Page 52 - SPIRE JulySep 2022 3rd Issue DIGITAL
P. 52

F E A T U R E S



                                                                                                                                     Will's mala on the mic stand, and told Will he was
                                                                                                                                     going to make him one, and knowing that I had
                                                                                                                                     also purchased tickets for the Plymouth show
                                                                                                                                     that he would give it to him there. When we
                                                                                                                                     finally said our goodbyes to Will, Alex walked
                                                                                                                                     away and said "Mom, I'm basically friends with
                                                                                                                                     Will Evans!" He felt such a connection to Will,
                                                                                                                                     that in the weeks leading up to the Spire Center
                                                                                                                                     show, Alex designed and made the mala, while
                                                                                                                                     listening to Will's music on Spotify.

                                                                                                                                     The messages Will writes in his lyrics are so genuine
                                                                                                                                     and kind, I was excited to see how the kids were
                                                                                                                                     really taking it to heart, and it was resonating in
                                                                                                                                     them the same way it had for Randy and I. I was so
                                                                                                                                     excited as a matter of fact, that I went back online
                                                                                                                                     and purchased another 3 tickets for the Spire show,
                                                                                                                                     thinking that I just had a feeling I should. Well, that's
                                                                                                                                     how Max ended up going, lol. He rides my bus too,
                                                                                                                                     the same run as Landon, and so had been listening
                                                                                                                                     to all the songs we played and hearing all the buzz
                                                                                                                                     and excitement about Will's show in Plymouth. Max
                                                                                                                                     always sits right behind me and chat's the whole
                                                                                                                                     ride, and since he is my first student on and the last
                                                                                                                                     student off, we get to spend a fair amount of time
                                                                                                                                     on the bus together. I asked Max if he would want
                                                                                                                                     to join us, as I had a few extra tickets, so I chatted
                                                                                                                                     with his mom and she said he could go. I had
                                                                                                                                     extended the other two tickets to my students as
                                                                                                                                     well, but they were unable to attend. The day
                                                                                                                                     before the concert, I went into Landon's school and
                                                                                                                                     helped him make two letters for Will. He typed
                                                                                                                                     them out on his braille typewriter. They both said
                                                                                                                                     the same thing, but the one he wanted to give Will
                                                                                                                                     as a gift not only had the braille but also all the
                                                                                                                                     words so Will could read it. The second, which was
                                                                                                                                     only in braille, was for Landon to get autographed
                                                                                                                                     and keep. We had a lot of fun making them, and
                                                                                                                                     Landon taught me a lot that day.





                                                                                                                                       FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: WILL EVANS; MISS JEN &
                                                                                                                                       ALEX; ALEX, MAX AND LANDON
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