it’s all good
We get to meet some amazing people out here on the road
Everyday, there’s at least one person who stays with you
In your thoughts, I mean
Over the years, we have met some incredible people with some equally incredible stories
I wanted to tell you about a kid Dad met years ago
I remember Dad coming home from one of his first tours in the 80′s
He told me all about a 10 year old kid he met.
He’d received a letter from this boy’s family, asking if Dad could maybe meet with him when he was doing a show in their town
His name was Tom
Tom was a huge fan
Tom had Cystic Fibrosis
His prognosis was, in Dad’s words, devastating
Tom was living in a remote outback town in Australia called Coober Pedy. It’s in South Australia, and is often referred to as the opal capital of the world
So the day that Dad met Tom was a great one
They hung out together
Dad took him in their plane for a ride
Took him to the soundcheck and let him check out how all the equipment works at the shows
Tom loved it
I know Dad was blown away by this little kid
Such a personality, with an amazing attitude to life and his illness
Long after Dad said goodbye to Tom, he was deeply affected by his story
Sometimes life is just bullshit isn’t it?
There was nothing fair about what was happening to Tom
Dad never heard anything from, or about Tom after that
But he never forgot
Some 15 years later, a guy cam up to Dad at a show in Sydney
Do you remember years ago when you met a sick kid in Coober Pedy?
Dad told him he did
Well, do you remember signing your Los Angeles Angels baseball cap for him?
Dad said, yeah, of course he remembered
Well I still have that hat
It was Tom
And didn’t that just bring us all undone?
So here’s Tom, who was never expected to make it, all these years later
With his beautiful fiance Kylie
Tom is getting married next year
Who says there are no happy endings?
September 25th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I really thought that was gonna be a story with a sad ending but its proof that good can come out of something bad. Good on ya Tom!
September 27th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
That’s FANTASTIC! I see Dad had a HUGE influence on him too…How nice he came back to Salute him all those years later!
June 25th, 2010 at 11:02 am
I think I’ts lovely that kevin still remembers that kid all those years ago it takes a person with a heart to do that and your story jenny is beautiful. And the photo you posted with his beautiful fiancee kylie would make you cry even more if you knew that that was taken at her sickest, you see because she has cystic fibrosis too and I have never been more proud of the strength of two people in all my life, and I know this because I am her mum
June 25th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
They really are an amazing couple of kids aren’t they?
Bet your looking forward to the wedding next year!!