We All Should Care

Accept the call for a deeper purpose.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written here. It’s not that I’ve been too busy, it’s not that I didn’t want to, it’s just that I’m not as good at this as the rest of the writers on this site.

Todays topic comes from the thoughts that dance in my head just before I drift off to sleep. This one came to me three days ago.

If there was a way to stop time, would you? Would it be wise? What would you stop time for?

I would stop time for two things. Concerts and a lover.

The lover might be more understandable and accepted, so I’ll start there.

Laying in bed with the sunlight streaming in your window on a Sunday morning after a long night of lovemaking… Tell me you don’t want to stop time?

…If it were only so easy to stop time or bottle it… To sell it would be more precious than gold.

The concerts? When I’m at a concert and I look up into the lights (usually when they’re blue) I want to stop time, embrace and memorize the situation and never leave. It’s those moments that make me miss performing so much.

So what would you stop time for? If you could. How long before you would start it back up again? If ever.

[image courtesy google.com/images]

So all of you that read this blog, know by now that Damij writes for We All Should Care, but did you know that he’s a musician as well?
If I don’t show my love and support for my friends, and their passions, their talents, then everything I do in my life, all the soap boxing, it’s all in vain.
Supporting my friends is what I do. Although, if you ask Damij, he maaaay just tell you I’m a tad, pushy. *Laugh* Regardless, it’s because I know he houses greatness. It’s true. Don’t believe me?
Check it out! :

Scroll over it, and it will allow you to play the music as well. It’s quite, what’s the word he used? Nifty. Yeah, that’s it.
I love it!
In fact it will find it’s way to my myspace page as well, I’m sure.

We’re all very proud of you Damij, for taking that step off the curb, even though it’s scary. You’re meant for greatness, remember that.

I’ve made a pledge. A Pledge to get people to care. I intend on keeping my word, and yet I know it won’t be easy.
I’ve been writing on another site about Spencer Bell, and when I got this site up and running, I knew he had to be my first actual post. He is a young man that was taken well before his time due to Adrenal Cancer. Talented, an artisan, a beautiful soul. He deserves to have his legacy live on.
Before his passing in December of 2006, he made arrangements with his mother to have his works, his art, displayed to the world.
They are all very moving, and were, for me, life altering.
You can learn more about him HERE.
If you’ll notice the picture at the top of the page, that is my wrist, and on it, is a bracelet that says ‘The Music Lives On’ on one side, and on the other, is Spencer’s Memorial Site address.
If you haven’t heard of Spencer, you truly are missing out on beautiful masterpieces, touching stories, some that will make you laugh, others that will touch your heart and make you cry.
He may not be with us in his physical body, but he lives on, through his family, his friends, his fans, and last but certainly not least, his art.
So, I thought, “Hey! I have a great idea!” And thus, my outreach was born.
I have forty bracelets, just like the one that I have on my wrist, to pass out, to the first forty people who go to Spencer’s site, and fill out a profile, listen to his music, read his lyrics,journal entries, and look at his art. Get to know him. Report back to me with your link, your favorite piece, or story that you read about him,and I’ll send you a bracelet. (Not to mention that your soul was fed as well. It’s a win/win).
Then I’m going to forward each of your heart felt messages on, to his family. I know that your words, your feelings, and thoughts would touch them, help them to know that Spencer’s story is being shared around the world. That through him, through them, people will learn about Adrenal Cancer, and we WILL make a difference.

