"Hello? How are you?"

Sometimes, the most amazing things can happen in the least expected way. Earlier this month, there was an online auction to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. It was organized in conjunction with the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. If you've read my previous blogs and visited my websites, you'll know I'm a big supporter of Augie's Quest, which is one of many charities under the MDA umbrella. I try to do anything I can to help out, and the online auction was an interesting way of making a contribution.

I scanned the items up for bid...and there were a lot of them. But, one particular item quickly caught my eye. It said, "A Phone Call From John Ondrasik's Five For Fighting To You!" Now, I've met John in person several times, but those encounters were generally quite fleeting. And, yes, I do email him regularly, but he's usually not able to reply back. This phone call would present a unique opportunity to REALLY talk to John. Still, I didn't bid immediately, mostly because I wanted to gauge other people's interest. The auction was to last for two weeks, and I waited a week to see what would happen. Nothing. No one bid, although I DID see people bidding for another phone call...with the young country singer Billy Gilman. Perhaps most didn't know who John Ondrasik OR Five For Fighting was...so what's new?

I decided then that there was no reason to wait any longer...I placed the minimum bid of $150. Now, I had another week of waiting to see if there would be any other takers. On September 4th...the last day of the auction...I kept checking to see if anyone else would bid. But, there was none. I watched as the last seconds ticked away, and only then did I stop holding my breath. I won the phone call! But, more importantly, my donation of $150 was going to a VERY worthy cause! Within a couple of hours, I got email verification of my winning bid. The following week, I called MDA to find out how the phone call would take place. I was told I would be receiving a certificate via snail mail that would entitle me to the phone call, along with a contact number to arrange a time.

Upon receiving the certificate, I called Shannon at the San Diego MDA office. She asked me when I would be available to talk to John. I gave her my two days off the following week, and she said she would contact John. Shannon later did call me back and asked if I could do the phone call on Thursday, the 25th at 2:00 pm? I told her it would be perfect, and Shannon said she would let John know. When I hung up, my hands were shaking from the adrenaline rush. I would have a week of waiting before the big phone call.

Those days initially went slowly, then sped up as my special day got closer. During that time, I started compiling a list of topics and questions. Things that I had always wanted to tell or ask John, but just never got the chance...or never got an answer. I was curious how long I would actually be able to talk to John. So, I called MDA, and spoke to Kelly, the gal who would be hosting the call. She told me 15 minutes...something about John having other appointments afterwards. That didn't sound right to me...what appointments? But, I didn't say anything. I would just have to prioritize my list to compensate for the limited time with John. But, I had a pretty good idea what I was going to say. Hmm...15 minutes sure didn't seem like much. Well, I would just have to make the most of it...talking to John! To be continued...