Singing Boston Strong: Spotlight on Tufts Jackson Jills

When I reached out to Boston area collegiate a cappella groups for Music for Miracles back in 2011, Tufts Jackson Jills jumped right on board. They rocked Morse Auditorium and helped us raise a lot of money for Childrens Hospital Boston and my husband's 2011 Boston Marathon run.

When I got the idea to do another a cappella concert, Singing Boston Strong: An Evening of A Cappella to Benefit Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and contacted the Jills, they immediately said yes to donating their time and talent to the event.

Founded in 1963, the Jackson Jills is Tufts’ oldest all-female a cappella group. We are a non-profit group, and we frequently sing at charity events, fundraisers, nursing homes, schools, and private parties, sharing our love of music with our audiences. Our vocal styles range from standards like The Beatles and Pat Benatar to modern stars like Rihanna, Bruno Mars, and Beyonce. Our recordings have received numerous Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, been featured by Rolling Stone, and our tracks have appeared on Best of College A Cappella (BOCA) albums and CAMO best-of a cappella albums. We just released our 50th anniversary album, Moonlighting, in Spring 2013.

Their appearance on Fox25 news went viral last year after the Red Sox made it into the World Series:



Welcome the Jills back to Boston University with a sell out crowd all to benefit Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Let's hit a home run after we celebrate Opening Day here in Boston.

Donate to Greg's fund raising page and in the comments section write how many tickets you would like set aside. We will have them ready for you at the will call table. Minimum suggested donation/ticket is $10 to reserve your spot for one of the hottest a cappella shows this Spring.

See you on Friday!

Some Thoughts on Courage

“You have plenty of courage, I am sure," answered Oz. "All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz



The courage definition is traced back to the Latin "coraticum," meaning "heart." The heart is the core of the courage definition because it is the source from which the characteristics of courage emanate. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1534125



It's been almost 11 months since the Boston Marathon Bombings. The anniversary of 4/15/13 and then the 2014 Boston Marathon are right around the corner. I toyed with the idea of running this year's Boston for Spaulding Rehab for about a minute realizing that it would not be a good choice for me to train for another Boston Marathon but I knew I needed to do something to heal my broken heart from this event that shook us to the core.

I've been a part of support crew for L Street Running Club:





Co hosted Singing Boston Strong: Karis' Karaoke for a Kause:

There's Greg and me dedicating Born to Run to Karis' Boston Marathon run.

And I've helped to organize Greg Gordon's Boston Marathon Fund Raiser: Singing Boston Strong: An Evening of A Cappella to Benefit Spaulding Rehab happening on April 4:

On April 13th, we are volunteering to do packet stuffing for the B.A.A.

I know how blessed I was to not witness the carnage first hand and to be able to safely evacuate from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. My heart is forever filled with gratitude for the courageous staff at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel who calmly led us through an evacuation route to the back of the hotel away from the explosions on Boylston Street.

Still the effects of the bombing are with me especially as we approach the anniversary and I prepare for Marathon Monday. Truth be told, the thought of going back to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel terrifies me. I have offered to help Spaulding Rehab on Marathon Monday because several members of their Development Office are running this year. There are 100 members of the Race for Rehab team and they will need all hands on deck at the reception.

I'm honored that I am a Spaulding Rehab Alum having run the 2009 Boston Marathon for Spaulding:

and that I am healthy and strong and able bodied to be able to volunteer on Marathon Monday.

But I'm still terrified and so I decided that what I need to do is go back to the Mandarin before Marathon Monday. I need to walk up the stairs where I once hobbled after running the 2009 Boston Marathon and where I walked with such excitement and joy for the first time since my Boston Marathon run last 4/15/13.

I need to walk into the suite where time stood still at 2:50pm and look out onto Boylston Street.

And I need to allow all of the emotions and sensations to wash over me as I along with hundreds of thousands of people prepare, with open and full hearts, to join together on 4/21/14 for the 118th running of the Boston Marathon.

And Now a Word About Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

On my way to Aquatics Therapy Class this morning with Karis, I bumped into Suzanne Showstack Adams. From my soon to be released memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":

I met Suzanne Showstack, now Adams in the fall of 2007. I told her that I was going to have a book of poetry published and wanted to donate a portion of the proceeds to Spaulding. We met for lunch at Legal Seafood in Chestnut Hill. I was still sporting my short leg brace and bright blue cane but was feeling much better since I had quit my job at the VA and took the summer to begin the healing process. I could experience Suzanne’s warmth and compassion through our email exchanges scheduling our luncheon. She took notes during our lunch intrigued by my healing journey. I told her how important it was for me to give back to Spaulding.