Update: Yes you have seen this post before, but it bears repeating since some people won’t scroll back through all of the awesome articles. Go, get to know Spencer and then report back to me on what you love, like, are impassioned by in his works. Go ahead, I’ll wait

If only dancing around your living room and singing loudly into a broom handle could be a competitive sport, I’d be in the Olympics!
Earlier today, I was cleaning house, I popped in my, Spencer Bell Live & Wasted Album, and I sang and danced my heart out.
No kidding. I know all the words, and I may not sing them on key, I may even change a word or two on occasion but I don’t think Spencer minds, because I enjoy myself.
I enjoy his music.
I celebrate his life every single day,and listening to his music just brings a smile to my face.
Since I’ve “met” him, my life has started changing so much, in so many ways, and I keep saying it, but one day, Spencer, you’re stuck drinking with me, so prepare yourself!
There is a lot of new stuff happening on the Legacy site, you should go check it out, they’ve even added new works of Spencer’s.
Hurry and go now, LEGACY SITE or you’ll be sorry that you didn’t! If you haven’t been before,consider this, he has me bopping around the house singing his music, imagine what he could do for you!
He’s better than Tony Robbins ever had time to be, and he tells it real, like it is, no sugar coating! If you want to donate for research to help find a cure for the POS cancer that yanked this beautiful young man away from this world far too damn soon, go here –>CANCER BLOWS.
Every bit makes a difference!

[[Image courtesy of google images]]

If you look above you’ll see the one thing I wear on my body that I almost NEVER take off. I actually have two of them, one on each wrist.
I feel naked without them, honestly. I am proud to say that I am a Spencerian! Everywhere I go, anyone that talks to me for more than five minutes will, as a result, learn about Spencer Bell.
Just because I’m not writing about him, doesn’t mean that I’m not talking about him. You’d be hard pressed to find one day in which his name, his music, or his quotes aren’t passing my lips.
I love, more than anything, to read people’s stories about him, to know that as amazing as he is, he was/is just like each of us.
Flawed, yet beautiful.
There are days, I find myself in a situation, where I’m not sure what to do, so I ask myself. WWSD? Because I think, even as young as he was, he had it figured out. Hell, a lot better than I do at any rate. He knew to just grab life and enjoy the ride.
For some of us, that’s scary, right? To just let go and BE.

“…..I stomp down on the gas and go really, really fast…..” ~Spencer Bell

Sometimes, we need to throw caution to the wind, and just do what makes us happy, Spencer has taught me that, among so many other things.

I owe that man several beers.. one day, Spence .. me, you, and one hell of a hangover the next day.

I know that I do an incredible amount of talking about Spencer Bell, and that by doing so, you may think that I have him on a pedestal.
Please, allow me to put that to rest, right now.
I would NEVER place him, or anyone else on one, because we are all human, we are all flawed, and humans aren’t meant to sit still for that long, we’d fall. The last thing I would ever want, is for Spencer to fall.
I may think his soul is a light that can illuminate even the darkest corner, but I do not think that he is without flaws. I think that it is the fact that he was so perfectly imperfect, that draws me to him.
His ability to put his passion, his rights, his wrongs, his thoughts, his feelings, so much of him into his art amazes me, and it gives me hope. Hope that I can and possibly am doing the same thing with my own writing.
The Legacy he has left behind, is awe inspiring, and I want to help share it with as many people as possible.
I want people to know Spencer, his work, his Legacy.
I want them to know that even though we are all merely human, and only ONE person, that we CAN make a difference.
I want them to know that his family and friends are among some of the most amazingly kind, and wonderful people I have ever been privileged to meet, and we should thank them for sharing Spencer with us.
I want them to know the meaning of LIVING.
If you want to know more about Spencer, please click his name above and it will direct you to his Legacy site, and if you’d like to give to Adrenal Cancer Research (the horrible disease that stole him away) then please go HERE.. know that every bit makes a difference.

[[Image courtesy of spencerbellmemorial.ning]]

Spencer Bell has left behind so many profound words. His lyrics are powerful, and the song “Dandelions” is no exception. In fact, it’s one of my favorites.
Don’t let life pass you by, enjoy it, take it with a grain of salt, none of us get out alive anyway, sit back, enjoy the ride. I’m sure we could all take away something different, and that is what I take away from it.
Spencer had a way of putting things, so that all of us could get it.
I love that. Blunt, straight forward and to the point.
“To all our friends who will meet us at the end.”
I don’t know what supremely awaits me after this life, we can’t know with certainty. Whatever it is, I hope Spencer is there on the other side with a cold beer and is ready to do some talking.
If you’d like to know more about Spencer, please visit his Legacy site by clicking on his name at the top of this post.
And if you’d like to donate to help fund adrenal cancer research, please click HERE. We can make a difference!

