STICKY DOORKNOBS

Finishing touches: Local bloggers lead generous group in making Blogging for Fair Havens a huge success

We crossed the $11,000 mark this week in donations given to Midland Fair Havens through Blogging For Fair Havens, a testament to the generous spirit of Midlanders. I wouldn't feel complete without personally thanking everyone who gave. I'll do the best I can, but some will just get away.

Blogging for Fair Havens may have started out as solely a blogging event a few years back, but it has evolved into much more. It is a communitywide party now and quite frankly it might very well be held on an even wider-scale next year. I won't be so bold as to make any predictions, but if the years of growth from one event to the next are any indication, this thing is on an upward trend that doesn't appear to want to slow down any time soon.

The blogging portion of the event took a back seat this year. At least my part did. People want to come out now and be a part of the whole circus-like atmosphere thing at the H-E-B parking lot. Which is not to say the bloggers who participated by raising money and blogging at their own sites didn't do a marvelous job in making it even bigger and better: they did. We have a good community of caring bloggers who want the best for this place, and I must tell you with as much conviction as I can possibly muster that that generosity and caring spirit very much includes the anonymous folks at Jessica's Well as much as any other site. I appreciate Ospurt and another anonymous Wellhead for dropping by and making me realize the character of the people involved in that largely faceless operation.

Thanks to Janie Snelson and her infectious spirit. People cannot turn this woman down and Midland is better for it. Thanks to George Johns for coming by twice and blogging from his site, Sleepless in Midland. His words are far more generous than I deserve and again, Midland is better for his having served this place. Hats off to Wallace Craig, one of the true personalities of the local blogging community. A good photographer with a line of bull for most anybody, he has been a huge help to Fair Havens and for that we are appreciative as well. Thanks to J.P. Hearn for his groovy photo illustration of the Blogging For Fair Havens event for the entire 24 hour event. It was no doubt tough taking and processing 24 hours worth of pictures throughout the nite, but J.P. certainly painted the mood of the marathon very well.

And thanks to Jeff McDonald (right) for blogging from not one but two sites -- his own Archaeotexture and then the West Texas Missioners site. Jeff had the challenging task of being first and doing so before we had begun to iron out the kinks last Saturday morning. It wasn't the best of scenario for Jeff, but he was a good sport about it and we're grateful.

Thanks to this group of caring folks. I hope we can count on all of them next year to help make it even bigger and better. If you see one of these bloggers, thank 'em. They done good.

In addition to the bloggers we had aiding in the effort, we had a number of local media celebrities, all of whom were giving of their own time, and on the weekend to top it off. People are always pulling at guys like Mel Hudman, Spencer Bennett, John Moesch, Tom Tefertiller, Horace Brown and Jay Hendricks, so giving Fair Havens a slice of your time was more meaningful than you realize. Thanks also to Wes Perry, Greg Witt, Carla Smith and Dr. Gary Madden, all of whom made the event better for having shared themselves.

All of these people we thank ... and that's not even taking into consideration the people who actually made a donation to Fair Havens. That list is far too long to mention, but a list that contains the names of many people who are all deserving of personal thank yous.

Unfinished business

OK, so, during our Blogging for Fair Havens event over the weekend, we posted a contest throughout the day and evening hours offering two free tickets to Schlitterbahn for the most right responses. All you had to do was get the most correct answers to the Musical Bucket List contest. Nobody won. Actually ... nobody played apparently. So, I still have those tickets. All you have to do is put in the comment area of this post five correct guesses to the lyrics listed below.

The contest is based on "The Bucket List" movie, where two dying guys set out to do things they've always wanted to. Actually, this contest is based more on a phone conversation with a friend of mine in Denver. One day, I told him, before I die, I just wanted to "Stand on the Corner in Winslow, Arizona, and be such a fine site to see." Like the Eagles (and Jackson Browne) did. (Hint No. 1). In this Bucket List contest, these are actually things you can do at locations you can actually point to on a map and go to. Except maybe No. 6, which may be a fictitious place (Hint No. 2).

Hint No. 3: All song titles have the location in the song title, except for Nos. 2, 7, and 13, which have the location in the lyric.

Hint No. 4: No. 20 may be a song title that is fictitious yet closely resembles a real place.

If you wanna get really simple about the rules, just tell me the song with which the lyrics are associated and who the song is by.