Suzanne shared my story in hospital newsletters. We thought that I was a remarkable recovery back then...Suzanne and I went on to run the 2009 Boston Marathon together as part of the Race for Rehab team



and we were together on 4/15/13 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.



Suzanne and I hadn't seen each other since Tom and I took a tour of the new facility the week after the bombings. As she greeted Tom and me she said, "I was wondering when I was going to see you. I know you're here all the time." I noticed how we hugged each other just a little bit tighter ...

We reminisced and caught up and then I went off to Aquatics and she off to her work in the Development Office.

Spaulding has been a part of my life since October 2006 when I made that phone call to the International Rehabilitation Center for Polio at Spaulding. Whenever I needed anything related to care and management of being a polio survivor, Dr. Darren Rosenberg and the team of therapists have been available to me.

While taking the tour of the new Charlestown Facility, I saw the Aquatics Therapy Center


and took their flyer about their community classes. Every week, twice a week, since last Fall, I have been finding and building my strength in the healing waters of the beautiful Aquatics Therapy Center. It has been life changing for me as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma and is the perfect complement to my running and my biweekly sessions with Joseph. I can feel for the first time in my 7+ years of my healing odyssey that I am on sure footing climbing to higher and higher ground:



This beautiful plaque on the grounds of Spaulding says:

Rarely does the path to recovery follow a straight line
Like a tidal stream, it bends and twists
It surges and trickles
It ebbs and flows.
That is why rehabilitative care must be fluid too.
Spaulding takes an approach to patient care that is flexible, highly personal and informed by a deep understanding that while every patient strives to reach higher ground, no two rehabilitative journeys are ever alike.

As wonderful as I feel and as well as I am doing, I do live with a spinal cord injury. Karis knows how to guide me and everyone in her classes, to challenge myself yet not over do. She provides me with support, encouragement, reminds me of how strong I am yet listens and is so understanding when I come face to face with my challenges.

Karis was at the Mandarin although we didn't know each other at the time. When I heard she was going to run the Boston Marathon even though she had never run a day in her life, I told her that I would support her run in any way I could. She is running for Spaulding Rehab Hospital to raise money so that patients' lives and the lives of their families can be healed after whatever life throws their way.

I know how Spaulding helps me to find higher and higher ground in my healing journey through the Aquatics Therapy program. It's a comfort to know that there are staff at the ready to support me as I age as a survivor of paralytic polio.

Please join us this Thursday at the Limelight Stage and Studios for Karis' Karaoke for a Kause with all proceeds benefiting Spaulding Rehab Hospital.

With your minimum $20 donation, you'll be entered to win an autographed Tom Brady Jersey and as second prize, a Joy of Sox Movie DVD.

And everyone comes away a winner. The owner of Jacob Wirth Restaurant in Boston has generously donated as many gift certificates as people who come out to Sing Boston Strong. One of the gift certificates is for $50, there are four for $25 and the rest are for $10. If 80 people show up 77 get half their money back, 4 get their donation back and one comes out ahead. And I must say, Jacob Wirth's has the most amazing sweet potato fries I have ever had in my life!

And don't worry if you're too shy to step up to the mic, we'll have plenty of people singing strong.

Cash bar and appetizers.

Silent Auction Items:

Autographed books by Bob and Lee Woodruff

Pair of Celtics Tickets - face value $375 to 3/9 game against Pistons

Gift certificate to Marathon Sports and The Joy of Sox Movie DVD

Gift certificate to Stapleton Floral Design

Cape Getaway package

If you are unable to join us, with a minimum donation of $35, we'll enter you in the drawing for the Tom Brady autographed jersey to be held on 2/20/14.

Read Karis' story on her fund raising page and make your donation today. In the comments section write "Karaoke."

Every day I give thanks for the care I have received and continue to receive at Spaulding. I bless the family that donated money for the Aquatics Therapy Center and all who have donated to support this place of healing. As Karis so eloquently states on her fund raising page:

Please consider making a donation to support my fundraising efforts as I work to raise $5,000 to benefit Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Every dollar counts and will directly benefit the facility that gave 33 bombing survivors, and many others, their lives back. I am running the Boston Marathon to honor those survivors and memorialize those who lost their lives last April.