[[Image provided by and property of spencerbellmemorial.ning.com]]

I have just returned from the most awe inspiring, amazing weekend ever. It was definitely life altering, on a few levels, in fact.
I trekked from Charlotte, North Carolina to Auburn Hills, Michigan, for the Spencer Bell Legacy show, and it was so much more than I ever could have imagined.
It was very last minute when I found out I could go, I had to rearrange my entire life in a matter of 8 days, and had a death in the family to deal with on top of that, but somehow I managed. I have never been happier to say that. Nothing would have kept me away though.
I was blessed to have been able to converse with Spencer’s mom, she is the sweetest woman that I have ever had the fortune of meeting, I believe. I’m thrilled beyond words that I get to help keep Spencer’s memory alive, that I get to introduce him to people, and help show the world, how beautiful his soul was and is.
No, Spencer was not perfect, he was human, flawed, I’m sure he was extremely frustrating at times, irritating at others, but he was beautiful, and beyond any doubt, loved in his entirety. Yes, even when they wished to pinch his head off. *laugh*
I can’t say that I knew Spencer when he was alive, I got to know him through his art, his music, his words, so my connection to him is from one writer, to another, from one human being to another.
Myself, and two of my very best friends, Kasey and Jodie, shared the weekend experience together, and we all took away something different.
My intention was to go and honor Spencer, to enjoy some music, to just have a great time, in his honor. I did all of those things, and more. I reconnected with a part of ME that I had forgotten, I saw an outpouring of love, and support for Spencer and the Bell family, that was astounding and beautiful beyond compare. I got to hear Spencer stories, and connect with people that I never would have, had I not found him, courtesy of Jackson Rathbone.
Though Spencer wasn’t with us in his physical form, I know that he was with us in spirit, in soul, and he was partying his A** off, believe that! The bands that performed were AMAZING, and he had a hand or influence in each of them, at some point,in some way.*Smile*
The Stevedores, Tin Tin Can,Drew and the Medicinal Pen,100 Monkeys and we even got to hear first hand, roommate stories about Spencer, from Orson Brawl, it was an experience I’ll never forget. I’ll be talking about it for years to come.
Old friends reconnecting, music that made me dance non stop for two days, the musicians were incredible to hang out with,just talk to, making new friends that I know will last a lifetime, and most importantly, showing Spencer, and the world, that he hasn’t been forgotten, that he still matters, that he always will.
In my favorite words describing Spencer, courtesy of Jay “What a beautiful soul, that Spencer Bell”.
Spencer, wherever you are, we love you, and your legacy will live on, in the hearts, minds, and souls of everyone you have touched.

If you’d like to get to know more about Spencer, then please visit Legacy, if you’d like to donate to Research for Adrenal Cancer then please, go HERE.

I’d like to give a special shout out and thank you to my personal (and professional) photographer for the weekend Jodie Platz without her, I would have been forced to take the pictures, but she took on that job, allowing me to dance all weekend, so THANK YOU, Jo Jo. The photos are incredible, as your work always is. You should click on her name and check out her other work.

Someone that I absolutely adore, knows how much I love Spencer Bell, and so she surprised me with something very touching.
It brought tears to my eyes, and melted my heart. Now, it resides on my desktop as my background, and my phone as well. (Replacing Jackson Rathbone, no less *laugh*)
You can see it below:

If you would like to have one just like it, either email me here, or go to her blog site JODIE PLATZ and comment her, letting her know.

Thank you again JoJo, it is amazing, and I love it.

If you’d like to know more about Spencer Bell, see his work, then please go here: THE MUSIC LIVES ON, and if you’d like to donate to the research of Adrenal Cancer, then please, go here: DONATE. Every contribution is appreciated, together, we CAN make a difference.

[[Image/Background provided, and created by: Jodie Platz]]