out to fish…they run about $11 for the day.

Victor shared with me that he does not know his biological mother. Born in El Salvador, he moved here with his father when he was just a few years old. He says that he would like to know her. Her name is Maria Maldalena Arana, although I found very few cases of Maldalena. More common are Magdalena and Madalena…so perhaps I wrote down the incorrect spelling. The last he knew of her was that she was living in Arlington, VA around 1996. Victor thinks that he has a younger sister too. As much as I can understand his desire to meet his mother, I imagine that he must have mixed feelings about it. He must have so many questions. So many emotions.

If anyone has information about Victor’s mother, please comment here or send me an email and I will pass it along to Victor. I would also like to ask that if you live in the Falls Church/Manassas/Manassas Park area and are looking for landscaping services that you consider giving Victor a try. Drop me a note and I can connect you.

Victor caught a small fish that he threw back (Photo: Reed)

As I said goodbye Victor got another bite…this time he reeled the fish in. Unfortunately it was just a little guy. I grabbed a photo of him and the fish before he tossed it back.

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Day 137 – Sarah H.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 4, 2010| 3 Comments »

A few weeks ago I got an email from my friend Betsy saying that some friends of hers were entering in the DC 48 Hour Film Project.  She recommended that I go and be a part of a team called SwimFast, LiveSlow.  The 48 Hour Film Project describes itself as “a wild and sleepless weekend in which you and a team make a movie—write, shoot, edit and score it—in just 48 hours.”

On Friday evening each team receives a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre that all must be included in a 4-7 minute film.  Then you work feverishly throughout the weekend to make the film and turn it in 48 hours later on Sunday evening.  The elements that we had to incorporate into our film were:

Genre:  Buddy Film
Character:  Marco or Muffin Gabbowitz, a person who works with animals
Prop:  a horn 
Line of Dialogue:  “Do you think you can do that again?” 

So last Friday evening I drove over to Springfield, VA to meet with the team.  I only knew Betsy and another friend Jeff from a play we did together last year.  It was there that I met Sarah.

Sarah is 32 and lives in Northern Virginia with her husband Van and their 14-month-old boy Will.

When Sarah is not watching little Will or participating in zany weekend film challenges, she is teaching 4th grade students at a nearby elementary school.  She says she likes 4th graders because, “they are old enough to understand occasional sarcasm but young enough to not be too cool.”  Her school is very different to the one that she attended when she was a young girl growing up in Lynchburg, VA.

I went to an all-white public school, the school where I teach is very diverse.  English is a second language to many of the students.  You can clearly see students who are living in poverty – some have to wear the same clothes almost every day to school. – Sarah H.

Sarah and her dog Laredo, both starred in our film (Photo: Reed)

When I explained the Lend a Hand program to Sarah, she said that she would love to find someone who is talented in needlework and sewing to volunteer about once a week for 3-4 hours until the end of the school year.  The school is located in the Falls Church, VA area.  If you, or someone you know, are interested in this opportunity, leave a comment here and I will contact you.

I learned a little trivia about Sarah too!  She has submitted a video application to be a contestant on the Survivor not once, but twice!  I asked her to share some of the video here, but I haven’t received anything yet…keep your fingers crossed.  And if anyone out there reading this knows how to get Sarah on the show – maybe there is still a chance for her!

Sarah’s $10 will go toward the cost of getting a baby-sitter for this coming weekend.

As for the film, we got it done and submitted it on time.  They are showing our film on Thursday night at 7pm at the AFI Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910.  I am going to go see it.  I have not seen any of it yet, so I have no idea how I did or how the film turned out after being chopped up, edited, and put back together.  I am a little scared to watch myself bomb on the big screen.

Tickets are $10 for about a dozen short films starting at 7pm.

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Day 135 – Duke Ellington School of the Arts 9th Graders

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , on May 3, 2010| 5 Comments »

Last Wednesday I met up with Danny Harris, the creative mind behind The People’s District blog who I met on Day 64.  If you haven’t checked out Danny’s website, please do.  I love it. 

Duke Ellington School of the Arts (Photo: Reed)

Anyway, we just met up to have a coffee and share some conversation.  At some point, Danny looked at me and asked, “What are you doing this afternoon?” In the spirit of unemployment, I responded that I was pretty busy but that I might be able to squeeze something in.  I asked him what he had in mind and he shared that he was teaching a Media and Communications course at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the afternoons and asked if I would be a special guest in one of the classes.  I happily accepted the invitation. 