We ARE Boston Strong and will be Singing Boston Strong on Thursday. Won't you join us?

#word

Why Yesterday's Blog Post Wasn't Written Until Today - 10 Months Later

I had started to write a blog post yesterday. I was writing about how we are almost at ten months later since the Boston Marathon Bombings and about two months to go until the start of Boston 2014.

When the sun came out, and there was a forecast for another winter storm today, I decided to head out and flyer the town for Singing Boston Strong:Karis Karaoke for a Kause.



When I got home, the evening seemed to fly by and I never got around to finishing that blog post...with good reason...

There was no way that I could capture the sentiment of the ten month anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings as did my friend Christa of Christa in New York:Curating A Creative Life Through Ancient Wisdom and Modern Tech.

Please read her beautiful blog post:

Inspired: Don't Just Remember the Boston Marathon. Honor Boston and Its Residents.

and "like" her pages on Facebook:
Christa in New York

Compass Yoga

And follow her on Twitter @christanyc

along with her fabulous four footed companion Phineas @phineasnyc

Making Peace with Polio - Passion for Spaulding

At my husband's new job, he has a flexible health spending account which I learned I could use for massage sessions and for my Aquatics Therapy sessions at Spaulding Rehab as long as I had a letter of medical necessity.

I must say that even though Dr. Darren Rosenberg who heads the Post Polio Clinic in Spaulding Framingham and I might not have always agreed on my healing path, he has been there every step of the way to support me on my journey.

Here is what he wrote in the letter of medical necessity:
I am overseeing Ms. Mary McManus for Post Polio Syndrome, a chronic neurological condition. Due to Ms. McManus' history of paralysis due to polio, she suffers from upper and lower extremity weakness and pain. In order for Ms. McManus to prevent further decline and preserve her current level of independence, I deem it medically necessary for Ms. McManus to have Massage Therapy as well as Aquatic Therapy.

I am doing extremely well for a 60 year old with a history of paralytic polio. I live a full, vibrant and active life. But from time to time, I have reminders of polio - tremors, fatigue, weakness especially on my left side, coordination and balance issues that manifest as I challenge myself with strength training and finding my aquatic strength through the Aquatics Therapy program at Spaulding Rehab. Yet I have a heart full of gratitude and realize how fortunate I am to have been able to heal physically, emotionally and spiritually. This past weekend was a very busy weekend. Thursday evening a trip to Target to stock up for our water table stop. Friday grocery shopping. Saturday a joyful 7 miles and more grocery shopping. Sunday - water stop for L Street. Yesterday and today I have needed to take naps and I do notice that my system needs time to reset. Sometimes I do forget and get ahead of myself but rather than fight to overcome what is happening or experience frustration, I feel a beautiful sense of peace with the residuals of polio that manifest from time to time in my body.

And that brings me to the subject of my passion for Spaulding. Spaulding was there for me in October of 2006 when I was so frightened of what was happening to my body, mind and Spirit. I was a proverbial hot mess and had no idea what my future held if I had a future. Spaulding was there for me as I crossed the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and now again through the Aquatics Therapy Program.

I was in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel celebrating Spaulding and the Race for Rehab Team on 4/15/13 and now I want to be there for Spaulding to raise money to support two of my friends' Boston Marathon run and fund raising efforts.



With 75 days to go, we are counting down and getting ready to Sing Boston Strong at these two phenomenal fun(d) raisers to benefit Spaulding Rehab:

Karis' Karaoke for a Kause happening on 2/20/14 from 8:00-10:00 pm at the Limelight Stage and Studios at 204 Tremont Street Boston. Suggested minimum donation is $20 and you receive a Take a Chance ticket to be entered to win an autographed Tom Brady Jersey. And don't worry if you're too shy to step up to the mic, we'll have plenty of people singing strong. Cash bar and appetizers. If you are unable to join us, with a minimum donation of $35, we'll enter you in the drawing to be held on 2/20/14. Read Karis' story on her fund raising page and make your donation today. Silent Auction Items include autographed books by Bob and Lee Woodruff, A Cape Getaway Weekend, Celtics and Red Sox Tickets, Gift certificates to Stapleton Floral Design and Marathon Sports.

