This is My Daily Journal and today is Friday – March 30, 2018 and I’m throwing another surprise party – and YOU are INVITED!!!
Back in the first few days of 2010 – I was called into the Metropolis Planet general managers office and asked to write an ongoing column and was told he preferred a human interest type column – but I could choose the subject. I was going to be writing from home and just sending it in – so I accepted the offer.
After a little discussion with the general manager that day – I told him I’d always wanted to seek out and write kinda the life story of every day people – just like you and I.
Because do you know what? Not just the people who make the news every day – or always have their names splattered in front of us every time we look up – but EVERYBODY has a story – and most are very interesting.
The general manager was thrilled with the idea.
The first two people to pop into my mind when I set down to make my list to contact about their life story – was Clem Riley and Larry Crain. (more on Clem in a few days – because he’s a ‘treasure’ in my book)
One thing led to another – Kim and I went up to do the interview and she took tons of photo’s and as we were leaving – Larry said “If you see any of my old friends – tell them to come up and see me at Ned’s Shed” – where he worked part time and hung out most of the time 
On the way home – Kim and I were talking about it – and I said “You know – his birthday is in 3 weeks – let’s get our heads together and throw him a surprise birthday party.
I came right home and called his mom back – she loved the idea – and we got the ball rolling.
It had been planned for Ned’s Shed – because I really didn’t expect many to come – but word spread and people started calling me to see if it was an open invitation because they’d like to come – and the list of those saying they would be there kept growing – and we had to move it to the convention room in the basement of the Vienna Library ..
I had talked with Flo Dunning of Vienna and a close friend of Larry’s and asked if she could help me with contacting the Kornbread Junction gang – so we could have some really homey and enjoyable entertainment – and we were even able to pull THAT off.
When Larry and his mom walked in the door that evening and we all yelled SURPRISE – Larry was overwhelmed beyond words.
We had decorated and it was beautiful – and there were gifts of trains and marbles – candle light and balloons out the wazoo – and the stage was decorated for the Kornbread Junction gang. OH MY GOODNESS – good thing my BP didn’t spike way back then – because I was in my glory – pulling off such an appreciated surprise for such a special person. And 65 of his friends came to his surprise party.
By the time we had the surprise party – his story had already run in the Metropolis Planet –
When Larry’s newspaper story hit the streets in Metropolis – I immediately got a call from the general manager of the Vienna Times and he wanted to know if he could run the story in ‘his’ paper – since Larry had lived in Vienna for decades – When I said I’d be honored – he was thrilled.
The Vienna Times immediately ran Larry’s story in the next paper and sold out of newspapers for the first time in the history of their paper – and the demand was so great – they had to print more newspapers. And then “I” was thrilled … LoL
Vienna Times got the same response from my story on Hanna the Hoarder – the old woman who lived with chickens – in Simpson – and was on the Hoarder’s TV show. So HEY – MAYBE I should be doing my own NEWSPAPER … lol
Fast forward to now –
Someone asked about him on Metropolis History’s fb page the other day – and he’s been on my mind since.
SO I’ve decided to throw him a Birthday Card Shower – starting NOW!
I’ve just talked to Larry’s sister and he is doing great and has survived far longer that most do with Williams Syndrome.
He will be 75 on April 3rd (next Tuesday) and still has his marble and train collection. She says his favorite times are when the weather is good enough that he can roam the Vienna Square and just meet and talk with friends – or go to the senior luncheon with his brother.
If you’d like to send Larry a birthday card – I know that will absolutely thrill him to pieces – it would be nice if you could even write a little note in it – of a good memory of him – – –
And his address is
Larry Crain
206 North 6th
Vienna, Illinois 62995
You will be making one very special person – feel very special – and it really is true – there’s just no better exercise for the heart – than bending down – to lift someone else – up.