Please help a challenged young man live a dream!

Spoonman

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Wed Jul-08-09 09:19 AM
Original message

Please help a challenged young man live a dream!

Edited on Wed Jul-08-09 09:43 AM by Spoonman

My fellow Undergrounders,

I have never asked anyone on here for anything before, as I am normally not a "champion" for causes.

However, a young lady came in my office this morning and presented me with something that really struck a chord in me and I had to respond.

This young lady has a brother who is currently entered into a contest to attend the concert and meet the rock band Aerosmith when they come to Houston to perform on July 17 2009.

This is not some sort of "chain letter" type of request, this young mans sister came in person to me.

Before you blow this one off, read the circumstances this young man faces.

I'm sure after you read it, you'll vote for him, and feel good about it the rest of the day!

Voting closes this Friday, and Josh is in the final 8!

Below is Josh's story as you will see again at the attached link.

http://www.aeroforceone.com/index.cfm/pk/view/cd/NAA/cdid/1194298/pid/1175586

At the bottom of the page is a thumbs up, click on it to vote for Josh!

Please reply or bump to this thread this up top.

My younger brother Josh is without a doubt, Houston's most deserving Aerosmith fan. Josh meets all the basic mega-fan criteria: he owns every Aerosmith album, he hasn't missed an Aerosmith concert in Houston in over 10 years, he has posters and magazine pics of you guys all over his room, he almost always has on an Aerosmith tee, and doesn't leave the house without rockin his gigantic Aerosmith belt buckle.

But Aerosmith has a much deeper meaning to Josh. Josh is brain damaged. He has no concept of time or money, he cannot read or write. He developed slowly as a child and struggled with connecting with people. In his mid-teens got into you guys entirely on his own, and his own sense of identity began to grow rapidly. His connection to your music has given him a foundation to reach out to others, and as he ages his communication skills continue to develop. Now, at 28, he can converse almost normally, and at the heart of his social skills is his love for Aerosmith. It gives him common ground with people- he can start a conversation there and end up talking about anything- but it always begins with "What's your favorite Aerosmith song?", or "Did you know that Steven Tyler's last name is really Tallerico?" Josh is often the life of the party- creating a true good vibe that everyone can feed off of and get down with. He is the friendliest, most easy going, gentle, genuine, person I know. You would LOVE him!! I read "Walk this Way" out loud to him a few summers back, he loved every word. We had a blast! Although he can't write to express himself, he CAN write all the names of your songs and he can spell all of your names. He knows all the facts and crazy stories. This is a guy who has trouble remembering how to spell his own name. When it's about Aerosmith- he remembers.

Josh is also a wicked visual artist, and Aerosmith has been a major artistic inspiration. He has notebooks filled to the brim with original art inspired by Aerosmith songs and iconography. He makes 'Steven Tyler' mic stand replicas out of found objects like broomsticks and shredded bed sheets. He has a series of 'Joe Perry' guitars, intricatly detailed with knobs, strings and tuners, all made out of cardboard, pipe cleaners, trash bags, wood scraps, weed eater line (for the strings), masking and electrical tape- his favorite materials to work with. He spends 2-3 hours a night putting on his own private Aerosmith concerts singing along to albums and online videos. Your music continues to bring Josh deep inspiration, helping him connect to himself and the outside world. To meet the source of his greatest joy would surely be the greatest, most Earth-shattering moment of his life!!!!!!!

Thanks to everyone, :yourock:

Spoonman