*Updated* Joshua - The Love Boat Captain

SD48277

Amongst the Ani said:

I hope this thread stays on page 1 for a long time. Every time I see more threads complaining the band mailed in a show, complaints about people flipping merch or any other normal 10c complaint thread I chose to see what new posts are in this thread instead. I hope you keep us up to date on Joshua. We all need a little smile or even a little cry out of happiness and this thread gives it.

^^ This.

Much love to Joshua and his awesome parents.

Ray J. T.

Stay strong in the fight guys. Joshua is an amazing kid, and through time he will learn to overcome all the obstacles that life throws his way. But absolutely these are the threads that need attention. Shows the power that music contains to heal.

InBetweenIsMne

stina1118 said:

My final blog post about our Philly road trip filled with thank you's and a recap of our experience. Thank you all again for making this family feel so special!
https://joshuajamsblog.wordpress.com/2016/05/02/the-love-he-recieves-is-the-love-saved/

I've finally been able to catch up on this thread and read your blog post about your Philly experience. Josh is such an amazing young man! And I am so happy that he got to hear his song! Every time I hear LBC I think of you guys, and it makes me smile.

All this affirms that this band and its community are the greatest ever!

Rock on Love Boat Captain!

stina1118

You guys are really the F'n best!!!!!!

stina1118

Happy Mothers Day!

I got some new stuff to share. As stuff has come out we're getting more and more. It's so much fun!!

Peace & Love you all!!!

New videos and Tom from Given To Live wrote part 2 of our PJ experience.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1380087482007806&id=814123041937589

https://youtu.be/RBxlJY8SsBw
https://youtu.be/1hombC3Kc2U

Icuraps

As we have had some time to get back into our daily routine I would like to take the time to acknowledge some of the people that made our trip so incredible.

First, Tom, thank you for making all of it happen. You worked for months “across the pond” from us and have it come together so well. When we arrived after midnight, stressed and tired from driving, we walked into our room covered with fun Pearl Jamness, (great adjective) it immediately brought a smile to our faces. You worried about each detail and I appreciated every bit of it. So thank you again to you and your great organization Given to Live.

Thank you to Dave, Brian, Paul and the people who made donations to provide us with amazing PJ Philly merch. Joshua has worn a different PJ shirt to school every day since we have been back. I’m not going to lie; I have been wearing mine to work as well.

Thank you to Crashious Roadside for the amazing hoodies. We are all obsessed. The creativity and quality are incredible and we will definitely order from you in the future. Christina has already started suggesting I consider getting her one for Christmas.

Thank you to Pam and Liam as well as Darlene and your daughter with the avocado socks. It was great meeting you guys have you all be part of this experience. I’m sure our paths will cross again in another city.

Thank you to each person that reached out to us and either just said hi or shared their experience with us.

Often times taking Joshua places gives me anxiety. It’s difficult to explain but Joshua is amazing, he has provided me with perspective and humility all while have the simplest views in an incredibly complex world. Bringing him out can feel like you are exposing your greatest insecurity. I mere awkward stare from a stranger can cut through you unlike anything else.
My wife often asks me if I’m “OK” as she watches my stress level rise. I assure I am, it’s not that I am upset, it’s emotional armor that I wear often when we take him out in large settings.

After two days in Philly and having countless people providing an overwhelming amount of love and support I was able to take it off knowing I was among family. For most of the show on night two I sat with Joshua on my lap and enjoyed every second of it unburdened by anything except maybe the thought of Joshua losing it at the end of YLB, but hey, he’s not the only one.

Thank you,
Josh

motar

Ive cried tears of joy reading your family's story no less than 5 times. You guys are an inspiration and Joshua is a Rock Star. My one regret about the 2 nights in Philly is that I didn't seek you guys out and deliver a strong round of bear hugs.

If you ever make it out to Colorado you have a friend out here.

stina1118

Hi all! Just a heads up... If anyone wants to listen in... I am going to be interviewed about Joshua's experience on Pearl Jam radio today at about 4:15.

We're super excited!!

SD48277

This thread never ceases to make me smile.

lolobugg

stina1118 said:

Hi all! Just a heads up... If anyone wants to listen in... I am going to be interviewed about Joshua's experience on Pearl Jam radio today at about 4:15.

We're super excited!!

that is so awesome. I will be sure to check it out.

stina1118

Very honored and excited!!! I should add that's 4:15 central time. Or 5:15 Eastern.

PP193448

Can someone record this and post the link to it. I've gotta work til 9p. Good luck. Better practice your radio voice. Lol

northerndragon

I'm so happy that you all had such a great experience in Philly. A little sad that I missed meeting you but honoured that I got to share the music with you and your family both nights.
I have to say that my favorite moment came at close to the end of night one when they showed Joshua being held by his dad up on the monitors. It was in black and white, Joshua looked completely worn out but even with his eyes closed and looking passed out on his dad's shoulder the smile on his face was so bright. And you could see his lips moving a little as he sang along. That was the moment of true beauty.
Thank you for sharing your journey and your family with us. It has made all of our lives richer.

