WINNER!!!!! GIVEAWAY - VAULT 3 LP!

whoyouare72

My wife and I were just remembering how happy Ed was after "ALL THE WAY" at Wrigley last year to introduce Ernie "Mr. CUB" Banks and to share the stage with him at "our diamond, our jewel" and experience "one of the greatest moments of my life" with "the GREATEST Chicago Cub of them all, the legendary MR. CUB.....ERNIE BANKS!" Ed gave Ernie his baseball glove from when he was a kid and seeing the band and Ernie SO HAPPY is another reminder for US how grateful for what our family has in life.

Please post what someone selflessly did to make YOU HAPPY! That's it! We will send the winner a VAULT 3 sealed vinyl.

Ten Club made us VERY happy that night with center section P tickets, so we are simply in a mood to do something nice for someone so please don't make up some story or any BS to try to get this record.

Please post YOUR story of what they did to make you HAPPY in this thread between now and 10pm US Central time on Easter Sunday 4/20. You do not have to use their name if you do not want to. One sentence or 100 I don't care.
My wife and I will decide the winner and announce sometime on Monday 4/21.

The vinyl is in great condition and shipping worldwide is on me.

THANK YOU PEARL JAM for helping to remind us what is important in this life! Sincerely, John and Liz.

"In a world full of greed I could never want more....."

loffy81

Very good of you to do this, I have a copy already so good luck to whoever enters.

BHealy

I was going through some really incredibly stressful stuff with my job (I can't get into details, for the sake of privacy). A co-worker of mine, who is friends with Ed, but not really a huge PJ fan, surprised me in Phoenix this past November with an all-access pass! I really needed to have some fun and forget about the job-related BS for awhile. It was amazing, and the "high" from the experience lasted for weeks!

veddertown

Great giveaway! Amazing generosity which is typical of this place. I don't have any long stories of selflessness or amazing acts of generosity but I'll share this anyway as it did make me very happy. I recently had a very painful shoulder operation and one day during my recovery which is still ongoing my 3 year old daughter drew a bright red crayon mouth on a post-it note and placed it on my shoulder when I was sleeping. She said this kiss will make daddy's shoulder all better! :x

elwayvedder

There are so many generous and giving friends of these forums that it would be an insult to the rest for me to single anyone out so I will say you WhoYouAre72 for your giving nature here and creating a thread to bring the focus back to the good that can happen here.

whispering hands

In '95 I drove 81/2 hours to San Fran Ca, to see PJ play GGP on a whim. I had 500 dollars in my
Pocket, and hopes to find a ticket. I stood in line next to a lady and her daughter for well over five hours.. Finally a guy came down the line asking why everyone had to go see them.. We all told our stories, and when my lady friend explained that it was her daughter's14 th bd, I offered my 500 to help towards the girl's ticket, and that guy ended up GIVING us his tix! He would NOT let us pay!! So we got tix, and saws crazy show! Just last year I was able to repay the ticket karma, and give someone else a chance to see the band! The Jamily is amazing! Good luck to everyone!

whoyouare72

elwayvedder said:

There are so many generous and giving friends of these forums that it would be an insult to the rest for me to single anyone out so I will say you WhoYouAre72 for your giving nature here and creating a thread to bring the focus back to the good that can happen here.

elwayvedder said:

There are so many generous and giving friends of these forums that it would be an insult to the rest for me to singlie anyone out so I will say you WhoYouAre72 for your giving nature here and creating a thread to bring the focus back to the good that can happen here.

thanks Elway yes that's what we're trying to do here is talk about positive stuff and try to bring the positivity back to the forums like the old days. I remember back in the day you couldn't log on here without seeing an active give away. Back in 02 or 03 I remember I did a couple of giveaways for Chop Suey DVDs and saw lots of other giveaways too.

aurynsdad

I have two stories I have to tell.

