~ Like the ripples in a pond, the work of one man spreads out and touches the lives of others ~

From The Soul of One ~ To The Hearts Of Many
TAYLOR HICKS MY IDOL
Taylor Hicks "The Distance"


Sunday, January 13, 2008

A Thank You to Taylor, his Soul Patrol and his Angels


To all my friends on the Soul Patrol ...

I am seldom at a loss for words, as my wife Cassie can attest.
We were overwhelmed by the kindness, generosity and compassion from all of you, so many of you that we have never met.

The words, Thank You, just do not say what we are feeling in our hearts.

This picture is of our 2 boys, Evan and Spencer.
Thanks to you, they had as wonderful of a Christmas as could be possible, under such incredible circumstances.

I wanted to share this picture of the boys taken yesterday, because it shows one of the only things that was salvaged from the house, before the wrecking crew demolished it.

Evan is holding a collage that we made for him from Taylor's show at the Maryland Theatre. It was hanging on the wall in his bedroom, and as the fireman removed a smoldering mattress, this is what they found!!!

It was Evan's first concert and he got to have his picture taken with Taylor (he is also a big fan). The fact that this one item was spared the devastation, has to be more than just luck (it is melted and burnt on the back and smells like smoke, but it is intact!)

It is a sign that even though there may be bumps in the road,
Taylor Hicks and his music will survive.

I know many of you were concerned with the news out of J records.
I was glad to see Taylor respond to all of you, in the manner that he did, and let you know that everything is going to be just fine.
Keep in mind Taylor's own words, spoken to the crowd at the Maryland Theatre ...
"If you stay the same person, it doesn't matter WHERE you go."
~ Taylor Hicks, July 6th, 2007 ~


I want to take just a moment and give a personal thank you to Taylor.
Taylor, when you agreed to come to Hagerstown, my wife and I knew
it would be a very special night.
You had touched so many people along the way, but we never could have anticipated what happened following our terrible day in December.
Because of the time we spent with you, so many people opened their hearts to us.
You were the bridge that brought us together with so many amazing people.
My family thanks you for that gift!

If there is anything Cassie and I can do for you
(besides throwing you another great party in Hagerstown), don't hesitate to let me know.
We are on your team, always will be!

One more special thank you to Taylor's Angels.
You people are incredible!
God bless all, for not only what you did for us, but for what you have done and continue to do for so many people.

Once again, thank you all so very much.
I can only think of one appropriate way to say thanks.
Cassie and I will continue to support and promote Taylor with the same passion that we always have.

When (not IF) Taylor returns to Hagerstown,
I hope some of you will follow him here.
I promise you we will put on one heck of a party.

Take care Soul Patrol.
Hope to see you all again real soon!!!!!
Bruce and Cassie Torres



No matter how many times I read this letter from Bruce, the words keep blurring before my eyes, I just can't seem to stop the tears from flowing.
I know that hearts speak when words cannot, but we have always heard Bruce's heart loud and clear.
I hope he can hear ours too.

It has been our privilege to get to know Bruce and Cassie and their boys, they are gifts that we can thank Taylor for bringing into our lifes.

We have all benefitted from their kindness and total commitment to supporting Taylor Hicks' music, and I'm thankful that so many stepped forward to offer their help when it was needed.

To give Bruce and Cassie an opportunity to forget their problems, for even just a bit, and simply enjoy just being together as a family.

So many times in reaching out to others, we discover some new strength within ourselves.
I would imagine that this is where Bruce and Cassie's strength has been drawn.
They have always reached out to help and support others!

We are looking forward to another exceptional Taylor concert in Hagerstown, but even more importantly the wonderful welcome that Hagerstown extends to everyone ... thanks to Bruce and Cassie Torres!

Teri, thank you for sharing Bruce's letter and the photo that he sent to Taylor's Angels of Evan's buried treasure.
Treasures are somewhat like wildflowers ... they are often found in the most unlikely places.


2 comments:

DidNotExpectThat said...

Bruce and Cassie are truly inspirational people who whole heartedly believe in the artistry of Taylor Hicks. It is wonderful to see a promoter with the firm belief that Taylor's star is rising. God bless the family and thanks to the Soul Patrol for their support during these trying times. Hopefully, Taylor will again play the Maryland Theatre and we all can have a huge reunion in that wonderful small town with a big heart!

KarinP said...

Bloom, this is one of those blogs that you can't just read once. I read it earlier today as I was on my way out of the door and I knew that I could not post a reply until tonight.

Even though I don't know Bruce and his family, his words made me feel like I was a friend.

I especially loved the picture of their beautiful boys. It truly is amazing that the collage survived the fire. There surely must be some meaning in the survival of this treasured memento.

After I read this blog this morning and before I headed out to do my errands, I continued to search for something very important that I had lost or misplaced last night. I had searched high and low and could not find it. It was something that could be replaced but it might have required an explanation.

I went back and looked in all of those places again this morning. I did find it, thankfully, but as I pulled it out of the cupboard, I thought of Bruce and his family's recent tragedy. It struck me that the "light of day" often takes us out of the darkness and we see things much clearer and we find what we are looking for or we are able to make sense out of those things that we were so overwhelmed with in the past.

I am not sure that they will ever completely get over this big bump in their road but I do believe that just knowing that friends and others who are not known to them are providing support will definitely help them learn to live with the events in December.

I was very moved by Bruce's comments:

Because of the time we spent with you, so many people opened their hearts to us.
You were the bridge that brought us together with so many amazing people.
My family thanks you for that gift!


Once again Taylor has brought people together in a very meaningful way.

This real life story is a true reflection on the meaning of Karma.

Thank you, Bloom, for once again sharing a very inspiring and heartwarming story.