My friend from way back in Junior High School, Robin Ballew Culbertson,
contacted me through Facebook earlier in the year.First, let me tell you a little about Robin. As kids, we had several classes together, and many of the same friends. Robin was extremely academically gifted and we tended to travel in the same creative circles. While I was often anxious and tended to use 'broad strokes', her artistic skills exhibited a mature patience and meticulous attention to detail. I've never told her this, but I would often take my cues from her, watching to see how high she would 'set the bar', when it came to class projects. One of my favorite memories about Robin was when the two of us collaborated on a marionette production of 'Pinocchio' together. Her craftsmanship just blew me away, and she challenged me (without even knowing it.)
Another memory is when we did a rock and roll puppet show with several of our other partners in crime, -and unwittingly filled the classroom with noxious green and red fumes from smoke bombs.
The less said about that, the better. (But boy, Mrs. Tate was MAD!)
Fast forward to February of 2010.
She wrote: "I am planning on doing a customer quilt show in the spring, and one of the ideas I had was to perhaps tie it in with your DeLorean time machine and your [Team Fox] efforts. I want to do the quilt show as a fundraiser for charity, but haven't settled on which one."
Well. I don't know anything about quilts, and at first, the idea seemed like a stretch, even for a time traveler. But Robin had sincere interest, and, like back in our school days, I knew anything she's involved with would have outstanding results. And those results could help us in our mission to find a cure for Parkinson's.
We corresponded back and forth and came up with a date and time. And as predicted, the event was wonderful. She took out display ads and alerted the media. She lined up sponsors to reward winning entries with prizes, including a Baby Lock Grace Computerized Sewing Machine.
(I think the word 'Grace' is so appropriate.)
And even though she felt a little nervous about it, Robin even appeared on a local television show to promote the event.
The quilt entries were amazing, and I've now been properly introduced to this art form. The folks who came out for the 'kick off' were so kind and generous and encouraging.
Several people came out to the Asheville Cotton Company for the first time to see what the DeLorean was doing there. And one guy even came dressed as Marty McFly!
After talking 'horsepower' and 'MPG' with some fellas, I even convinced them to step inside and check out the quilts! Another long time friend, Conrad Shirk, came by with his family to say 'Hi.'
Afterwards, Robin and I enjoyed a BBQ lunch together and caught up on 'old times.'
Now that all is said and done, I'm thrilled to share that Robin and her hard work resulted in a donation of $2331.57 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research!
Check out her website that describes the event and even displays photos of the winning quilts! -And if you're ever in Asheville, North Carolina, be sure and stop in at the Asheville Cotton Co. and say 'Hi' to Robin.
Even if you don't sew, you'll consider yourself lucky after meeting such an exceptional, fun and generous person.
-Oliver
(7th grade.)
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