Happy Birthday, John!

Today is John Ondrasik's birthday. The big 44! His age is no secret. Media sources have publicized it this week under their Celebrity Birthdays for January 7. For some reason, though, some internet sites have listed John as having been born in 1968...that would make him only 41 today. Why the discrepancy? I think they are confused, and I think the reason is...they misinterpreted the information they got from the Five For Fighting song, '65 Mustang.

Now, John is fond of telling the story of his beloved 1965 Ford Mustang, powder blue in color. As history goes, John's dad bought the car brand new off the lot, and brought John home from the hospital in it. When John was a teenager, his father gave the Mustang to him, whereby as John put it "I promptly painted the car metallic purple." At the time, John was a big Prince fan...Prince...purple...get it? Anyway, John eventually grew out of that phase, and had the car repainted back to it's original color, and gave the car back to his dad. Well, the Mustang later changed hands again and when John's son Johnny was born, he brought him home from the hospital in the beloved family heirloom.

The tale of the Ondrasik family Mustang inspired John to write the song '65 Mustang. As the lyrics go:

Or bringing home my first baby
Like Dad did when the ‘65 was three

Now, when I first heard the song in 2006, I assumed the Mustang was three YEARS old when John was brought home from the hospital. But, when 2007 rolled around and the media said John was 42, that could only mean he was born in 1965, not 1968! I was confused, so there was only one way to clear things up...I wrote John an email and asked him. John, being the cool dude that he is, sent this reply:

the mustang was bought 3 days after i was born so I am the big 42... :)

So, there is was, in black and white from John himself. I was no longer confused, but some others still are. I don't think John has any hangups about getting old...I sure don't, and I have a few years on him! I guess the big question is what John will do when his son Johnny and daughter Olivia reach driving age. Who will get the Mustang? Will they take turns? One thing is certain, though...it will always be part of the Ondrasik family, both literally and immortalized in song!

It was a VERY good year!

Well, as 2008 comes to a close, I'm amazed at just how a great a year it was. Was it as good as 2007? I would have to say YES, and then some! I started things off with a bang...or rather, a Bash...in March. I took a road trip down the West Coast to San Diego for the Beach Bash for Augie's Quest. Along the way and back again, I had a blast, visiting a lot of interesting places, many of which I had wanted to see for a long time. At the Bash...which raised money for Augie's Quest, an ALS charity organization...I had a wonderful time. I was reunited with John Ondrasik, and met his family. John introduced me and my friend Johnny to Augie, and we were treated to a great dinner and the rockin' sounds of Pat Monahan.

Unfortunately, June was the month of my greatest disaster...my MySpace page got deleted! To this day, I don't know the reason why. With a greater emphasis on supporting Five For Fighting, I started over again, and renamed my MySpace page Five For Fighting Fan Central. The MySpace catastrophe made me realize that something had to change...and that change came sooner rather than later.

In May, I discovered that the only active Five For Fighting fan site...one that had actually been linked to the official Five For Fighting website...ceased to exist. A shame, I thought. John had never had many fan generated sites, and the loss of even one was one too many. After suffering the wrath of the MySpace police, it made me realize that I had to get out of the shadow of their heavy hand. I had to create my own Five For Fighting fan site. So, in August, with little experience, but a lot of motivation, I selected a web host...and Five For Fighting Fan Central, the website, was born! Wanting to put my own personal stamp to the site, I elected not to use a pre-made template, opting instead to construct my own web site, using the web host's Site Builder. Thankfully, MySpace had given me some rudimentary skills at making web pages. With the aid of the web host's 24/7 help line, and a lot of trial and error, my fan site was up and running in just a week. Sometimes, it doesn't hurt to be an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist fact compiler!

After publishing my new Five For Fighting fan site, I emailed John to give him the good news, and asked about a link to the official site. John got back to me, and put me in contact with his manager Jim. It was after I did some more work on my site...including adding the all-important message board so Five For Fighting fans can to talk to each other...that I emailed Jim and formally requested the link. Within a week...IT HAPPENED!!! My Five For Fighting Fan Central is now linked to the official Five For Fighting website! Just click Links, and you'll see it! Such a thrill! It just goes to show you that with hard work, dedication and motivation, you can accomplish your dreams!

Even though the link was exciting, it paled in comparison to my REAL high point of the year. Now, I've become a big fan of charity auctions. Especially those charity auctions that have allowed me to indulge in my hobby...building the best collection of Five For Fighting memorabilia ever! But, my greatest charity acquisition of 2008 was not even a material one. In conjunction with the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon in September was the MDA online auction. I bid on only one item...a phone call from John Ondrasik! There was no way anyone was going to beat me out of this. But, it turned out to be no contest...I was the only bidder! My phone conversation with John can only be described as heavenly! It was like talking to a friend I hadn't seen in awhile, which was true! John was awesome, and my 20 minutes with him went all too fast. I consider myself SO fortunate to know John and to call him a friend!

So, what will 2009 bring? January will be the start of recording the new Five For Fighting album, with John's radio station promo tour preceding the summer release of the new album. John is saying the concert tour will probably be in the late summer. I just hope my scheduled vacation time coincides with the tour. The Great Five For Fighting Groupie Road Trip II is my next goal, and the thought of seeing John in concert again is an exciting one. Yes, the year will be a busy one for me, and for Five For Fighting Fan Central. I'm ready...are you?