An Evening of A Cappella to Benefit Spaulding Rehab happening on 4/4/14 at Boston University. Terpsichore, Boston University's premier all female a cappella group will be your host from 7:00-9:00 pm at Sleeper Auditorium located at 871 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA. The evening features performances by Terpsichore, the BU Dear Abbeys, BU's In Achord and Bostonality, a post collegiate a cappella group. Minimum suggested donation is $10. Make your donation to Greg Gordon's fund raising page and in the comments section note that it is for the benefit concert.

It's been an incredible 7 year healing odyssey since I took those first very tentative steps at Spaulding Rehab's Post Polio Clinic. Now that I have found my strength, and made peace with polio, it's time for me to help give back. I hope you will join me!

Singing Boston Strong: Karis' Karaoke for a Kause - Three Weeks From Today

I can feel the butterflies starting and we still have three weeks to go until Singing Boston Strong: Karis' Karaoke for a Kause happening at Limelight Stage and Studios on Tremont Street in Boston. I always experience a sense of exhilaration and angst when it comes to putting together a fund raiser but mostly exhilaration trusting that people always show up!

The Boston Marathon bombings has been in the news today. I still get goosebumps and a feeling of nausea when I write that word. The government is asking for the death penalty of the accused bomber and of course that has generated all sorts of banter on Facebook.

My beloved Marathon Sports posted:

The bombings during last year's Boston Marathon affected so many people in so many ways. Our thoughts and prayers should always be with the victims, their families and the survivors.

I found this on Twitter -- the BAA has given 15 numbers to the family of Lu Lingzi, the Boston University grad student who was killed in the bombings. Five of those numbers will be going to BU students, staff, faculty or alumni. You can read the full story at Run The Boston Marathon in Honor of Lu Lingzi

And I expect that between now and April 21st, we will all be experiencing news stories, and emotional after shocks of the events of last April 15, but I also believe we will be experiencing a sense of healing - of hope - and of possibility.

Many of the survivors were treated at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital a new state of the art facility in Charlestown. I took the first steps on my healing journey 7 years ago at the old Spaulding Rehab Hospital on Nashua Street. I continue to find my strength in the Aquatics Therapy Program at the new Spaulding. The bombing survivors have found and continue to find their strength after a life altering event that defies description.

I didn't know Karis Antokal yet we were both in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel with Spaulding Rehab last April. She happened to look out the window at the time the 2nd bomb went off. Karis is a massage therapist at Spaulding. She had never run in her life and never imagined that she would ever take her place at the starting line of the Boston Marathon.

Yet lives were forever changed that day and while we have no choice about the events - we do have a choice about how we respond to them.

As Leonard Bernstein said:



So please join us on 2/20/14 from 8:00-10:00pm for Singing Boston Strong: Karis' Karaoke for a Kause. Don't worry if you don't want to karaoke - by the way I have made that a verb- just come and have a great time as we gather together for a great cause and to support Karis on her 26.2 mile journey from Hopkinton to Boston.

For a minimum $20 donation you will be entered to win an autographed Tom Brady Jersey. You can make your donation to Karis fund raising page

There will be a cash bar and appetizers and a Silent Auction:
2 Celtics tickets to the 3/9 Celtics vs. Pistons Game - Face value $350
3 autographed books by Bob and Lee Woodruff
A Cape Getaway Weekend
Gift certificates to Stapleton Floral Design and Marathon Sports

We are going to raise our voices and a whole lot of money as we sing strong because we ARE Boston strong.

Sing Strong, Run Long - Countdown to Boston

100 days until April 21, 2014 - a sure sign of healing that instead of marking the days since 4/15/2013, we are counting down the days to the 2014 Boston Marathon. We were hit hard by a Polar Vortex during the long, dark days of winter. How fitting that we experience warmer temperatures and more daylight as we prepare for Marathon Monday 2014.

Today I saw this post on Facebook:

Marathon Victim Runs On Her Own For The First Time Since April

The fire of Spirit can never be dampened by violence!

And as Leonard Bernstein said:

I am putting together two wonderful fun(d) raisers for my friends who are running for Spaulding.

On 4/4/14 - join us for Sing Strong: An Evening of A Cappella to Benefit Spaulding Rehab

I cannot take credit for the Sing Strong idea. Fermata Town, one of the a cappella groups that is hoping to perform at our concert, (pending confirmation that members are available on 4/4) had as their previous employment status, SingStrong. Seemed like a most fitting title for our concert.

