Andy

Big Surprise Today

Today was chugging along and kinda blah until I opened an airmailed, handwritten letter around 4:00 from none other than Bryn Terfel, world-renowned operatic baritone, regarding my battle with illness over the past few months. Here is an excerpt:

Dear Andy,

Just a little note in the middle of my rather hectic "Wagner" year to hope and pray that you are holding up after your recent bout of illness. I hope a letter from the mountains of Wales will remind you of what music and its powers mean to so many of us whatever the complications of life.

Mr. Terfel continued with some detail about his latest engagement, tied it to the above quoted material with a well thought out comparison, and ended with a quote. He is clearly an intelligent and caring person to have taken the time to do something like this for a person he will likely never meet. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bryn and his agent, Doreen O'Neil, for making such a wonderful gesture.

... but how did he even know about me in the first place?

That would be because of the incredibly creative and persistent Mei-Ling Johnson, who has of course received mention on this site any number of times for her continued efforts on my behalf.

Thank you, Mei, for setting this once in a lifetime occurrence in motion back in February when all of this cancer news hit. I don't think it's possible that I could ever have a better friend than you.