First, when my girlfriend was pregnant with our first child, there was something she did that made me realize just how incredibly generous a soul she is. She had just gotten sick (morning sickness) and I was feeling horrible for her. After cleaning up, she walked into the living room and noticed that I had the posture of someone whose neck and shoulders were stiff. She came up behind me and started to massage me. I couldn't believe that in a moment where she was so vulnerable and defeated, all she wanted was for me to be happy. I thought about not posting this small, personal moment, but really, it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. It was also foreshadowing of her "right livelihood", as she decided later to go into a career in massage therapy.

The second thing happened when I was in high school in Marin County, California. I worked in the dining room of a very upscale senior living facility as a waiter. There was one lady who scared all the staff. She was just so stern, and if I got something wrong on her place setting for instance, she would slap my hand. Still, I had been taught to respect my elders, and I enjoyed talking with her when she wasn't in a foul mood. I had heard about the critically acclaimed Phantom of the Opera production going on in San Francisco, and somehow it came out during a conversation that I would love to take my grandmother to it if I could afford tickets (she had taken me all over the place, to canyons and old California Missions, even Hawaii). One of the things she had taken me to was a symphony performance, and I knew she would love that show. So one day, I get back to the table to bus the plates and I see that there's an envelope with my name on it. Inside are two tickets for really good seats. You better believe I took my grandma, and we both loved it. A couple of things about this story: first of all, it was forbidden for them to give us tips (I don't know why), so she kind of broke the rules doing this for me. Second, I made a lot of friends there, and it's really sad to think that not a one of them is with us anymore. Mrs. Seidall taught me two very important lessons that day: Don't judge a book by its cover, and practice random acts of kindness!

hrd2imgn

My long time neighbor and ticket buddy is a HUGE cubs fan, of course Wrigley was the best. We saw the last posters sell out right in front of us, literally, they sold out with the person before us in line getting the last one (except the hot dog). Cracker jack was long gone,.....he was heartbroken. This was the one poster he wanted more than any and the flippers selling it within minutes on ebay made us want to puke. So through the channels and time I traded a copy of Yield for the Crackerjack, mailed it to his work without telling him other then I am sending you a gift. He has it framed and loves it by the way.

Do not pick my submission, I don't need the vinyl, just wanted to share a random act of goodness.

jamminpearls

Awesome and I mean awesome idea. My answer is very easy,my wife giving up 9 months of her life to give me the best present ever. Jacob is without a doubt the best thing I've ever accomplished or will ever accomplish. So this was a very east question for me to answer. Thanks for the chance and good luck in this awesome contest.

whoyouare72

wow just wow already some great ones!! We are in trouble.....we are going to have the hardest time trying to pick a winner!

aurynsdad

Since I'm in before they say "only one story per person", I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity to share one more story.

My son Auryn came two and a half weeks before his due date. We had gone in to have the doctor check on things because he was breach. It turned out that our doctor detected a severe lack of fluid in the amniotic sac, and scheduled us for a Caesarian that very evening, throwing our birth plan out the window. We had very little time to pack, and our house was a mess. As any parent knows, those first few days are crazy. When we got home after our stay at the hospital, our friends and family had built new shelves as part of a major organization and cleanup effort. There was delicious homemade soup staying heated on the stove, and a fire in the woodstove along with a bunch of wood setup next to it. The place glowed with love. We both cried at how beautiful that gesture was.

mfc2006

Too many to name, but I'll go with a recent one. Because of a good friend here, I attended the Spokane show. Was able to see him both before & after the show & it meant a lot because we live on opposite coasts. I was in GA with another good friend & when they started playing Release, I started crying bc of losing my Dad. He put his arm around me & said some kind words. Those sad tears turned to tears of joy. BIG thanks to Adam & Mike. I'm fortunate to call you guys friends.

evsgjamm

Love the positive vibes.