Check them out on Youtube:



We are waiting confirmation from the BU Dear Abbeys:



and BU Terpsichore said they are on board-- Here they are rockin' out Sara Bareilles' Love on the Rocks



I've reached out to the MIT Logs and Tufts Jackson Jills who performed at our Music for Miracles concert back in 2011.

The 4/4/14 concert will support Greg Gordon's run for Spaulding.

And sometime in March watch out for Sing Strong: An Evening of Karaoke to benefit Karis Antokal's run for Spaulding Rehab.

Start warming up your pipes -- Here is one of my favorite Karaoke numbers to sing:



It's been almost 9 months since the day lives changed forever in the city of Boston. It is 100 days until the world gathers in Boston to reclaim our beloved Marathon Monday! Between now and then we've got to sing strong, run long and countdown to Boston 2014!

Countdown to a New Year

After being in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel during the Boston Marathon bombings, life changed dramatically for me as it did for everyone whose lives were touched by the events of April 15, 2013.

The explosions opened up the portal for me to experience my own trauma history in a new way. I learned what it means to be Boston Strong.

I published a trilogy of poetry books this year inspired by my healing journey:

I bought my first pair of Vibrams



and now run in a minimalist running shoe:

I returned to the roads and to the running community where we celebrate and heal in the aftermath of 4/15/2013 running the Brookline Symphony Orchestra 5K Fun Run & Walk, my first race in 2 years:

and the Feaster Five on Thanksgiving morning:

In 2014, I will publish my memoir, "Coming Home:A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility."

I plan to run the Tufts 2014 10K and build my miles.

I will continue to heal and grow with the help of the wonderful Aquatics Therapy program at Spaulding Rehab where I began to find my strength again in 2013.

I will be putting my fund raising hat back on to support Greg Gordon and Karis Antokal's 2014 Boston Marathon run for Spaulding and plan to volunteer with the Development Office as we countdown the days to the Boston Marathon.

I will continue to share my message of healing, hope and possibility through my blog and in the way I live my life.

I am blessed and grateful for all that 2013 taught me and the place where it brought me as I begin a new decade of my life. I am excited for 2014!

Boston 2014 Runner Spotlight: Karis Antokal

"The answer to the big questions in running is the same as the answer to the big questions in life: do the best with what you've got."
-Unknown


"I'm not a runner -- well not yet anyway," Karis said to me during yesterday's Aquatics Therapy Class at Spaulding Rehab.

"Oh yes you are," I said somewhat out of breath as Karis put us through our paces with Michael Jackson's tunes keeping us pumped up during the Find Your Aquatics Strength workout.

I reminded Karis of this quote:



Karis applied to the 2014 Spaulding Rehab Race for Rehab Team inspired by the strength and courage of the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings who received their care at Spaulding. Karis is a massage therapist at Spaulding.

Here is a photo of her from the Patriot Ledger which captures her compassionate care with a teen who was paralyzed and vowed to walk again:



She tells me all the time what an inspiration I am to her. Well she inspires me every week, twice a week to challenge myself and find my strength in new ways. In yesterday evening's class she had us "play hop scotch" in the pool and pivot doing squats. She coaxes us along as our heart rates rise and we are moving in every direction to nourish our neuromuscular and myofascial systems. She is tender and compassionate while also pushing everyone to their edge. She watches everyone in the pool to ensure that we are safe in the way we are doing the exercises. She knows my neurological challenges yet works with me to go beyond the challenges.

And she is challenging herself in new ways....

Karis had never run before. She started with a couch to 5K program and will work with the Race for Rehab team to train to go the distance on April 21, 2014. I know it won't be easy especially as she trains through the grueling New England winter. But I also know that with Karis' fiery Spirit, her background in dance and her joy of movement; her dedication to her patients at Spaulding along with her sense of humor (a must for every runner), she will go the distance.

And she is going to need your help in going the distance with fund raising. She started her fund raising page today and let's inspire her to log those miles as we donate those dollars... Here is the link to her fund raising page on Crowd Rise.

A week from Wednesday, I turn 60 years old. Spaulding is where I took the first steps on my healing journey seven years ago this month. Spaulding is where I am building strength and creating change moving beyond paralytic polio and trauma. The best gift you can give to me is to donate to Karis' fund raising page so that Spaulding can continue to do the phenomenal work they do in helping all who come through their doors to find their strength.

