Saturday, September 27, 2008

Today's Brush With Greatness..


You Don't Know This Lady? Neither Did We, Until Today....
When you work in the auto service industry, no two days are the same. Being the only automotive oasis in the middle of nowhere, Florence often has the disabled or distressed motorist going anywhere from Boston to Miami, Myrtle Beach to Atlanta, and then some. Well, we had another one today.
Meet Erin Ley. Early this morning, I had her and her family pull up in their minivan. I had an idea that it would be a bit different: no appointment, and the New York tag up front. My first guess? Upstate or Downstate. When her husband Ron came out with his NY Rangers hat on, I knew already, they were one of my homeboys.
On the way from Smithtown, Long Island to Disney World, thye were having a vibration when driving. That could be anything, but when Ronsiad it was at any speed, there was concern. Sure enough, they had a tire separating, and it was ready to blow. Maybe you don't realize it, but people get killed on I-95 like this all the time. But disaster was averted, and a new set of Michelin's fixed the trouble.
In between her chasing her three kids around (there's only so much fun you can have at a car dealership), and me trying to fix the software problem on my computer, she told me about the books she had written, so we pulled up her website, and I found out that she was a cancer survivor, and children's book author. It turns out that she and my Mom had the same type of cancer (Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma), which Mom passed away from when I was 22.
Her book, 'The Will to Live', documents her struggle with the disease, and she also has a children's series , 'Maggie the Magnificent'. Getting your work published is no easy task. Take my word for it - almost 1500 posts, and nobody's noticed yet. It seems to be going pretty good for her: she's booked up with book signings, speaking engagements, and of course, writing more books.
By now, she is probably in Orlando, hanging out at Pleasure Island, or fighting her way through a million foreign tourists to get into EPCOT. But, at least she had an interesting story about getting there - and so did we. If you're interested in learning more about Erin and her story - or to buy a book or two - here is her website....
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

you are a hero man

Thoroughbred 401k said...

Just doing my job, Moye. It's all in a day's work.

Anonymous said...

God Bless her and every person that has to deal with cancer.