Joshua
#1Howdy all,
As some of you may know, and to some this may be the first you heard of it, John Bushey is currently undergoing chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. This is the third reoccurrence for John and as always his spirits are high and he has been equally as stubborn to accept help. However, the financial burden this has had and is having on him has compiled to such an amount that the many friends he has have decided to step in and have a charity event and fundraiser for him.
Most of you have known John for far longer than I, and some, longer than I have been alive. Even as such, John has had a great influence on myself and my families life. He has always been there for me to ask questions, educate me in the field of collecting, give me guidance and advice, make me laugh when I get flustered over a lost auction or dead end on researching an item, been my traveling partner when seeing other collections even when he claims it's 200 degrees (MN people think 80 is 200), and most commonly, make others laugh at my expense John has not only become a good friend of mine, but a friend cherished by wife and son. If it was not for him and a few key others I would have never stayed in this field of collecting and never got to meet, message, or socialize with many of you. I know many of you have a lot of stories from times past that include John and I'm confident he has put a smile on every one of our faces at one time or another. We are a very small niche in the collecting world but I know that we are passionate and in many ways closer than other fields of collecting. I ask that we band together and reach out to anyone that doesn't check the forum and see if we cant raise enough money to truly take some of the burden off him while he goes this tough time in his life...yet again.
There are a few ways to help out...
The first way is to go tohttp://www.gofundme.com/johnbushey and make a donation to the charity fund that friends of his have set up in his name. You have the option to be anonymous or to leave your name and both ways you can leave a little upbeat sentiment for John to read.
Another way if you have the time and resources is to show up at a charity event they have organized at the Clyde Iron Works in Duluth, MN from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on April 26th. They will have food, drinks, a couple live bands, magic shows from a handful of different magicians, and a silent auction comprised of donated items. Those attending will be comprised of people who know John from all walks of life such as fellow teachers and former students, Bob Dylan fans, magicians and escape artists and the list goes on.
Finally, I want to pass on another suggested way to help out and perhaps the most suitable or entertaining for other collectors. It has been discussed to place an item in your collection on the auction block and donate the sales to his go-fund-me site. Perhaps you have a duplicate of something or just anything you are willing to part with for such a cause. If this is something you'd like to do, please post the link to your auction in this thread or just throw it up here on the site for all to see and/or purchase. Typically I know this is frowned upon, but considering the cause the more interest and the more its known, the better. Truly any item would be appreciated, even if it's a rusted out Bean Cobb missing a key.
On a final note, John has been very stubborn to accept a helping hand...to the point that a group of people had to have everything set up in advance so he couldn't force them to cancel the venue/entertainment/travel plans etc... He is very grateful and touched that so many have reached out to him but it makes him feel quite awkward as well. As such, please, please, please keep everything civil and positive.
If anyone has any questions or could use any help at all, please let me know and I will do my best to obtain the answers or help out wherever I can.
Best wishes to all!
Joshua
[email protected]
As some of you may know, and to some this may be the first you heard of it, John Bushey is currently undergoing chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. This is the third reoccurrence for John and as always his spirits are high and he has been equally as stubborn to accept help. However, the financial burden this has had and is having on him has compiled to such an amount that the many friends he has have decided to step in and have a charity event and fundraiser for him.
Most of you have known John for far longer than I, and some, longer than I have been alive. Even as such, John has had a great influence on myself and my families life. He has always been there for me to ask questions, educate me in the field of collecting, give me guidance and advice, make me laugh when I get flustered over a lost auction or dead end on researching an item, been my traveling partner when seeing other collections even when he claims it's 200 degrees (MN people think 80 is 200), and most commonly, make others laugh at my expense John has not only become a good friend of mine, but a friend cherished by wife and son. If it was not for him and a few key others I would have never stayed in this field of collecting and never got to meet, message, or socialize with many of you. I know many of you have a lot of stories from times past that include John and I'm confident he has put a smile on every one of our faces at one time or another. We are a very small niche in the collecting world but I know that we are passionate and in many ways closer than other fields of collecting. I ask that we band together and reach out to anyone that doesn't check the forum and see if we cant raise enough money to truly take some of the burden off him while he goes this tough time in his life...yet again.
There are a few ways to help out...
The first way is to go tohttp://www.gofundme.com/johnbushey and make a donation to the charity fund that friends of his have set up in his name. You have the option to be anonymous or to leave your name and both ways you can leave a little upbeat sentiment for John to read.
Another way if you have the time and resources is to show up at a charity event they have organized at the Clyde Iron Works in Duluth, MN from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on April 26th. They will have food, drinks, a couple live bands, magic shows from a handful of different magicians, and a silent auction comprised of donated items. Those attending will be comprised of people who know John from all walks of life such as fellow teachers and former students, Bob Dylan fans, magicians and escape artists and the list goes on.
Finally, I want to pass on another suggested way to help out and perhaps the most suitable or entertaining for other collectors. It has been discussed to place an item in your collection on the auction block and donate the sales to his go-fund-me site. Perhaps you have a duplicate of something or just anything you are willing to part with for such a cause. If this is something you'd like to do, please post the link to your auction in this thread or just throw it up here on the site for all to see and/or purchase. Typically I know this is frowned upon, but considering the cause the more interest and the more its known, the better. Truly any item would be appreciated, even if it's a rusted out Bean Cobb missing a key.
On a final note, John has been very stubborn to accept a helping hand...to the point that a group of people had to have everything set up in advance so he couldn't force them to cancel the venue/entertainment/travel plans etc... He is very grateful and touched that so many have reached out to him but it makes him feel quite awkward as well. As such, please, please, please keep everything civil and positive.
If anyone has any questions or could use any help at all, please let me know and I will do my best to obtain the answers or help out wherever I can.
Best wishes to all!
Joshua
[email protected]