I was walking down a sidewalk one evening in mid January in downtown Saskatoon (temps were just hovering around freezing point; hows that for a temp conversion for ya folks.) It was just snowing very lightly. The streetlights were creating a magical ambience as big flakes floated past their glimmer. I was alone, just out for a walk and ahead of me, walking in my direction was a woman in a long dark coat. She was alone, walking slowly with her head up, as if to admire the same thing I was admiring. She wore a small fuzzy hat and had shoulder length straight whitish grey hair. As we approached, our eyes locked briefly and we both shared a smile as she broke the silence in the air with a kind "hello." I replied with "good evening" and returned the smile. We had passed each other, having never known the others struggles in life, yet in that briefest of moments, her one single word and smile, made everything OK.

That was 8 years ago and I still remember it vividly today.

wpg pearl

Wow nice give away..........Good luck to all.This record is a beauty

2-feign-reluctance

mfc2006 said:

Too many to name, but I'll go with a recent one. Because of a good friend here, I attended the Spokane show. Was able to see him both before & after the show & it meant a lot because we live on opposite coasts. I was in GA with another good friend & when they started playing Release, I started crying bc of losing my Dad. He put his arm around me & said some kind words. Those sad tears turned to tears of joy. BIG thanks to Adam & Mike. I'm fortunate to call you guys friends.

This makes me tear up. Adam sent me his copy of Backspacer on white wax after learning 10c 'lost' mine in the mail back in 2010. Then this past year he tried arranging for me to go see a Pearl Jam show & as much as it pained me, I had to turn him down as I had a then 6 month old at home & it just wasn't in the cards. He's generous beyond words & one of the nicest people you'll ever meet not just in PJ-land, but in all the land!

evsgjamm

aurynsdad said:

Since I'm in before they say "only one story per person", I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity to share one more story.

My son Auryn came two and a half weeks before his due date. We had gone in to have the doctor check on things because he was breach. It turned out that our doctor detected a severe lack of fluid in the amniotic sac, and scheduled us for a Caesarian that very evening, throwing our birth plan out the window. We had very little time to pack, and our house was a mess. As any parent knows, those first few days are crazy. When we got home after our stay at the hospital, our friends and family had built new shelves as part of a major organization and cleanup effort. There was delicious homemade soup staying heated on the stove, and a fire in the woodstove along with a bunch of wood setup next to it. The place glowed with love. We both cried at how beautiful that gesture was.

I could cry just thinking of that. sheesh! >-

aurynsdad

elwayvedder said:

There are so many generous and giving friends of these forums that it would be an insult to the rest for me to single anyone out so I will say you WhoYouAre72 for your giving nature here and creating a thread to bring the focus back to the good that can happen here.

Hell yeah! Was great to be reminded of these stories, and see others as well!

whispering hands

I don't know if this will " count" not that I care if it does or doesn't but this memory still makes me cry happy tears, 18 yrs later. I worked at a handicappable horseback riding therapy program as an I term for my horse psychology program. A d I got to work one on one with severely Autistic children, and children with acute cases is Cerebreal Palsy. One day we got an odd call... A Nanny had called and asked if we could facilitate a child that had multiple diagnosis' she was Autistic with severe depression. After a long staff meeting, we agreed. The next day, ( when we were normally closed), the girl and her parents, her brother and get Nanny showed up. This poor girl looked like she couldn't decide wether she was more terrified, or angry. We brought out two very mellow horses for her and her brother who was also Autistic. ( these people adopted ONLY Autistic children! A truly amazing couple!). The girl picked the horse we'd selected for her brother, and the horse was very intuitive.. She knew this girl needed her companionship. They hit it off. They spent an hour on the horses. The boy, normally quiet became a chatterbox talking to his horse. The girl just smiled. Three weeks went by of this. Then we decided to see if they might do better outside. There was a shirt trail we used, and there was a stretch away that was about a quarter Mile long. The boy begged to lope his horse, his sister still not speaking. We had the nanny hold the girl's horse and we taught the brother to sit a lope. After seeing her brother do it, she squeaked.. A nervous sad squeak. So we taught her to sit a lope as well. Her smile was so huge, I swear it outshined the sun!! Then we headed back. We got back into the arena, and the girl who hadn't made a noise outside of that squeak, suddenly bellowed AGAIN!! Her mother was astonished. Her brother giggled. We let them
Lope around the arena a while longer when suddenly we heard the girl bust out laughing!! Soon she was laughing so hard she was crying. At this point I made them slow.. And we pulled them
Up. Their mother was in tears. She hugged every single one of us, repeatedly. They had adopted the little girl who was 11 at 4 yrs old, and she had never spoken but one word at a time. But she drew horses all the time.. She had NEVER heard her daughter laugh until that day!! I still cry when I hear her laughter in my head! Greatest feeling in the world!

