Stan Grossfeld wrote a wonderful story on Thursday in the Boston Globe. It touched me on many different levels, I blogged about it a couple of days ago,
A die hard Red Sox fan from Utah promised his sons that he would take them to Fenway Park to see a game this summer. The father, James W. Taylor, Jr. was killed in a helicopter accident in Arizona in June. He worked as an emergency room nurse, served as a first lieutenant in the US Army Reserves and worked part time on Life Flight. He was on a Life Flight, working to save a life, when the accident happened.
The Taylor family wanted to let the boys live out this dream of seeing their team at Fenway Park. James sister posted a message on a Red Sox fan site asking if anyone could help her make this dream a reality.
Well, Red Sox Nation, the players and some local businesses stepped up big time.
It was an honor to welcome to Pundit Review Radio James W. Taylor’s wife Traci, as well as Red Sox fan Tom Nardozzi who helped organize the effort. If you ever wondered if Red Sox Nation was simply a marketing ploy, forget it.
One of the first people to reach out to the Taylor family was Commander Tom Disy of the USS BENFOLD. Commander Disy is major Sox fan and a reader of longtime Red Sox blogger Cyn Donnelly’s Toeing the Rubber. Deployed in the Persian Gulf, the Benfold is an Arleigh Burke-class Guided Missile Destroyer in the United States Navy. Offers of support came from as far away as Denmark and New Zealand. Just incredible.
To listen to Traci describe this special day, and how it lit up her kids during this difficult time, it makes you thankful that people like Tom, Cyn, Commander Disy and so many others reached out to this family. If you would like to offer your support to the Taylor family, a memorial fund has been established at Zions Bank c/o James W. Taylor Fund, PO Box 30709, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0709.
You can learn more about this special trip at the Taylor family blog.
A local station in Utah did a segment on the Taylor’s trip to Fenway,
What is Pundit Review Radio?
Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to your radio every Sunday evening from 7-10 pm EST on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.