FIRST PESON WITH AT LEAST FIVE CORRECT RESPONSES IN THE COMMENT AREA BELOW OR VIA EMAIL ([email protected])  WINS TWO FREE TICKETS TO SCHLITTERBAHN COURTESY KPEJ TV.

Musical Bucket List

   1. Stand on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. Be such a fine sight to see.
   2. On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah Desert, get my radio on. Just kill time.
   3. Wake up in the city that never sleeps.
   4. Cross the wild Pecos. Fjord the Nueces. Swim the Guadalupe. Follow the Brazos.
   5. Dream about buying some land. Give up the booze and the one night stands. Settle down in quiet little town. Forget about everything.
   6. Count all the bees in the hive. Chase all the clouds from the sky
   7. Chew on a piece of grass. Walk down the road.
   8. Stand alone on a mountain top, stare out at the Great Divide, see a young hawk fly.
   9. Drink some whiskey. Dream I'm a cowboy. Ride across the border.
   10. Go for a walk on a winter's day. Stop into a church. Get down on my knees. Begin to pray.
   11. See ghost of Elvis on Union avenue, follow him up to the gates of Graceland and watch him walk right through.
   12. Travel far, huddle close, hang on to a dream.
   13. Stand on a mountaintop where the cactus flowers grow. Wish the world would stop. Take a row boat across the Rio Grande with Captain Pablo as our guide.
   14. Put speakers in the window. Go on the roof. Listen to The Miracles.
   15. Be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars.
   16. Take all the tea in china. Put it in a big brown bag. Sail around the seven oceans. Drop it straight into the deep blue sea.
   17. Deal cards with an old man the club car. Pass paper bag that holds the bottle. Feel wheels that rumble beneath the floor.
   18. See all the movie stars with their fancy cars and their limousines. Be high in the Rockies under the evergreens. Take a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line.
   19. Walk along the river road at night with a barefoot girl dancing in the moonlight.
   20. Feel strong and alive. From a rocky perch, search for wind and snow and sky. Live in the sun. Do all the things that I never have done.

BLOGGING FOR FAIR HAVENS: Success!

Update/Correction: Eric Siegmund introduced the "Blogathon" event to Midland in 2005.

Volunteers with Midland Fair Havens combined to accept over $10,500 in donations during the 24-hour Blogging For Fair Havens event Saturday and Sunday in the H-E-B parking lot. The total as of Sunday morning at 4 a.m., with still three hours left before the official closing of the event, was $10,554, exceeding the organization’s goal of $10,000. That total is likely to come in the few days following the fundraiser.

Donations came throughout the day in a steady stream, and prior to the event from a number of points around the state. Financial gifts came via email, at the Midland Fair Haven’s JustGive.org donation page and through many walk-up supporters of the charity that provides transitional housing for women and their children.

 Over $3,000 was raised in advance of the event through email appeals and on Saturday, Midlander Bill Lewellen was the high bidder at $3,550 on a 1997 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 motorcycle, donated by Fair Havens supporters Joe Hopkins.

A number of local celebrities and guest bloggers donated their time and talents, from guitarist Greg Witt and gospel singer Carla Smith who performed mini-concerts Saturday evening, to TV and radio personalities and Midland physician Gary Madden, who came in costume as an eerie re-creation of Heath Ledger’s memorable villain, The Joker, from the just released movie, “The Dark Knight.”

“This is beyond our greatest expectations,” said DiAnn Koehl, executive director of Fair Havens. ”God truly is good and we thank so very many people who have helped make this happen today.

This is the third year in a row for the marathon fundraiser which has so far resulted in approximately $20,000 in contributions over the three blogging events. The first event in 2006, which also featured local blogger Eric Siegmund, brought in about $3,000 and the 2007 event raised $7,000 and was the top-producing blog worldwide in the global funder called Blogathon. Organizers of Blogathon opted out of the event this year, leaving Blogging For Fair Havens to take up where Blogathon left off.

Local bloggers participating Saturday included J.P. Hearn (Bleu Chocolate), Janie Snelson (Sounding Forth), Jeff McDonald (Archeaotexture and West Texas Missioner), Wallace Craig (Streams), George Johns (Sleepless in Midland) and Ospurt (Jessica’s Well, Opus Musings).