whoyouare72

aurynsdad said:

Since I'm in before they say "only one story per person", I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity to share one more story.

Please share as many experiences as you like!

evsgjamm

whispering hands said:

I don't know if this will " count" not that I care if it does or doesn't but this memory still makes me cry happy tears, 18 yrs later. I worked at a handicappable horseback riding therapy program as an I term for my horse psychology program. A d I got to work one on one with severely Autistic children, and children with acute cases is Cerebreal Palsy. One day we got an odd call... A Nanny had called and asked if we could facilitate a child that had multiple diagnosis' she was Autistic with severe depression. After a long staff meeting, we agreed. The next day, ( when we were normally closed), the girl and her parents, her brother and get Nanny showed up. This poor girl looked like she couldn't decide wether she was more terrified, or angry. We brought out two very mellow horses for her and her brother who was also Autistic. ( these people adopted ONLY Autistic children! A truly amazing couple!). The girl picked the horse we'd selected for her brother, and the horse was very intuitive.. She knew this girl needed her companionship. They hit it off. They spent an hour on the horses. The boy, normally quiet became a chatterbox talking to his horse. The girl just smiled. Three weeks went by of this. Then we decided to see if they might do better outside. There was a shirt trail we used, and there was a stretch away that was about a quarter Mile long. The boy begged to lope his horse, his sister still not speaking. We had the nanny hold the girl's horse and we taught the brother to sit a lope. After seeing her brother do it, she squeaked.. A nervous sad squeak. So we taught her to sit a lope as well. Her smile was so huge, I swear it outshined the sun!! Then we headed back. We got back into the arena, and the girl who hadn't made a noise outside of that squeak, suddenly bellowed AGAIN!! Her mother was astonished. Her brother giggled. We let them
Lope around the arena a while longer when suddenly we heard the girl bust out laughing!! Soon she was laughing so hard she was crying. At this point I made them slow.. And we pulled them
Up. Their mother was in tears. She hugged every single one of us, repeatedly. They had adopted the little girl who was 11 at 4 yrs old, and she had never spoken but one word at a time. But she drew horses all the time.. She had NEVER heard her daughter laugh until that day!! I still cry when I hear her laughter in my head! Greatest feeling in the world!

epic good feelings here.

Ty

So generous! Thanks on behalf of all of us!