Danny picked me up on his scooter around 1:30.  Yep, I was strapped on the back of his scooter heading through Upper Georgetown.  Thank goodness nobody caught a picture of me looking ridiculous trying to figure out where to put my hands and feet.

The school is very different than the school that I attended.  Students seemed to be treated much more like adults.  The far wall was covered in books.  The chairs were set up in the shape of a circle.  The room itself was rather different.  Picture a room that has an opening to another room on one side and along the other side a wall that didn’t go all the way to the ceiling allowing discussion in the adjacent room to be heard. 

(Photo: Reed)

The ninth graders started trickling in and several came in and politely introduced themselves to me.  

Danny started his class and later introduced me.  I took a ten dollar bill out of my Moleskine notebook and showed it to the class and asked, “What would you do if I gave you $10.”  Ideas started spewing forth, but most of the ideas were focused on what they would buy for themselves.  Then I asked, “What about doing something for someone else?”  Most students then started brainstorming ideas that involved others, many of the ideas focused on how to help a teacher at the school who recently suffered a miscarriage.  It was amazing to see these young minds at work.  Sure there were the occasional moments of pure chaos, but mostly it was controlled chaos.

Danny and I posed several questions like:

“Does it matter what the person does with the money?”

“Does the giver’s intentions matter?”

“How would you feel if you gave money to someone who said they needed it and you later found out they had lied about their situation and didn’t really need the money as much as they said they did?”

“When you give, do you make any conditions on your kindness or do you do it unconditionally?”

The debate was fantastic. 

9th Grade Media & Communications Class (Photo: Reed)

The time seemed to fly by and we were getting very close to the end of the class and the sound of the bell signaling the change of class.  I told the students that I was going to give my $10 to them as a group and they had to agree on what to do with it.  There was no shortage of ideas.  Many of them involved helping the aforementioned teacher, others involved raising money for various causes.  They settled on the idea of using my $10 as the foundation of a fund that they would themselves contribute to in order to host an open mic night to raise money for their class.  

This was an amazing opportunity to interact with the students.  I hope that they consider doing something on June 15th as part of the Worldwide Day of Giving and share their experiences here with all of us.

I walked home, it’s about a mile or two.  On the way home I started getting really sick.  It was the beginning of a 36 hour stomach flu that wiped me out last week.  I have since fully recovered!

Tonight I am doing an interview with a Korean radio station…should be interesting!  I will let you know how it goes.

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Day 110 – Ed D.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 12, 2010| 4 Comments »

The Year of Giving received so much attention yesterday due to Liane Hansen’s report on NPR Weekend Edition.  I got about 3,500 hits and 75 messages yesterday alone.  So many touching stories from you about how you somehow relate to one of the recipients or have been moved by my own commitment.  I hope that you know that your letters and stories mean a lot to me.  I am slowly responding to your emails.  Please keep sharing…together our collective stories and efforts make a difference. 

Many of you asked how my job interview went on Friday.  Thank you.   I think it went well…but I won’t know anything for probably a week or so.

Did you read the article that was linked at the end of Alex’s email yesterday; interesting research on the contagiousness of kindness.  I don’t have a controlled study like they had to conduct their research, but my unscientific data shows the same results.  It’s powerful.  Have you found yourself catching the bug?  If so, please drop a note here and share what you are doing to spread kindness.

When I ended up at a small gathering at my friend and former work colleague Daniel’s house I was introduced to Ed.  One of the nicest guys I have met.  His easy demeanor and sense of humor strike me immediately.  I asked if he would accept my ten dollars.  He said sure. 

Originally from Colorado, Ed is a “self employed contractor, carpenter, tile setter” specializing in renovating kitchens and bathrooms.  Although he does all kinds of work, he has a special interest and talent in working with full round log timber frames.  He got started after he completely remodeled his own log house in Colorado 16 years ago. 

Well there was more interesting things about Ed.  He is a motorcycle aficionado, lists skiing and glass blowing among his hobbies, and was an exchange student at the University of Tampere in Finland.  I was an exchange student in both Mexico and Spain and have also been to Finland almost 30 times.  It’s funny the similarities that you can discover when you take time to speak to a stranger.

