Randy Jones - November 1, 2007
Report from the benefit...
Oh what a night! I still have goosebumps, a smile on my face and a tear in my eye. I was just in awe of the Thorn Love that was shown tonight. Randy was there from the beginning and he was able to stay for the entire show. It was so great to see him, give him a hug and share a smile. This is one of those nights that I will always be thankful for. This really proved Paul's "Rise Up" philosophy.
I'll get right down to it...
The crowd started coming in about an hour+ before show time. People were catching up, making new friends, greeting old ones (Hi Chuck and Christine) and enjoying the great food at Vanelli's. The stage was set up in the patio area of the restaurant and that entire side of the
restaurant was only for people that were coming to the benefit.
There was a table set up to take donations and there was a silent auction, a raffle and items for sale. The big item was a guitar that was autographed by Paul. A fun bidding war kicked off the night and the guitar went for $300 in the end. The raffle included an autographed viagra clock, a Janet (t-shirt girl) original t-shirt, two
prints from a local artist and a Starbucks gift bag. Items for sale were a collage of Paul memorabilia (another Janet original), mood rings, pirate bracelets, autographed pics of Paul from his boxing days
and autographed posters for the event. All of these items helped to raise money for Randy...but don't worry if you're feeling like you missed out..there will be an announcement this weekend about how you can also get some of the items that were available at the show.
Before the show there was a video crew (from SongShine) interviewing people about how they knew Paul and Randy. I missed out on the
interview process, but it looked like they got some good footage. The crew also recorded Paul's set.
Joyce took to the stage to start the night off by making a few announcements and then Paul was up playing. The set was:
Lover's Vacation
Help Me Out, Hook Me Up
Woman to Love
I'm Still Here
(i may have missed one song here)
I Have a Good Day
Mood Ring
Burn Down the Trailer Park
A Star that Fell Down
Joanie
I Hope I'm Doing This Right
Whup Ass
Resurrection Day
Everybody Wishes
I Bet He Knows
Hammer and Nail
Love Will Find You
We May Not Have a Future
That's A Lie
Where Was I
Almost What You Need
--Q&A-- Yes, Paul opened the floor to questions from the audience
Lucky Man
Mission Temple
Ain't Love Strange
It was an incredible set of music, with some songs that Paul hadn't played in a while. It was so great to sing and dance through the night
to one song after another.
The night ended with the auction and raffle winners. Then Joyce handed out plaques to Paul and the sponsors. I was then stunned when she also had ones for the volunteers. Mine will be going on my shelf right next to my Thorn-A-Holic award from two years ago.
I have to give special thanks to Caran and Joyce for getting all of the ducks in a row. It made things so much easier for all of us. And more hugs to Marleah, Tommy and Janet for making my night soooo much fun. And to all of the other volunteers (Joyce can you fill in the rest of the names? Sandra, etc) who busted their butts by taking
tickets, handing out wristbands, selling raffle tickets, guarding the door etc. Once again, Thorn Love was flowing.
It was also great to see Heather and Bella--she has to be one of the cutest little girls I have ever seem. Other people from the Thorn camp
were Billy and Richard. I really enjoyed hearing Richard's band play too. And Billy is just that solid presence that makes everything better. He's a class act.
And I can't leave out Benny. On a personal note, it was so great to see the look on his face when he saw me. That made me smile. I am so glad that I could be there to share in this night. I wouldn't have
missed this for anything.
I hope Joyce and Caran will fill in all of the thank you's for the sponsors and donors for the event. I am sure they can do a better job at that than I can.
Tonight was an incredible experience. Being able to be a part of it will have an impact on my life for a long time. It was so great to see a group of people with a common thread come together to do good. There are so many bad things in this world, but tonight for a few hours some of that faded away. Randy's situation sucks and I hope that some of his pain was eased for a few minutes tonight. Randy is a shining star and I feel lucky that I can call him a friend. A girl can't ask for more.
