Another year, another Minnesota state fair. And I, along with everyone else on Facebook, ask, “where did the summer go?” Well, I’ll tell you where! Summer 2011 went right into the old memory banks as a pretty good one for me. Had some good shows with Tonic Sol-fa, some great quality time spent with friends and family, a skydive, plenty of ripe watermelon and sweet corn, and just the right amount sun to try and hide the nasty farmer’s tan I tend to get at the beginning of each summer. As I look toward the fall, we have a good bit of traveling in the 2nd half of September-Ohio, New York, Nevada, Louisiana, etc…) some cool artist in residencies in October, and then of course, holiday tour time! But before all that, we have to get through the aforementioned MN state fair….should be fun as always, and we expect to see each and everyone of you that are in the area to show up for at least one of the shows….and, not that I’m telling you how to live your lives, but can you imagine the great feeling of joy you will have inside after having given us a bucket of Sweet Martha’s cookies to munch on? I’m just sayin’…….
We wanted to give a final announcement of funds raised for Neighbors, Inc., as well as post all the videos in one easy spot (as opposed to spread all over Facebook and YouTube). With the help of every participant, there was over $17,000 raised for Neighbors’ social service and food shelf programs. Our fans alone helped raise over $2200, and that was in less than a month and mostly just through Facebook and Twitter! Thanks for being a part of this experience.
Now onto the ridiculously entertaining…
Jared’s Perspective
Greg’s Perspective
Shaun’s Perspective
Mark’s Perspective and hugs from Greg
Neighbor’s Inc. fundraiser highlights (with some TSF cameos)
Thanks to everyone who donated to our “Skydive for Hunger” fundraiser! With your help, enough money has been raised to throw three of us out of a plane. The group is anxiously awaiting this Saturday with only minor butterflies (that we’ll admit to).
We were going to go the democratic route and draw straws to see who the lucky one was that got to stay behind, feet planted firmly on the ground, but it appears Mark’s pitiful sobs are more than any three persons can handle. It’s bad enough listening to him whine incessantly here on the ground, let alone the thought of having to hear that awful noise the entire flight up to the spot we jump. At this point, we welcome a plane ride, or a boat ride, or a train ride, or even a wagon ride, anything to get away from the awful sounds.
Mark will, however, be watching safely from the drop zone, umbrella overhead, cooler by his side, teddy-bear in hand, waiting for his much braver counterparts to finish the job they set out to do. You are welcome to stop by and watch the excitement above, and make sure he remembers to put on his sunscreen and floppy hat.
There will still be amazing video asap!
Thanks again for helping us raise money for this great organization! Follow Neighbors Inc. as they continue to fight hunger and provide emergency assistance to people in need. Your donations and/or volunteerism are always welcome through their site.
I never thought I would have jumped out of a plane. I was part of the majority who had always dreamt of skydiving, but never had the drive to make that dream real. Where? When? How? Why? Those were all questions that I could not answer, and thus delayed my skydiving. Recently, I was handed the responsibility of organizing an event for my non-profit called Skydive For Hunger. My executive director explained, “We raise money through pledges, all the funds go to our food shelf and social service programs, and people jump out of a plane.”
What an un-traditional way towards fundraising! So in March, I took my first test skydive jump. I supposed if I were to organize such an event, I had to lead by example and prove to everyone it was safe. As people reading this blog know, I did survive.
I am so happy to see TonicSolFa interested in, Skydive For Hunger. It’s such a great way to help out a local Minnesota community, while also challenging themselves in conquering their own aspirations. Neighbors, Inc, is the primary food shelf and social service agency in northern Dakota County. In 2010, there were more than three million emergency food shelf visits in Minnesota. This year, in 2011 alone, demands have gone up by 26% percent. By donating and supporting those that skydive, you will also be helping those in our community who really need the assistance during these recent times of economic hardship.
As my friend Lee Walker, a 72 yr old Neighbors volunteer, and fellow Skydive For Hunger participant, said, “I figured, it’s for a good cause, why not try it?” Walker said, chuckling as he explained his impulse decision. “I’m kind of looking forward to it. I’m kind of looking forward to it being over, too.”