I shot some video of Ed.  He talks a little about his work and interest in building homes as well as what he thinks of DC.  He was extremely open about himself and spoke to me about coming out that he was gay.  Now 45, Ed only came out 8 years ago when he moved to DC.  When I asked him if there was anything that he could use help with that I could post on my Lend a Hand section, he laughed and said “you can help me find a partner!”  So new territory for the Year of Giving to serve as a “match-maker” of sort.  Ed shares what he looks for in a partner.  If anyone wants to meet Ed, please shoot me a message with some information about yourself and I will forward your message on to Ed.  Who knows…maybe he will contact you!

As for the $10.  Ed was heading to see a band at the Black Cat and said it would end up getting spent there most likely.

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Day 105 – Gary F.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , on April 5, 2010| 5 Comments »

For those in the DC area, check out the 11pm news on NBC 4 Tuesday night.  There is supposed to be a report on the Year of Giving. 

So the voting for the Clyde’s dinner is done.  The two top finishers were Larry from Day 90 (34 votes) and Roger from Day 57 (11 votes).  Congratulations guys.  I am going to contact them and set up a time with Hans from Clyde’s.  I’ll make sure to get a picture and post it.

Other day I was walking down Connecticut Avenue when I saw a man with two guitars (one with 10-15 feet of rope tied around it) strung around his neck, a baby’s pacifier threaded into his hair, one shoe, and one sandal.  I didn’t really have time at the moment to stop and talk to him, but when else do you find a guy like this, right?!

Gary (Photo: Reed)

So I stop and talk to Gary.  He is 57 and has been in DC since 1967.  He says that he is married, but has an open relationship and doesn’t live with his wife currently.  He has five children.

Gary clearly has some challenges.  He openly admits to a substance abuse problem and some criminal misdemeanors.  I asked if he had been drinking or done any drugs that day and he said no.  When you see the video, you can make up your own mind on that issue.  He told me that he goes to AA meetings regularly at the Reeves Center.

Gary's guitar (Photo: Reed)

I won’t say much more about the man who calls himself “Johnny Wa Wa” except that as I was leaving, a woman stopped and said hello to him.  He asked if she would marry him.  She laughed and said “no.”  He asked for her address and she denied him again.  After I left I saw the woman and asked her about Gary.  She said that he is a smart and very friendly man with a substance abuse problem.  She vouched that he does go to AA meetings.  She herself is a recovering substance abuser and knows Gary through AA meetings.  She shared with me that she recently celebrated five years of sobriety.  It was nice to see her reaching out to be a friend of someone who needs positive influences around them.

Who knows where my $10 will end up…but Gary says he is going to most likely use it to get two strings for his guitar – which only had four strings on it.

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Day 100 – Bill D.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , on March 29, 2010| 8 Comments »

Day 100.  I have given $1,000 to 100 different people so far.  $10 doesn’t sound like much, but trust me it adds up.  Although some people remind me of plenty of things I could have used the money for, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.  It has been amazing.

If you live near Grand Forks, ND, I will be on the air with Denny and Kerri of KYCK 97.1 FM Wednesday morning a little after 8am Central Time.  You can listen live on the Internet as well at http://97kyck.com/.

Bill playing the sax (Photo: Reed)

Last Wednesday I went out in search of a recipient for my $10.  I ran into several former recipients of my Year of Giving: Kenneth B. (Day 30), Bill C. (Day 36), Nikki G. (Day 66), and Manny H. (Day 85).  Now when I walk around my neighborhood I always run into someone that I have given to before.

I came across Bill Davis who was entertaining Metro riders entering and exiting the Dupont Circle station.  The 46-year-old Maryland resident has been playing music since he was in elementary school when he started playing the saxophone.  I too started playing the saxophone when I was in elementary school, however, I produced much different sounds.  I recall my brother Ryan comparing my playing to the sounds of a slow dying moose.

(Photo: Reed)

Bill has been around the music industry for a long time.  He shares one of his most proud accomplishments; producing Peaches & Herb’s Colors of Love album.  You might remember Peaches & Herb best from the late 70’s hit Reunited.

“Reunited and it feels so good

Reunited ‘cuz we understood…”

Bill said he was going to use my $10 to buy him some new reeds for his saxophone.  My name must have subliminally influenced his decision.

I asked him what he thought of my project and he said, “Giving is a beautiful thing.”  That it is.  Speaking of giving…I’ll give you a little peak at Bill’s musical talent.  Check out the following video.

 

UPDATE: Nov 15, 2011:

I ran into Bill this morning at Metro Center. As I climbed the escalators I was greeted by the crisp November air and the melodic tunes of Mr. Davis playing the saxophone. It makes the vibe of the whole area kind of cool. We chatted for a second. He said he was doing alright and might even stop by David’s farewell party next Monday night.

