My friend Steve Presser wrote the following about another friend (and his best friend) Jon Lash. It's an invitation to a benefit for Jon, who through no fault of his own finds himself unable to work and facing the loss of medical coverage.
BENEFIT FOR A BUDDY
We all have good friends. If you are lucky, you have a "best friend" – a person you laugh and cry with. They give you the "smart" answers, yet you do stupid things together. You talk to them 3 times a day, most of which is about useless crap. Bottom line, your best friend is always there for you.
My best friend is Jonny. You can tell we've been buddies for a long time just by the Jonny and not Jon (over 40 years if you're asking). If I called him at 3 in the morning and told him that I needed a new kidney, his immediate response would be: "Do you want my left one or right one?" With Jonny it's no questions asked.
Jonny had shortness of breath 4 years ago. It turned out that previously he probably had several heart attacks. You won't find a tougher person. Jonny went in and had 7-hour-plus quadruple bypass surgery. His heart came out just fine ... he didn't. Somewhere, somehow Jonny experienced damage to his neck, vertebrae and nerves. For awhile, Jonny had trouble with balance and walking straight. The once-strong athlete and city champ in tennis ... the guy who did multiple somersaults off the diving board ... the ball player who played a faultless shortstop in front of me in left field ... can now barely lift 2 pounds and walks at a very slow pace.
Constant pain shoots up his neck to his head and often through his eyes. Pain travels down his arms and sometimes into his legs. Today and most days, Jonny lives with what he says on "his" scale is an average pain-level of 8 – off the charts for most of the rest of us. The pain is pretty much 24 hours a day. If Jonny is lucky, he gets 2 hours of sleep at night. He can't sit for more than an hour. The once-proud hard worker was forced to leave his previous job of 13 years.
In September 2009, his previous employer misread a doctor's report and dropped Jonny from long-term disability – his only source of income. At the end of this month, Jonny will lose his health insurance coverage. Trust me... there are many more horror stories to tell. Jonny has seen every traditional and non-traditional doctor out there. Jonny and I joked the other day about a magnet that I sell at Big Fun. Maybe you've seen it. It says: Lost Dog: Blind in one eye. One leg and ear missing. Recently castrated. Answers to the name Lucky We laughed about it and then Jonny sent me a photo of it ... he has it on his fridge.
Jonny is a great father to his 3 kids. He does amazing things with and for them, considering his situation. I must also add that all 3 of his kids have been wonderful and mature handling their dad and this unique situation.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO???
On Saturday Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. at The Beachland Ballroom,we are throwing a BENEFIT FOR A BUDDY. The Del Rio Bandits,a 5 piece surf style instrumental band will be playing from 8-9 p.m.
Cats On Holiday, one of our favorite local bands will go on at 9:30. If you have seen Cats, the hard rockin', swamp poppin' band, you know how great and fun they are. If you haven't, this is a great opportunity.
$10.00 at the door gets you in to this special night. All proceeds from the door go to help Jonny and his family.
The bands have graciously offered their services for free and the fine folks at The Beachland Ballroom have donated the facility for the night. If you drink (and not to excess) a portion of the bar will go to the cause too. Special thanks to my good friend Denis DeVito of Cats On Holiday for making this benefit a reality.
This is about community! This is about us taking care of one of our own. Jonny is a humble guy. He does NOT like hand outs. He would be working if he could. Let's try and give him a hand UP. I personally know first-hand what a community can do for someone in need. I am forever thankful for that special day when the community turned out after the diners closed. Let's all try and be there. Beachland Ballroom at 15711 Waterloo Road, Cleveland (link to map: http://bit.ly/6Osdwa).
If you can't make it to the event and still want to help I will have an envelope for donations at both Big Fun locations. If you prefer to write a check, please make it out to: Jon Lash
PEACE and Thanks.... and here's to the beginning of a special year.
~SteveI plan to attend; hope you can too.