Midland Fair Havens provides a safe haven for women and their children who have made the decision to leave troubled home lives that can often include abuse or neglect. During their up to two-year stay at the facility, many of the women compete or advance er education, giving them an even better chance at the successful re-start once they complete the program.

Blogging For Fair Havens: Midland photo blogger commits to 24 hour event, July 26-27

   Twenty years and a few cameras ago, J.P. Hearn was a photography intern with the Midland Reporter-Telegram. Although the Midland High graduate never became a working photojournalist, Hearn spent time as a portrait photographer and ultimately evolved into an "artistic street photographer" who relies on angles and lighting to enhance the photos he captures for his local BleuChocolate.com web blog. And thankfully, he has a kind and giving heart with a penchant for worthy charitable causes.
   Hearn will join me in staying up all night with hopes of raising $10,000 for Midland Fair Havens in this year's 24-hour fund-raiser, "Blogging For Fair Havens," July 26-27. Last year, generous people from across the state (and country) helped bring in $7,000 for the transitional housing facility for women and their children. The event begins at 7 a.m. Saturday, July 26, on the H-E-B parking lot and closes 24 hours later.
   Hearn's blogging must be done close to his house for photographic production and computer reasons but he promises to stop by the H-E-B parking lot frequently to take some photos and post them on his photo blog for the round-the-clock blogging effort.
   "Not only is there the charitable part of this, but the challenge to plan all the photos for 24 hours is really cool," Hearn said.  
   Hearn said when the 24 hours of photo-blogging is over, he plans to publish the photos he took during the event in a book, giving it to one of the prize winners that registers and donates during the "blogathon." If he finds there is an additional market for the book, he says he will sell the books and donate the profits, after expenses, to Fair Havens.
   A graduate of the Cordon Bleu School in Austin, Hearn is a chef and is in the process of opening a mobile eatery in Midland in the coming weeks. He will soon drive to Miami to finalize plans for the franchise opportunity.
   There was another time during his working career that driving figured prominently in his responsibilities. As a portrtait photographer for a company hired by Wal-Mart, Hearn once had to drive from Kilgore to Tucson, Ariz. -- a 1,200 mile stretch of road --  in 24 hours, to be there in time to begin taking portraits when the Wal-Mart opened. When he left Tucson after that week's assignment, he had to drive 900 miles in another single day to "the middle of Colorado" for his next assignment.
   Despite all his driving, loyalty and effort, Hearn recalls that he was fired from the company for not dancing.
   "They had a big company conference in Dallas and I'd been sick and not feeling well," he explained. "They tried to get everyone to get up and dance at this particular session, to give everybody an attitude adjustment, and I didn't want to because I didn't feel well. One of the officials of the company came over to me and told me since I wasn't participating, I could just leave. And they fired me."
   Hearn has been married to wife Beverly for 14 years. When the couple said, 'I do,' Hearn inherited four sons, and jokes -- in all seriousness -- that he has been a grandfather since he was 26.
   Although many of his 24-hour photographs will be taken outdoors, Hearn says he will also shoot in miniature several tiny items he has collected over the years. It is a method of shooting he says that he was inspired to attempt after seeing the work of a Canadian photographer who captured a series of miniature bees on film.
    "I have some railroad figurines, a miniature B-24 bomber, things like that," he said. "I'd like to do some flower shots, and when the sun comes up on Saturday morning have that be my first shot. I'll be at the H-E-B parking lot some during the event, but chances are there won't be too many people to photograph at 3 in the morning."
   I'll be there, too, along with the post-party goers who line up in the Whataburger drive thru after the local nightclubs close down. Reason enough to stay up all day and all night to see what goes on there in the wee hours.

   "BLOGGING FOR FAIR HAVENS" OR "BLOGATHON?": When we did this last year, it was called Blogathon and the efforts put forth through MyWestTexas.com raised some $7,000, which represented the largest amount raised during Blogathon out of more than 325 bloggers around the world. The people in charge of Blogathon are not organizing the event this year. We asked if we could continue to use the name Blogathon for this year's event but our emails went unanswered. Never fear, though, "Blogging for Midland Fair Havens" is the same event for us here in West Texas, and we'll reveal where and how you can donate to this very worthwhile cause in the very near future.
   Blogging for Fair Havens: All Day. All Night. All Good.
   7 a.m., July 26-7 a.m., July 27. H-E-B Parking Lot.