This past weekend, I
witnessed pure joy. In one extremely kind act, I was floored by the actions of
one man, and the reaction of another. If this is what Dream Ride is all about,
I’m hooked. I’m getting ahead of myself though…
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For those of you that
don’t know, Dream Ride is a charity event that started in
2001 as a few motorcyclists in Connecticut from Bozzuto’s riding out to raise
money for Special Olympics. Bozzuto’s is an independent food distributor in the
Northeastern United States. Dream Ride has turned into a huge fundraiser that
brought in $520,000 for Special Olympics this year alone. It has expanded from
Connecticut to include 10 states and Canada. Dream Ride is a weekend-long event
held in CT featuring motorcycles, classic & exotic cars, food, music, and much
more. This year was the inaugural Dream Ride Rally, which saw a group of bikers
ride from West Palm Beach, FL to Farmington, CT over the course of 8 days and
10 states, leading up to Dream Ride weekend. The Rally alone raised $120,000 of
the total for Dream Ride.
Enter Brandon Boterf,
a 27-year-old Special Olympic athlete from Wellington, FL. Brandon has both developmental
and neuromuscular disorders. This does not keep him from being one of the most
knowledgeable people you will ever meet on the subject of cars. If he sees a
car, it’s pretty much guaranteed he can name the make and model from memory. At
the Kickoff Party for the Dream Ride Rally in West Palm Beach on August 15th,
Brandon got the chance to sit in a few different classic cars, which was so
meaningful to him that he was moved to tears. http://youtu.be/4PAcyLLE8eE.
This touched “The Man”
behind Dream Ride (he wishes to remain anonymous in this article) so much that
he promised on camera that he would get Brandon a ride in a Ferrari. That
night, “The Man” handed me the business card of Brandon’s stepfather, Ronnie
Wood. He asked that I make sure the contact information got to his assistant so
that the Ferrari ride could be set up. Little did I know how soon and on how
big of a stage that would happen.
On a side note,
Brandon works at a Publix Super Market at home in Florida, often bagging
groceries. It is not uncommon for customers to roll their eyes at him, becoming
impatient as he tries to do his job right. Brandon just keeps on smiling his
thousand-watt smile, and keeps on doing his job. More on this later…
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“Sometimes people do
things and they don’t realize the magnitude…it provides so much for these kids
that people sometimes don’t even see that.” ~Beth Boterf-Wood
Flash forward six
days, as the Dream Ride Rally was making its way through northeast Tennessee on
up to Virginia on August 21st. I’m sitting in the passenger seat of
the Sprinter van that was following the motorcycles on their ride. We’re
stopped for a minute for construction, which has the road ahead down to one
lane. “The Man” behind Dream Ride pulls up alongside the van and gives me the
“roll down the window” sign.
“Do you remember the
kid from Florida that got emotional when we let him sit in the cars?” “The Man”
asked.
“Of course,” I
replied. “Brandon. I gave his stepdad’s contact info to Julie so we could set
up the Ferrari ride.”
“Well, I want to
bring him and his family up to Connecticut for Dream Ride weekend. Can you call
him up and invite them? I’ll take care of all of it.”
“Uh… sure!”
Off went “The Man” on
his bike, up went the window, and I called Ronnie Wood, Brandon’s stepfather. I
left a voicemail explaining that we wanted Brandon up in Connecticut for Dream
Ride in less than 2 days, and to please call me back. It was one of the best
voicemails I’ve ever left. It would all only get better.
When I got a hold of
Mr. Wood shortly thereafter, he seemed even more shocked than I was. He wanted
to make sure he understood me correctly, and wasn’t sure that Brandon could
make the trip on his own. I told him that “The Man” wasn’t just inviting Brandon;
he was inviting Mr. Wood and his wife, Beth, as well. Mr. Wood didn’t know what
to say, so he told me he’d check with his wife and Brandon and call me back.
Less than 5 minutes
later, I was on the phone with both Mr. and Mrs. Wood, saying how excited
Brandon was about the opportunity to come to Connecticut. They told me Brandon
could barely speak on the phone when they told him about the invitation.
Brandon and his
parents flew from West Palm Beach to Hartford, CT, two days later and were at
the Farmington Marriott to welcome in the Dream Ride Rally’s arrival. The Rally
group was thrilled to see Brandon, and vice versa. Still, it would all only get
better.
The next night,
Saturday, August 24th, was when the magic really happened. The party
planned at the Farmington Club had no idea what it was in store for. Hundreds
of people filled the big tent, and “The Man” took the stage at 7pm.
“Where’s Brandon?” he
boomed over the microphone.
The problem was, 10
minutes earlier Brandon and his parents were waiting for a shuttle at the
Farmington Marriott to take them over to the party, which is a 12-minute ride
away. Enter Darryl Thomas to the rescue. Darryl is a Bozzuto’s driver who made
the trip from Florida to Connecticut and recognized the trio waiting outside
the hotel for the shuttle. Darryl had heard a surprise was being planned for
7pm and thought it was going to be cutting it a little close if the group
waited for the shuttle. So he had the family hop in his Hummer and sped them
over to the Farmington Club. As “The Man” was asking for Brandon over the mic,
he was pulling up to the tent in Darryl’s truck, just in the nick of time.
Brandon was already
having a good weekend, but it was about get much better. “The Man” announced
that courtesy of Peter Castellana, Brandon was going to get a ride not only in
a Ferrari, but in the newest, fastest Ferrari model, an F12. Everyone in the
tent moved outside to watch Brandon get this chance.
He buckled up, Mr. Castellana
started the car, and then it came—pure, unadulterated joy. Brandon wept tears
of unbelievable happiness. And I’ll be darned if there was a dry eye in the
parking lot. It wasn’t the VIP treatment he received all weekend, it wasn’t
being on stage, and it wasn’t the celebrity status that came with being a guest
of honor that weekend. No, it was the simple, kind act of letting him sit in
his dream car. Brandon got the dream
ride of his life, and he showed his thanks without saying a word.
I’d love to show that
video to every single person back in Florida and at Publix that has ever grown
impatient with or rolled their eyes at Brandon. Show me anything as simply
inspiring as this man getting an opportunity to have his dream ride. He smiles
through your impatience and rudeness, but is moved to sobbing at the simple
kind gesture of a near stranger. If only we could all be wired like that. I’d
love to show that video to everyone who is obsessing over Miley Cyrus’
performance and whether Christopher Lane’s murder was racially motivated or
not. We’d be worrying a lot less about those things, and a lot more about what
we can do to move someone to tears of joy. Let’s not just dream about it, let’s
make it happen.