Here’s a photograph I took of Bill this morning…I took this with my point and shoot which is old and not that good…but it still captures his familiar poise.
IMG_3993.jpg

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Day 97 – Patrick A.

Posted in Alcohol, Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 26, 2010| 8 Comments »

I am still pouring through your emails and comments.  So many amazing stories of people who have been motivated to start their own giving projects.  I have heard from people in Saudi Arabia and Brazil who want to start giving $10 a day in their country.  I have received numerous offers to help recipients on the Lend a Hand page.  Others have told me how they are helping their churches, local schools, community centers, random strangers, neighbors, etc.  Numerous people have offered to help me directly.

I firmly believe that people are inherently good.  When we hear about someone else spreading kindness it triggers something that awakens passive thoughts of kindness that we carry inside us. 

I continue to answer your emails and comments one by one…please be patient if I have not responded to you yet.

My notebook (Photo: Reed)

Today my story is about Patrick, but before I get to him I want to share something that happened to me today.  I keep all my notes in a small black notebook which happened to fall out of my book-bag today as I took some photos in front of a Barns & Noble.  I went to dinner with my brother, his wife, and a cousin of mine and then walked home.  On the way home I stopped in to see Larry from Day 90 at Starbucks to tell him that so many people have voted for him to go to Clyde’s with me (see this post).  It was then I realized that I didn’t have my notebook. 

I took a cab back to the restaurant but they didn’t have it.  I started to walk home and decided to look around the Barnes & Noble.  There is so much foot traffic there though that I was sure it wouldn’t be there.  For some reason I decided to go in and ask if someone had turned a notebook in.

Would you believe that two women had turned it in!  YES!  THANK YOU!  They gave it to a Security Guard named George who gave it to Sultan who was working behind the check-out area.  I tried to give George $10 but he would not accept my money.  I have agreed to try to go back and find him one day and maybe buy him a coffee or something.  I did get the name of the company he works for and will write them a letter telling them of his good deed.  I will also write a letter to the Barnes & Noble to tell them about both George and Sultan. 

Phew….I thought I lost my book.  Ok, back to day 97.

On Sunday night I thought I would look around for someone to give my $10 to at the McDonald’s at the Woodley Park Metro station.  There was nobody in the fast food restaurant so I walked around to the Connecticut Ave. side and found Patrick kicking a soccer ball on the sidewalk into some plastic crates against the wall of a bank.  It was around 11pm so I figured this guy’s gotta have a story to be out here at almost midnight practicing soccer by himself.

Patrick A. (Photo: Reed)

I spent some time just watching him juggle the ball with his feet and knees as well as taking shots on “goal.”  Then I chatted with him some.

The 23-year-old DC native says that he comes out there and practices against the wall of the local bank several nights a week.  A lot of people know him as “crazy soccer guy.”  

Patrick is unique.  He has never owned a cell phone and swears that he will never get one.  He is writing his own Philosophy book.  He enjoys theatre.  He designs his own jeans…the list goes on.

Rather than me talk about him…check him out for yourself.  He’s a trip…I’m warning you.  He uses my $10 for something nobody else has done so far. 

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Day 94 – Rob W.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 22, 2010| 3 Comments »

Unfortunately my cousin Ricky passed away on March 12th.  He had a heart attack on Wednesday and later died on Friday.  Although I had not seen Ricky in a long time, I did see his mother (my aunt) much more often.  You never prepare yourself fully to lose a child.  

Welcome to Kroger's!

I traveled to Roanoke, VA on Thursday to be with my family.  While I was there I found myself at the Tanglewood Kroger on the Southwest edge of the city. 

As I walked through the grocery store I found Rob deep in concentration as he studied the Bomb Pops.  I thought I would introduce myself. 

Like me, Rob is unemployed right now.  He was working as a financial specialist for the hospital in Roanoke up until being laid off last August.  Although he would like to find work, he has used his time off to focus on his passion for making music.  He is a one-man recording artist making experimental home-made music.  He goes by the name Sad Wilson and you can hear a sample of his music here.  I listened to a bunch of the songs.  Most of them have heavy tones of melancholy (hence Sad Wilson).  Rob integrates different media into the songs…for example recordings of conversations or telephone operator recordings on top of guitar melodies.  There was something Neil Youngish about Junk Stomp Brain and Pretty Corpse.  All in all not my preferred style, however, I think the experimental approach he has taken is cool and the fact that he does it all himself is amazing. 