As I left class to go home, I stopped by the office to thank Karis for another great class. I smiled and said, repeat after me, "I am a runner." She smiled that beautiful smile of hers and said, "I am a runner."

Courage - January 5, 2009 from A Celebration of Life now available on Amazon
The fear of ice and snow and slush embedded in my soul
a training run in winter - the path to Being whole.
A winter scene - Jamaica Pond - a feast for eyes' delight
to witness nature's splendor and behold this glorious sight.
A leaf - a tiny dancer - skating free without a sound
God's breath directs her movements, as She guides her twirling 'round.
Families of ducks decide to walk or take a dip
a comedy of errors into icy water slip.
The branches now bejeweled with ice bend with loving Grace
sparkling diamonds' anchor water's surface hold in place.
God's hand a glove of glistening snow hugs rocks along the wall
their heads peek out reminding me I'm answering God's call.
A scene I'd never witness if I let my fear take hold
courage triumphed, steppin' out with footsteps sure and bold.
Knowing that the pain subsides and Spirit can prevail
the Marathon is beckoning - through those miles I shall sail.

The Game's Afoot...

a memorial birthday challenge in memory of Thomas Aston...

In February of 2008, I walked into Marathon Sports Brookline to buy my first pair of running shoes. "What are you wearing now?" the incredibly handsome Spencer Aston asked me. "Um well..polio shoes..." Thirty minutes later I walked out of Marathon Sports with my first pair of running shoes and a new friend. Spencer and his Fenway Quintet played a benefit concert for Team McManus' 2009 Boston Marathon run. So when Spencer asked me if I would help him fund raise for his first marathon run in San Diego on June 3, I jumped at the opportunity. Spencer conceptualized "The Game's Afoot...: The memorial birthday challenge is a unique event where every participant gets to choose the challenge. Options are based o participant's age and you have the choice of selecting a distance challenge or a time challenge. For example, if you are 38 years old you have the option of completing a 38K run or a run of 38 minutes in length. It's completely up to you! If you wish to participate as a walker, you can choose the memorial 2 mile walk."

I messaged my facebook friends, we spread word about the facebook event; I posted in L Street and Merrimack Valley Striders running groups pages. I reached out to my yoga friends who run. I helped secure raffle prizes. There was an option for virtual runners/walkers. If people opted to not participate for $30 which included 5 raffle tickets and a New Balance tech shirt (photo below), they would make a $5 donation and be entered into the raffle.

Fifteen people registered for the event including virtual runners. We'd hoped there would be more registrants on game day (which did not happen). Bananas and bagels were donated for apres run/walk. Spencer and his wife Chelsea bought water for the particpants. Despite the 'low' turnout, spirits ran high. Chelsea and Spencer set up a water table at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir just as they would have if 100 people had shown up for the day's event. Team McManus was delighted to be reunited on this glorious day for a wonderful cause and opted for the 2 mile power walk.

After the event, we had a chance to visit with Spencer's sister, her husband and their two adorable daughters. Spencer and his family talked about Spencer's dad. Boy I sure wish I would have known him. He died seven years ago from leukemia. He was an artist, a thespian, a writer - a true Renaissance man. His signature was the design Spencer used for the tech shirts. Thomas Aston's presence was palpable as the family shared memories.

We talked about the girls doing a lemonade stand and selling the New Balance tech shirts that were left over and a benefit concert in his sister's home town in Connecticut to help Spencer meet and exceed his fund raising goal. The song I chose for today's blog post is Fanfare. Spencer is a quiet, humble man who lives an honest life of integrity and passion. He does so with little fanfare. Despite being a trumpet player, Dr. Aston (he has a Ph.D.) does not blow his own horn. So I'm doing it for him. Open your heart and your checkbook and donate whatever you can to Spencer's San Diego Marathon run as part of Team in Training on his fund raising page. If you'd like to donate to receive the New Balance tech t shirt valued at $40, please email Spencer at runtrumpet@hotmail.com. Please take a moment and read his story on his blog, Running With My Father. Tissue warning!

“….I firmly believe that any man’s finest hours – his greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear – is that moment when he has worked his heart out in good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.” - Vince Lombardi

Here is to your finest hours Spencer as you run with your father at the 2012 San Diego Marathon! God speed.

From my heart to yours
With deepest, admiration and total gratitude
Mary