Daniel Zhu | Communications & Events Manager
_________________________________________________________________
Neighbors, Inc. | building community
daniel@neighborsmn.org
Tel. 651-306-2154
Phew! This is the last one. Next time think twice before sending in your questions. Or maybe we just won’t let them pile up, considering we still haven’t gotten to them all.
We’re close to being done with our four part mini-series of trivial things you may or may not have known about TSF. Take a deep breath, it’s almost over.
Thanks for the many designs entered in our CD design contest. It was exciting to see all the creative CD covers submitted. We have some very artistic and talented fans! Now that the submission stage of the CD design contest is closed, the artists can all relax while we work to make the tough decision. Of course, we welcome the help from all our fans with any input you can provide. Let us know which one you’d really like to see on the front of our next CD. Just go to the contest page to view entries and leave your comments for the design you like.
I can’t say that jumping out of a plane makes the top 10 on my bucket list or even appears in the top 100 as of late and I am literally stunned by how quickly this idea progressed from concept to concrete. I can say that ever since I was a young lad I have admired paratroopers and, at the time, dreamed of joining the Golden Knights of the U.S. Army. For years, this elite parachute team was a part of the week-long River-Cade Festival in my hometown, Sioux City, Iowa. Every night at 5:00 PM, my friend, Jon and I, armed with binoculars, would stop whatever we were doing and head for the highest open clearing (within biking distance) to witness the Golden Nights descend to the ground in grand fashion. Trailed by columns of colorful smoke, circling around each other, weaving back and forth and creating artwork in the sky, the Golden Knights never disappointed. It has been years since I have spoken to Jon, for all I know he followed-through and joined their ranks. So does a dream of skydiving ever really fade? No, it is just incrementally challenged by the reality crescendo of what it means to jump out of plane with a tarp strapped to your back when you just entered your forth decade, have a wonderful life, wife and family and cherish the thought of four to six more decades to come.
That being said, it’s not like I am jumping out of plane guided by navigators with questionable maps under the cover of darkness in heavy winds behind enemy lines to be scattered like seeds across the foreign landscape to then have to attempt to rejoin my comrades to carry out life or death missions to project the freedom and democracy of great nations against the strong arm of tyranny and evil as did the courageous paratroopers and now honored veterans of World War II. God forgive me if I can’t muster up the courage to make this recreational jump for a worthy cause.
As you might imagine, this event has created a bit of divide at home. My wife and daughters are apprehensive while my sons want me to bring back the parachute so they can jump too. To be honest, I am somewhere between column A and column B. I don’t know if that would be described as cautiously optimistic, nervously excited, scared silly or crazy insane or maybe all of the above.
I do have one experience of jumping out of a moving vehicle to eventually meet the ground below. When I was ten or eleven years old, my Dad was driving and we noticed something in the ditch on the passenger side. He swerved to the right and slowed down a bit and I leaped from the vehicle to retrieve my yellow neon Titleist 1. Not understanding the force my inertia would have when my feet reached the fairway; I envisioned a seamless slow-motion reunion that had me nonchalantly jogging to retrieve the ball. Instead, upon impact, I did an immediate face plant and somersaulted down the fairway landing in the rough a few yards away. I gained an appreciation for the basic laws of physics that day and I think that experience will definitely help me land this jump.
On a related note, please check out, “Don’t Jump!” my wife and daughters most recent fundraising initiative.
I really have. Thought it would be cool. Exhilarating. Pretty much ever since Mark brought his bootlegged copy of Point Break (you know – Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, and Jared’s favorite, Gary Busey), it has been a dream of mine. Not as big of a fan of surfing and robbing banks though…..that’s just pure Hollywood magic.
Now that the prospect is within reach, I still think it would be cool, but pretty much had put it out of my mind until now. Heck, if George Herbert Walker Bush can still do it on his 85th b-day, I should have no problem, right? Who knows? Guess we’ll find out soon enough.
I will tell you this, after some of the other interesting heart pounding adventures I’ve been through with these guys, this will just be par for the course. Except this time, we’ll be jumping out of an airplane. While it’s in the sky. Hmm.
If you read Jared’s blog about this topic, you’ll notice that he wrote that I like to scream alot when on thrill rides. He’s right. Try as I might, I can’t seem to stop myself. Guess it’s better than hurling.