P.S. Good luck on the radio today.

ed243421

Best thread ever

Joshua and his parents have inspired so many here

All we need is love

IamTom

northerndragon said:

I'm so happy that you all had such a great experience in Philly. A little sad that I missed meeting you but honoured that I got to share the music with you and your family both nights.
I have to say that my favorite moment came at close to the en of night one when the showed Joshua being held by his dad up on the monitors. It was in black and white, Joshua looked completely worn out but even with his eyes closed and looking passed out on his dad's shoulder the smile on his face was so bright. And you could see his lips moving a little as he sang along. That was the moment of true beauty.
Thank you for sharing your journey and your family with us. It has made all of our lives richer.

P.S. Good luck on the radio today.

Thank you so much for sharing this.

You've just shined a light so brightly on the magic created that night, reminded me of the most magical moments. And he was worn out, absolutely, and there was no chance of him napping or taking a moment off.

There were moments when I'd look at Joshua and see a light in him shining so brightly, a love dancing iridescently in his eyes that spoke of a joy so absolutely unfettered that I wondered if I'd ever seen anyone so happy, so at peace, so in love. They were quite breathtaking moments and I'm so moved you caught some of this as well.

RunIntoTheRain

SD48277 said:

This thread never ceases to make me smile.

Does the same for me!

jlj_swe

I just spent the whole morning here at work reading about Joshua and his Pearl Jam adventures. Tears are flooding my eyes and I haven't worked for a single minute. I don't care.
This is truly what life is about and what matters. My heart has grown so big reading this and it gives me so much hope for mankind and the future.

I salute Joshua, his parents and all the people that has helped out in creating this beautiful experience. All my love to you.

F Me In The Brain

So sorry that I didn't get to meet you all, by the time we were at XFinity each day you were resting up @ the hotel for showtime.

I am just like so many people in this Pearl Jam community who truly found a conduit for feeling through the music of Pearl Jam. Beyond being the soundtrack of my life, Pearl Jam provided me with an outlet when I needed one more than I needed anything to that point in my life. Pearl Jam is always there for us - I know that there are many stories similar to my own. We have heard them so many times, we shared them in this forum, and we heard Ed comment on stories from the stage.

What is so amazing about the decision for your family to open up and to expose yourselves to the rest of us is that you have a unique Pearl Jam connection/story. It is spectacular in so many senses of the word that you were able to put not only the beauty of your family on display, but to allow this community to be there throughout the journey to/from the shows.
I wonder if you really know what you have given us?
Your blog quotes from Given to Fly with the lyric "The love he receives is the love that is saved" and you share this because it makes sense in every way.
What strikes me more as someone who was allowed to take this journey with you is the line directly preceding that one: "And he still gives his love, he just gives it away"
I would say that it doesn't matter what happened to date but that you, your husband, and Joshua just give your love away. But I know that what happened before then DID matter. These struggles, emotions, pains, joys, failures, triumphs, and the attitudes with which you embrace all of them -- they define who you are. So with all of that stated --- you still gave your love to us through sharing your amazing son and his almost unbelievable connection to this band that we all love so much. You didn't have to do that. But you did --- you gave your love, just gave it away.

I humbly join the line of people here who shared what seeing you all on the board before LBC meant to me. I dissolved into tears at the same time as smiled ear to ear and jumped up and down. This was the highlight of the tour -- hell, this was the highlight of my year. And you gave it to me. (Us)

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for being so brave as to share this with everyone -- and I am so thankful to everyone who helped you and made sure that you all received so much love in return for your gifts. You deserve it!
Until the day that I die (or become senile) I will never forget this experience.

Thank you.

RunIntoTheRain

Wow. That^^^ is extremely powerful and likely sums up what all of us felt/feel from watching this journey. Well said.

cutz

F Me In The Brain said:

So sorry that I didn't get to meet you all, by the time we were at XFinity each day you were resting up @ the hotel for showtime.

I am just like so many people in this Pearl Jam community who truly found a conduit for feeling through the music of Pearl Jam. Beyond being the soundtrack of my life, Pearl Jam provided me with an outlet when I needed one more than I needed anything to that point in my life. Pearl Jam is always there for us - I know that there are many stories similar to my own. We have heard them so many times, we shared them in this forum, and we heard Ed comment on stories from the stage.

What is so amazing about the decision for your family to open up and to expose yourselves to the rest of us is that you have a unique Pearl Jam connection/story. It is spectacular in so many senses of the word that you were able to put not only the beauty of your family on display, but to allow this community to be there throughout the journey to/from the shows.
I wonder if you really know what you have given us?
Your blog quotes from Given to Fly with the lyric "The love he receives is the love that is saved" and you share this because it makes sense in every way.
What strikes me more as someone who was allowed to take this journey with you is the line directly preceding that one: "And he still gives his love, he just gives it away"
I would say that it doesn't matter what happened to date but that you, your husband, and Joshua just give your love away. But I know that what happened before then DID matter. These struggles, emotions, pains, joys, failures, triumphs, and the attitudes with which you embrace all of them -- they define who you are. So with all of that stated --- you still gave your love to us through sharing your amazing son and his almost unbelievable connection to this band that we all love so much. You didn't have to do that. But you did --- you gave your love, just gave it away.

I humbly join the line of people here who shared what seeing you all on the board before LBC meant to me. I dissolved into tears at the same time as smiled ear to ear and jumped up and down. This was the highlight of the tour -- hell, this was the highlight of my year. And you gave it to me. (Us)

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for being so brave as to share this with everyone -- and I am so thankful to everyone who helped you and made sure that you all received so much love in return for your gifts. You deserve it!
Until the day that I die (or become senile) I will never forget this experience.

Thank you.

Very well said.