Oh what a night! I still have goosebumps, a smile on my face and a tear in my eye. I was just in awe of the Thorn Love that was shown tonight. Randy was there from the beginning and he was able to stay for the entire show. It was so great to see him, give him a hug and share a smile. This is one of those nights that I will always be thankful for. This really proved Paul's "Rise Up" philosophy.
I'll get right down to it...
The crowd started coming in about an hour+ before show time. People were catching up, making new friends, greeting old ones (Hi Chuck and Christine) and enjoying the great food at Vanelli's. The stage was set up in the patio area of the restaurant and that entire side of the
restaurant was only for people that were coming to the benefit.
There was a table set up to take donations and there was a silent auction, a raffle and items for sale. The big item was a guitar that was autographed by Paul. A fun bidding war kicked off the night and the guitar went for $300 in the end. The raffle included an autographed viagra clock, a Janet (t-shirt girl) original t-shirt, two
prints from a local artist and a Starbucks gift bag. Items for sale were a collage of Paul memorabilia (another Janet original), mood rings, pirate bracelets, autographed pics of Paul from his boxing days
and autographed posters for the event. All of these items helped to raise money for Randy...but don't worry if you're feeling like you missed out..there will be an announcement this weekend about how you can also get some of the items that were available at the show.
Before the show there was a video crew (from SongShine) interviewing people about how they knew Paul and Randy. I missed out on the
interview process, but it looked like they got some good footage. The crew also recorded Paul's set.
Joyce took to the stage to start the night off by making a few announcements and then Paul was up playing. The set was:
Lover's Vacation
Help Me Out, Hook Me Up
Woman to Love
I'm Still Here
(i may have missed one song here)
I Have a Good Day
Mood Ring
Burn Down the Trailer Park
A Star that Fell Down
Joanie
I Hope I'm Doing This Right
Whup Ass
Resurrection Day
Everybody Wishes
I Bet He Knows
Hammer and Nail
Love Will Find You
We May Not Have a Future
That's A Lie
Where Was I
Almost What You Need
--Q&A-- Yes, Paul opened the floor to questions from the audience
Lucky Man
Mission Temple
Ain't Love Strange
It was an incredible set of music, with some songs that Paul hadn't played in a while. It was so great to sing and dance through the night
to one song after another.
The night ended with the auction and raffle winners. Then Joyce handed out plaques to Paul and the sponsors. I was then stunned when she also had ones for the volunteers. Mine will be going on my shelf right next to my Thorn-A-Holic award from two years ago.
I have to give special thanks to Caran and Joyce for getting all of the ducks in a row. It made things so much easier for all of us. And more hugs to Marleah, Tommy and Janet for making my night soooo much fun. And to all of the other volunteers (Joyce can you fill in the rest of the names? Sandra, etc) who busted their butts by taking
tickets, handing out wristbands, selling raffle tickets, guarding the door etc. Once again, Thorn Love was flowing.
It was also great to see Heather and Bella--she has to be one of the cutest little girls I have ever seem. Other people from the Thorn camp
were Billy and Richard. I really enjoyed hearing Richard's band play too. And Billy is just that solid presence that makes everything better. He's a class act.
And I can't leave out Benny. On a personal note, it was so great to see the look on his face when he saw me. That made me smile. I am so glad that I could be there to share in this night. I wouldn't have
missed this for anything.
I hope Joyce and Caran will fill in all of the thank you's for the sponsors and donors for the event. I am sure they can do a better job at that than I can.
Tonight was an incredible experience. Being able to be a part of it will have an impact on my life for a long time. It was so great to see a group of people with a common thread come together to do good. There are so many bad things in this world, but tonight for a few hours some of that faded away. Randy's situation sucks and I hope that some of his pain was eased for a few minutes tonight. Randy is a shining star and I feel lucky that I can call him a friend. A girl can't ask for more.