This January I was working on the Big Day Out tour. I worked Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney. At the Sydney show I was standing backstage watching the Cosmic Psychos absolutely tear it up. I was lucky enough to very briefly run into, say a quick hello and shake hands with Jeff (in catering, Sydney) and Mike (on his way to the stage area, Melbourne). Back to Sydney... I see Ed out of the corner of my eye rocking out, Corona in hand, watching Cosmic Psychos with the Mudhoney guys. Anyways, after the show Ed walked down the ramp ad I just said "Hi". He returned the welcome and wandered over (I was wearing a Ramones short, haha). I told him I was working on the tour, have seen them a lot over the years ad was excited to see them that night. He asked how the work was going and if I was having fun. I asked if he'd got much surfing in. I shyly mentioned I had been in the TenClub 18 years (being only 14 at the time). He replied "Really?! Thanks!" as he hugged me and handed me 2 guitar picks! I thanked him and humbly asked if he minded if I have a photo with him. He said "Of course!" and chucked his arm around me as my shakey hand handed my phone to my friend with me (who Ed also introduced himself to and extended his hand in greeting). The photo is now my profile photo on here (and Facebook of course)! He was interesting, and interested. We chatted for about 5 solid minutes. A really nice guy, and it was the last opportunity I had to meet him on the tour, and he was a really nice dude to talk to! Humble and personal! That night they were amazing, as anyone there would attest, nearly 3 hours! That night I had a sense of realization, standing next to my best friend, exhausted from extreme hours and physical work in the heat on tour, my last night on the tour, I'd just met my idol, it was my 10th PJ band show, when Chloe Dancer started I got shivers, then into the chorus of Crown Of Thorns the old emotions took over and I welled up... brilliant night!

Thanks again! These are some great stories on here!

Fingers crossed!

PJ_Soul

I already have Vault #3, but a lot of people from here have done amazing selfless things for me! You all know who you are, and just know that I will always not take it for granted. :x Not to mention all the others who have just been friends and awesome people to chat with, party with, experience a show with, etc! All selfless with, well, themselves!

But I also just want to say a huge thank you to all of the generous people who have contributed to my holy grail (I don't post there because I don't want to bump my own active holy grail thread, lol)! There are donors who know me, and many who actually don't and gave anyway. It's hard to explain how good it feels to have people do that - I am and always will feel so grateful and honoured that anyone gave enough of a shit to donate. Can't wait for the next holy grail thread so that yet another person gets to feel how I do. :x And of course a thanks to the three organizing it, LukinFan, Dimitrispearljam, and Released1980.

I love this community! ^:)^ And Whoyouare72, very awesome and generous thing to do! Vault #3 is spectacular! And a thread with good vibes is always great to see. :-bd

(and also, my parents!)

guypjfreak

not every original i know but the first person would be my wife and best friend of 29 years who was good enough to marry me and give me two great kids a son who loves his music plays in a band and does his own festivals and a daughter who gave me a beautiful gorgeous granddaughter ....................and as ive had some terrible times in the last 5/6 years these wonderful people have literally saved my life .....G

RW8297

My 2 kids - they make me happy everyday. That's all that counts. All we need is love, love, love,..

shane davis

How generous of you! Last November, my 14 year old son and I hit the road from MT to Spokane to share an epic night watching our favorite band. We had GA tickets, he really wanted to be on the rail...ok, so did I. So we stood in line outside from 9am until the doors opened met some great people, And froze our butts off. I think we were numbers 88,87, ended up second row on Stones side, which was unbelievable!! The icing on the cake was the people in front of us, can't remember their names but they gave my son their spot on the rail about halfway through the show! The look on his face was priceless and I'll never forget that moment, neither will he. So thanks to those generous people in front of us....I think you were from MT also. Thanks again for the memories!

Caught-A-Bolt-Of-Lightning

Mine is actually a solo Eddie Vedder show moment. The first time I saw him solo was in Washington, D.C. at the Warner Theater. I was in the second row on the aisle on the left side. As the show went on I started to believe that Eddie and I were actually making eye contact. Of course I am pretty sure that we ALL feel that we're making eye contact with the guys in the band every time we have decent seats at a show so I chalked it up to that. At the end of the show he was walking across the front of the stage shaking hands and he walked right over to me and reached his hand right out to me. We shook hands for a few seconds and shared a smile. A moment I will never forget. Just wish the spouse had gotten a picture of it...

Hubmann2513

I spent a couple of years out in Utah, a few years back. During this time, I met an older gentleman who was having a really hard time. He had recently lost his wife, and I just kind of took to him. I would stop by once a day at least with a buddy of mine just to try to cheer him up and to see what we could do to help. This seemed a very small thing to do, to help a seemingly great man get through a tough time. Little did I know what impact that would make on him, and, later, on me.

