Let Me Tell You A Story…And Lets Make A Difference…ForKids

Everybody loves a good story, and thanks to a vital local charity, you get 10 to choose from, all while helping to break the cycle of homelessness in Hampton Roads.

For those who have witnessed a poetry slam, you can get the idea behind a kind of "story slam" that took place at Night of the Iguana on Saturday the 11th of February. I was honored to accept the invitation to host an event called "...And That's My Story" for my friends at ForKids, a non-profit that gives a helping hand to many neighbors who are struggling in these difficult economic times. In addition, organizer Kim Fink and CEO Thaler McCormick invited me to be one of the 10 storytellers. Others who were invited included nationally known musician and composer B.J. Leiderman, humorist Hope Mihalop, Virginian Pilot Publisher Maurice Jones, Rabbi Michael Panitz, and Hugh Copeland of the Hurrah Players. The event was streamed live on the internet, and the individual story videos are now online for all to view. You can see them at the ForKids website, http://www.homesforkids.org. If you want to hear my story, you can also go straight to YouTube and enter "Worden Story" into the search engine. The idea is to "vote" for your favorite storyteller. Votes are only $1 apiece. You can make a difference through links from both sites. Voting will continue through February 26th. So tweet this link and share this story with your linked-in pals and Facebook friends!

Oh, and a friendly reminder...after all this IS an election year. VOTE FOR ME!

Your morning pal,

Eric

Against All Odds - Seeing Is Believing

Everyone loves a story that inspires, but what is playing out today for Tim Tebow, one should know a little background to the miracle that marks his life well beyond an heroic 80-yard winning touchdown pass in overtime.

Granted, the amazing game at Mile High against the highly-touted Steelers was unreal. Critics blasted the Broncs all week at the thought that they deserved home-field advantage at 8-8 over the 12-4 Steelers. The press was haunting the Denver lefty, questioning whether after a late-season losing streak that Tebow may be benched, despite the fact that he got them to the dance. But the war has been won for this young man for many many years...long before he was a Heisman winner and held up the Coaches trophy for the college national championship as a Florida Gator. In the event you do not know his REAL story, let me post for you the letter forwarded to me by one of Bob's most dedicated listeners, Jennifer K. of Chesapeake. She is a teacher. She is a parent. And she believes.

Pam’s Story

"In a recent email, I read about a woman named Pam, who knows the pain of considering abortion. More than 24 years ago, she and her husband Bob were serving as missionaries to the Philippines and praying for a fifth child. Pam contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in contaminated food or drink. She went into a coma and was treated with strong antibiotics before they discovered she was pregnant.

Doctors urged her to abort the baby for her own safety and told her that the medicines had caused irreversible damage to her baby. She refused to terminate her pregnancy and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians predicted.

While pregnant, Pam nearly lost their baby four times but refused to consider the devastating alternative. She recalled making a pledge to God with her husband: If you will give us a son, I’ll name him Timothy and I’ll make him a preacher.

Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy August 14, 1987. Pam’s youngest son is indeed a preacher. He preaches in prisons, makes hospital visits, and serves with his father’s ministry in the Philippines . He also plays football. Pam’s son is Tim Tebow.

The University of Florida star quarterback became the first sophomore in history to win college football’s highest award, the Heisman Trophy. His current role as quarterback of the Denver Broncos has provided an incredible platform for Christian witness. As a result, he is being called The Mile-High Messiah."

Parting the Steel Curtain is just the latest miracle for this young man. Turns out he is one.

Jennifer loves New Orleans, but should Brees and the boys fall, I'm sure she'll be pulling for the Broncos. Who dat? Why it's #15 Tim Tebow.

Believe!

Use The Horse Luke

Just one more! Now that we are beyond Halloween, get ready for the holiday onslaught. Soon your smartphone, laptop, tablet and tv will be filled with images of St. Nick, eight tiny reindeer and the Hermie the dentist. Heck, MacArthur already has holiday decor hanging from the rafters and Mary Barnett's has started adorning her storefront with those beautiful holiday wreathes, complete with tiny white lights. But before you swap out the inflatable Jack-O-Lantern out front with and lifesize Leg Lamp, I wanted to share one last Halloween image.

Here's a shot of my boy Colby as the lead man in Guitar Wars, Darth Brooks...the singing Dark Lord. Filling the Death Star muzak system with "Friends In Low Places" and sporting tattoos of Tatooine. Just so you know, his guitar is tuned to play the usually ominous Darth theme music, but somehow it sounds rather friendly when plucked on a beat-up 6-string.

Gotta love our kids

--E-Dub

Bluuuh! I Vant To Veesh You A Appy Alloween! Bluhhhhhh!

Sam Hundley, who does an amazing job on his illustrations for the pilot, stepped out from behind his drawing board and settled down instead to a keyboard. The photo that accompanies this little strip of horror is eye-catching but creepy. A doll soured by years of attic neglect...cracked from decades of searing summer heat and frozen winter still. Once loved by a young girl, but forgotten and left instead to bugs and beasts we don't want to know about that live just below the roofline of our homes. Certainly all dolls don't meet this miserable fate? Mine don't. Well, let me say my ACTION FIGURES dont! (E-dub? Dolls???) Vintage G.I. Joe still lives out in the open with many of my 60's toys. It's part of my retro decor. Wanna give your morning guy a hard time because I didn't blow up my army men and run my Hotwheels throught the mud like you did. Go right ahead, I could put my 11 year-old Colby through college if I put it all on Craig's List or eBay. But wait. Yes I do have a doll. A ghostly one named Casper. Certainly the "friendly ghost" could not be considered "creepy." His eyes are not hollow, his arms and legs are intact and in fact, his pull string still works! Admit it. You had one too. Terry cloth outer layer with a hard plastic face...eyes still in place and peering at you via a non-threateningly side glance. I used to wonder if it was a risk displaying him at my cool pad, but when I saw an interview with the brilliant John Lassiter of Pixar Animation fame, I knew it was a cool thing. There, behind his toy-filled desk on the Disney lot was his own Casper, along with many of the toys that inspired the immortal first Toy Story epic. Somehow I couldn't imagine Casper ever becoming a moth-eaten husk of my childhood memories...Or could it? I took a picture for my blog entry, but now that I look at it, the lighting may be changing my mind! Does he look a little creepy to you?

Happy Halloween!

Eric