Rob with his $10 and favorite Popsicles (Photo: Reed)

I got out my camera to take some pictures…I got a little worried that the Kroger people might come over and ask me to leave or put my camera away.  Jokingly I said to Rob, “They might get upset unless you know somebody that works here.”  He said, well, my grandfather used to be the CEO of Kroger.”  I was like, “really.”  He just looked at me and nodded “yup.”  So…I took some photos! 

Rob plans on using my ten-spot to buy some blank CDs to burn some of his music.  I have a feeling if there is anything left over it will get used for Bomb Pops.  Never met anyone with such an affinity for them! 

Around this time Rob’s friend came by.  I think this was his girlfriend or wife…and I believe her name was Ashley…but I could be wrong.  My note-taking is pretty poor.  Sorry!  They both told me how bad the economy was in Roanoke.  And let me tell you, it looks way more depressed there than in

Rob and Ashley (Photo: Reed)

DC.  Next door to the Kroger is the Tanglewood Mall.  Ashley said, “Yeah,it’s pretty bad…you can find that mall on deadmalls.com!” I checked…she was right.  I also went to the mall…and it aptly listed on the website.  “There’s just a lot of empty buildings around town” she added. 

Although it is sad to see this, it is important to see it.  I think Washington is a little recession proof because of all the government related jobs.  This town needs some life pumped into it.  

I asked the two what they would recommend for someone to see in Roanoke.  They looked at each other, shrugged, and said, “I don’t know….maybe the Star?”  They are referring to the Mill Mountain Star, built in 1949 at the top of Mill Mountain.  It is the world’s largest freestanding illuminated man-made star. (There is a bigger one in El Paso, TX, but it isn’t illuminated)  I had actually seen it before…my cousin Martha got married last Fourth of July at a winery in Roanoke that overlooked the Star.  It was a great view and the Star is pretty at night.   

“Other than that…maybe the Taubman Museum…but it’s weird.  It looks like a space ship” they told me.  The Taubman  apparently has permanent and temporary exhibits and focuses mostly on 19th/20th century American art, modern and contemporary art, new media, photography, and visionary art.  I didn’t have time to visit it this time. 

Give Rob’s music a listen.  It’s good to have artists who are pushing the envelope. 

Today’s blog is dedicated to the memory of my cousin Richard “Ricky” C. Huels, Jr.  (Nov. 27, 1959 – March 12, 2010)

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Day 59 – Ali B., Lindsey G., and Lodogg

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , on February 11, 2010| 1 Comment »

I walked by the Best Cellars wine shop in Dupont today and saw the following sign out front.

So I went in to see what the deal was.  The shelves were almost completely bare.  I was promptly greeted and learned that Saturday would be there last day open – assuming they still have wine and accessories to sell. 

I was sad to see this shop close.  After searching the internet some, I found some reports that the landlord has received a much higher offer for rent from a cell phone company.  Although I totally agree with a free market, I am personally disappointed to see Best Cellars leave and a cell phone store take its place.  We have several cell phone stores in walking distance from the Best Cellars location and I have been to three of them and had terrible experiences at all three.  Not that we are short on wine shops in the neighborhood, we have plenty, but the staff at Best Cellars was always very friendly and took their time with customers who had trouble understanding and explaining what kind of wine they liked.

Anyway, I thought who better to give my $10 to than one of the three nice employees who were losing their job this Saturday when the store closes. 

Enter Ali, Lindsey, and “Lodogg.”  And Lodogg made sure to let me know that there were two “g”s in Lodogg.  I gave them $10 to split…and they said they would buy one of their highly discounted bottles of wine and toast to the last days working together.  Lucky for them, they all have other jobs…but they worked here for supplemental income (and I am guessing awesome discounts on wine!)

Lindsey, Lodogg, and Ali toast to their final days at work

All three of them hope to find new part-time work in the wine industry.  I will post this on the Lend a Hand section in case someone knows of some job leads for them.

If you are in the neighborhood, stick your head in and say hello (or good-bye) and grab some wine and accessories at a great price!