Around this time, I started going through a deep depression. It was one of the hardest times of my life. But that man did everything in his power to help me through it. He wouldn't accept no for an answer on anything. When it got really bad, he would make sure that I had food. He would make sure that I had a place to stay so I wouldn't have to be by myself. He would go bowling with me (even though he was 82!). We became so close, and never once did he require anything of me, though I did everything I could think of to repay him.

Eventually, I decided to return back home to Tennessee, after being diagnosed with a severe depression that needed more stability to be treated than I had in Utah. I thought the man would forget about me. He didn't. He would check up on me almost every day. Little letters would be sent in the mail with a little bit of cash with a letter telling me to take myself out to eat. He did everything he could to cheer me up, even from afar. When I decided to enroll in college, but couldn't afford to pay for it, he stepped in a paid for my first semester so I didn't have to take out as big of a loan. When he felt I needed a break from the grind, he even paid for my tickets to see EV in Memphis in 2012! He surprised me by sending me 2nd row tickets! It was amazing, and I was so grateful to him.

The amazing thing about this man is that it isn't just me that he is doing this for. He helps people all of the time! He will tell stories of strangers or less fortunate people in his area that he will help. He currently has a college student from Haiti living with him for free so he can save to be a doctor. He just is the most caring, selfless, and generous person I know. He has inspired me to try to do the same with whatever fortune comes my way. Because of him, I make it a goal to help someone in some way every day. He really helped me to change my life and to make it through some of the most difficult challenges.

Thank you for providing a way for me to share this story! He is my adopted grandpa, as I like to call him, haha. And I hope everyone has someone like him in their life.

aurynsdad

Hubmann2513 said:

I spent a couple of years out in Utah, a few years back. During this time, I met an older gentleman who was having a really hard time. He had recently lost his wife, and I just kind of took to him. I would stop by once a day at least with a buddy of mine just to try to cheer him up and to see what we could do to help. This seemed a very small thing to do, to help a seemingly great man get through a tough time. Little did I know what impact that would make on him, and, later, on me.

Around this time, I started going through a deep depression. It was one of the hardest times of my life. But that man did everything in his power to help me through it. He wouldn't accept no for an answer on anything. When it got really bad, he would make sure that I had food. He would make sure that I had a place to stay so I wouldn't have to be by myself. He would go bowling with me (even though he was 82!). We became so close, and never once did he require anything of me, though I did everything I could think of to repay him.

Eventually, I decided to return back home to Tennessee, after being diagnosed with a severe depression that needed more stability to be treated than I had in Utah. I thought the man would forget about me. He didn't. He would check up on me almost every day. Little letters would be sent in the mail with a little bit of cash with a letter telling me to take myself out to eat. He did everything he could to cheer me up, even from afar. When I decided to enroll in college, but couldn't afford to pay for it, he stepped in a paid for my first semester so I didn't have to take out as big of a loan. When he felt I needed a break from the grind, he even paid for my tickets to see EV in Memphis in 2012! He surprised me by sending me 2nd row tickets! It was amazing, and I was so grateful to him.

The amazing thing about this man is that it isn't just me that he is doing this for. He helps people all of the time! He will tell stories of strangers or less fortunate people in his area that he will help. He currently has a college student from Haiti living with him for free so he can save to be a doctor. He just is the most caring, selfless, and generous person I know. He has inspired me to try to do the same with whatever fortune comes my way. Because of him, I make it a goal to help someone in some way every day. He really helped me to change my life and to make it through some of the most difficult challenges.

Thank you for providing a way for me to share this story! He is my adopted grandpa, as I like to call him, haha. And I hope everyone has someone like him in their life.

very cool

whispering hands

Hubmann2513 said:

I spent a couple of years out in Utah, a few years back. During this time, I met an older gentleman who was having a really hard time. He had recently lost his wife, and I just kind of took to him. I would stop by once a day at least with a buddy of mine just to try to cheer him up and to see what we could do to help. This seemed a very small thing to do, to help a seemingly great man get through a tough time. Little did I know what impact that would make on him, and, later, on me.

