today i walked into the bank carrying a locked safe full of money to deposit. it will probably be the only time in my life i'll ever do that. at any rate, the money was all from the rally we held for my friend this weekend. hands down the most amazing event i've ever been to, mostly due to the complete generosity and kindness of the people there. i'm happy to report that everything went off with barely a hitch. there were lots of lots of smiles and happiness. probably about 500 or 600 people there, i'll copy the newspaper article below. one of the highlights was when the hutterites showed up, about 16 young girls and the man in charge. they unloaded box after box after box of homemade breads, cakes, feather pillows, blankets, slippers...amazing amounts of food, veggies, popcorn. we sold every last bit of it, too. they stayed for a couple of hours, making us all smile as they enjoyed things like the "bungee run" (ever seen a woman in a full-blown dress strap herself into a harness and a bungee cord?). the girls all gathered around, giggling at the shirtless men at the dunk tank. to them, that was probably like watching a porno. ha.

we worked our butts off, totally. i'm still tired and my legs are sore but my heart is so so light. doing something like this for someone feels better than winning the lottery. i'm still reeling, thinking of all the goodness i got to witness in our tiny little town. here's the news story:

The Smaller The Town, The Bigger

The Spirit

The day was filled to overflowing.

From the generosity spilling out of the donation jar to the jam-packed parking lot to the truckload of gifts donated by the Orland Colony, everything about “Rally for Rani” was done in abundance.

But nothing was in more abundance than the spirit of a small town brought together for a good cause.

“Rally for Rani” was a cancer benefit held August 26 in support of Rani and Ryan Gordon. Rani was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and is currently undergoing treatment. The event raised $14,500 after expenses, with all proceeds going directly to Rani and Ryan to help with mounting medical bills and other costs.

Organizers say they don’t have an estimate on the number of people attending, but can say they went through 650 buns, 160 pounds of pork, forty-seven cases of beer and emptied the 5-quart donation jar twice before the dinner period was over.

“The most amazing thing about the benefit was just the way people stepped in to help, whether they were on the volunteer sheet or not,” said Rally for Rani committee member Carey Grosdidier. “Everything from driving beer carts to supervising inflatables to being targets at the dunk tank…people were more than willing to lend a hand, and the entire committee is so grateful for all the help.”

The Rally for Rani committee wanted to run a thank-you ad listing the names of all the people, organizations and businesses donating to the cause. By the end of the evening, the list was so long and overwhelming; the committee knew there would be no way to publicly thank all of the individuals contributing their time, money and efforts to the cause.

“We hope everyone who came and opened up their hearts as well as their wallets knows how much their kindness was appreciated. Montrose made Rally for Rani a success. You completely blew us away,” said Grosdidier.

Perhaps Rani Gordon sums it up best.

“The thing that keeps me going is the faces of those who were there, the strong hugs, the kind and encouraging words, the tears. Every person made me feel as if they were rooting for me. It feels like the 'big game' and my cheering section is the entire stadium. I've said it already but I'll say it again. How can I not beat this?”

Donations to the Gordon family can be sent to Security State Bank in Montrose, payable to Rally for Rani.