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Day 41 – Cleo

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , on January 25, 2010| 3 Comments »

As of today I have given a total of $410 of my savings to 41 people that I didn’t know.  More importantly, I have met 41 people and learned their story.  I can still say that it has been worth every dollar.  Also, I have “met” so many of you through the blog…people from all over the world.  To date almost every state in the US and 30+ countries visited the Year of Giving.  I have enjoyed interacting with all of you.  I have also received a lot of great suggestions about things I should do with my project.  Here are some of your ideas/suggestions:

  • Write a book
  • Have a celebration at the end of the year for the recipients and blog readers
  • Accept donations from others and use that money to give additional $10 each day or to extend the Year of Giving
  • Write to Oprah and tell her what I am doing
  • Start my own nonprofit
  • Get an airline or travel agency to sponsor travel for me to all 50 states during the Year of Giving and give $10 to someone in each state
  • Incorporate twitter into the site (done)
  • Add video blogs to the website (I just found out that this is a premium feature.  I have asked WordPress to sponsor this capability for me in the spirit of my project.  For now you can see my videos on the Year of Giving’s Facebook page)
  • Have guest bloggers
  • Organize a “day of giving” where everyone who is following online will be encouraged to give $10 on that specific day and then write in on the blog about their experience

The list goes on.  I love to receive your suggestions.  I am already in the planning stage of some of the suggestions, others are more complex and I have to see how I would go about doing them.  What do you think?  What ideas do you like?  What other ideas do you have?  Let me know if you can help make any of these ideas turn into reality.

On Day 41 I found myself in Chinatown in DC.  I was walking along the street near the Verizon Center and found Cleo playing the trumpet.  The 50-year-old native of the DC stood playing his heart out with his back to the street and his trumpet case open on the sidewalk.  The case was peppered with coins.  As we talk he answers all of my questions in a melodic verse.  I will try to get some video up on Facebook so that you can see for yourself what an amazing man Cleo is.

He has been playing trumpet since the age of 8.  Born and raised in DC, he grew up playing in the school band and later in a drum and bugle corps.  He has been busking for some 20 years.

I ask him what he is going to do with the $10 and he said he was going to use it to buy some valve oil for his trumpet.  He said he also needed to collect $25 right to get a good music stand; his old one broke.

He said that you can find him at Gallery Place when there are games at the Verizon Center (I found him at 7th and G, right next to Clydes).  He also plays in Adams Morgan at night from time to time…he laughed and shook his head and said that Adams Morgan was a wild and crazy place!

I asked him if he had a practice of doing things for others and he sang back something to me like, “I might find someone….and buy them a hamburger….”

Cleo is the real deal.  I think it might be impossible to speak with him and not smile.  He is a must see if you catch Wizards, Capitals, or Hoyas game!  

If anyone wants to help Cleo or any of the other recipients, let me know and I can try to make arrangements.

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Day 11 – Mike

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , , on December 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Merry Christmas everyone.

Today was wonderful.  We got up early to exchange gifts since my brother and his fiancée Mandy had to get on the road to visit her family in New Jersey.  After exchanging gifts and hugs we had some breakfast and even managed to squeeze in a game or two of bridge before Ryan and Mandy had to leave. 

My father and I worked on straightening up the house some and decided to catch a movie.  We went over to the Camp Hill Theaters on Simpson Ferry Road to see Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.  Inspiring movie, although I think director Clint Eastwood’s other recent works are a notch above this one.  My dad really enjoyed it.  As we exited the theater I looked for someone to give the $10 to.

I found 26-year-old Mike from Mechanicsburg.  He was standing alone next to a bucket of popcorn and two large drinks.  Mike had just finished seeing Sherlock Holmes, which he gave a thumbs up for.  He was waiting for Avatar, the new film out by James Cameron.  As he seemed to be a bit of a movie fan, I asked him what his favorite all time movie was.  He settled on the 1995 hit The Usual Suspects.  Fine choice I might add.

Mike was not sure what he was going to do with the money.  Said he would probably spend it on himself in some way or another…something to eat or something he needs to pick up here or there.  I reckon there is a chance he stays for a third film today :).

So, counting today, I have completed 11 days of giving…353 more to go!  I find it interesting that none of the recipients have commented on the website or sent me a comment.  I think that hearing their point of view would enrich the project tremendously and I encourage any and all of the recipients who might wander back to the site to check in.  Let us know if you ended up spending the money the way you thought or if you changed your mind.  What type of reaction have you received from those with whom you have shared your story? 

By the way, I followed up with an email to our Scottish mate David, who we were introduced to on Day 5, however, I have not heard back from him either.  I was hoping to meet up once more with him before he heads off to Afghanistan.

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