Around this time, I started going through a deep depression. It was one of the hardest times of my life. But that man did everything in his power to help me through it. He wouldn't accept no for an answer on anything. When it got really bad, he would make sure that I had food. He would make sure that I had a place to stay so I wouldn't have to be by myself. He would go bowling with me (even though he was 82!). We became so close, and never once did he require anything of me, though I did everything I could think of to repay him.

Eventually, I decided to return back home to Tennessee, after being diagnosed with a severe depression that needed more stability to be treated than I had in Utah. I thought the man would forget about me. He didn't. He would check up on me almost every day. Little letters would be sent in the mail with a little bit of cash with a letter telling me to take myself out to eat. He did everything he could to cheer me up, even from afar. When I decided to enroll in college, but couldn't afford to pay for it, he stepped in a paid for my first semester so I didn't have to take out as big of a loan. When he felt I needed a break from the grind, he even paid for my tickets to see EV in Memphis in 2012! He surprised me by sending me 2nd row tickets! It was amazing, and I was so grateful to him.

The amazing thing about this man is that it isn't just me that he is doing this for. He helps people all of the time! He will tell stories of strangers or less fortunate people in his area that he will help. He currently has a college student from Haiti living with him for free so he can save to be a doctor. He just is the most caring, selfless, and generous person I know. He has inspired me to try to do the same with whatever fortune comes my way. Because of him, I make it a goal to help someone in some way every day. He really helped me to change my life and to make it through some of the most difficult challenges.

Thank you for providing a way for me to share this story! He is my adopted grandpa, as I like to call him, haha. And I hope everyone has someone like him in their life.

Chills!

OMGkatwoman

Hubmann2513 said:

I spent a couple of years out in Utah, a few years back. During this time, I met an older gentleman who was having a really hard time. He had recently lost his wife, and I just kind of took to him. I would stop by once a day at least with a buddy of mine just to try to cheer him up and to see what we could do to help. This seemed a very small thing to do, to help a seemingly great man get through a tough time. Little did I know what impact that would make on him, and, later, on me.

Around this time, I started going through a deep depression. It was one of the hardest times of my life. But that man did everything in his power to help me through it. He wouldn't accept no for an answer on anything. When it got really bad, he would make sure that I had food. He would make sure that I had a place to stay so I wouldn't have to be by myself. He would go bowling with me (even though he was 82!). We became so close, and never once did he require anything of me, though I did everything I could think of to repay him.

Eventually, I decided to return back home to Tennessee, after being diagnosed with a severe depression that needed more stability to be treated than I had in Utah. I thought the man would forget about me. He didn't. He would check up on me almost every day. Little letters would be sent in the mail with a little bit of cash with a letter telling me to take myself out to eat. He did everything he could to cheer me up, even from afar. When I decided to enroll in college, but couldn't afford to pay for it, he stepped in a paid for my first semester so I didn't have to take out as big of a loan. When he felt I needed a break from the grind, he even paid for my tickets to see EV in Memphis in 2012! He surprised me by sending me 2nd row tickets! It was amazing, and I was so grateful to him.

The amazing thing about this man is that it isn't just me that he is doing this for. He helps people all of the time! He will tell stories of strangers or less fortunate people in his area that he will help. He currently has a college student from Haiti living with him for free so he can save to be a doctor. He just is the most caring, selfless, and generous person I know. He has inspired me to try to do the same with whatever fortune comes my way. Because of him, I make it a goal to help someone in some way every day. He really helped me to change my life and to make it through some of the most difficult challenges.

Thank you for providing a way for me to share this story! He is my adopted grandpa, as I like to call him, haha. And I hope everyone has someone like him in their life.

Beautiful!