Colorado Cabin in Estes Park

This is the cabin where I spent the winter of 1987-1988 when I moved to Estes Park, Colorado.

300 square feet of everything I needed. Skiied every day that winter working as a Ski Patrol.

Awesome experience!

The Chocolate Kidney

With his longish black hair and dark-rimmed glasses, Connor Comeans bears a striking resemblance to one of his favorite literary characters, Harry Potter.

All the Newnan 12-year-old is missing is the lightning-shaped scar on the forehead that serves as the trademark of the fictional boy wizard.

Not to be outdone, Connor, sitting in his family’s house last week, raised his shirt to show a pretty impressive scar that runs down his abdomen.

“I think it’s about 6 inches,” the Madras Middle School student said matter-of-factly. “I won a contest once at a soccer game. The announcer was giving out prizes to people with the biggest hole in their jeans and things like that. I won for the biggest scar. When I showed it to him, he said, “I don’t even want to know about that.”

That’s OK, Connor signified with a laugh. He knows he’s not likely to forget what it’s about. It’s a constant reminder of how much his life has changed since February  2003.

The 5-foot-tall seventh-grader, who is making his debut onstage this month as a pickpocket in the Newnan Theatre Company’s production of the musical “Oliver!”, moved about his family’s living room last week with the ease and energy of a typical adolescent.

“There’s a bridge across the stage and tables that rotate on pivots,” Connor explained. “We walk in from under the bridge and start singing: ‘Is it worth the waiting for? If we live till 84, all we ever get is gruel!’

Three years ago, the singing and dancing that Connor comfortably demonstrated would not have been possible, said his parents, Bob and Caren Comeans.

“He was tired all the time,” Caren said. “He would wake up after sleeping for 10 hours and still be exhausted.”

Connor’s lack of energy, along with anemia and delayed growth, led the Comeans to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, where he was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2002.

“He had been in kidney failure, technically, since birth,” Caren said. “He was born with little kindeys, which, in his little body, were fine. But he just grew out of his kidneys.”

Once it was determined that a kidney-transplant would be best, Bob and Caren were tested, and both were found to be above-average matches.

“I just assumed I would do it,” Bob said. “But Caren got on her knees and begged me to let her do it.” She said, “This is what I was born to do.”

There was no question in her mind that she would be the one to donate a kidney to Connor, Caren said. “I am athletic, I always have been, and I still work out,” she said. “It just put reason to everything I do in that sense.”

Though her recovery was somewhat more difficult than she had anticipated, Caren said it was woth it to see Connor a week after the surgery throwing a frisbee in the front yard.

“There I was hunkered over, having trouble walking forward, and there was Connor feeling better than he had in two years,” Caren said. “It made it twice as good. It was awesome.”

Bob, a practicing magician, was the one who got the family interested in performing.

“It started as a stress relief for me,” said Bob, who held a benefit performance for the Kidney Foundation in 2004 on the first anniversary of Connor’s surgery.

“From there it has just evolved through the family, and it’s been a great outlet,” he said.

Caren was in the play “Wit” earlier this year, Bob said, though younger son, Landon, 10, is still on the fence.

Connor, who cannot play contact sports, decided to audition for “Oliver!” after attending summer camp with the Newnan Theatre and working as a sound tech for “Charlie Brown.”

Though he still enjoys playing xbox and reading, he says theater is fast becoming his extracurricular activity of choice.

“I like to get onstage sometimes and be somebody I’m not,” he said.

As the family prepares for the third anniversary of Connor’s transplant in February, Caren said she and her son recognize they share a special bond that goes beyond their physical scars.

“He was always kind of a healthy eater,” Caren said, “and I would tease him because he didn’t like chocolate.”

She said she jokingly predicted his aversion to chocolate would end once he had one of her kidneys functioning inside him. And sure enough, it did.

“I always tell him I gave him the chocolate kidney,”

Original article published in Atlanta Journal Constitution

12/15/05

Written by Donna Soper

September and October Bookings

Book now for October and Halloween!

Public appearances…

Sept 6 Emory University

Sept 13 Coweta County Water Authority

Sept 18-27 Coweta County Fair

Oct 2 Taste of Newnan

Oct 4 Welch Elementary

Oct 5 Historic Oakland Cemetary “Sunday in the Park”

Oct 17 Northside Elementary

Oct 18 Canongate Elementary

Oct 23 Atkinson Elementary

Oct 24 Willis Rd Elementary

Oct 25 Grantville Halloween

Newnan Community Theatre Company

N.I.T.W.I.T.S.

A new improv group now performing at NCTC. We attended a sold-out show Saturday night. It was alot of laughs for $5.00 per person. Check them out. More shows upcoming! You might see the next Belushi, Chris Farley, or Harold Ramis…

http://newnantheatre.com/NITWITS/index.html

http://newnantheatre.com/

Toney’s Coneys

Since 1951 they have been serving great hot dogs with the works. Sauce, onions, and mustard on a steamed bun. Plus you got to love those lime shakes! I’ve been eating there for 41 years. Used to live about a mile from the shop. Jump on my bike and go get two hot dogs and a root beer float! That’s living! This is a great family owned restaurant on West Broad St in Columbus, OH. Go there now!

The day we buried my mother, I talked to Colleen, at the shop, about opening up a tab for my father so he could come whenever he wants. She immediately agreed and we had it all set up in like five minutes. She was awesome! My dad goes in there about three times a week and from now on, every visit is on me.

With my mom’s passing, I am so pleased that my dad now has a place to go, “where everyone knows your name.”  Thanks Toney’s!

Arrow Exterminators

Spent Saturday at Brooks Lake http://www.brookslake.net/ which is just east of Atlanta. A great venue for this corporate event. Burgess Amusements supplied the tattoos and the inflatables for about 150 Arrow employees on this hot afternoon. I listened to the music and smelled the ribs as I sat at a picnic table in the shade and drew these fine folks, some more than once! Thanks Anne for fixing me up!

University of West Georgia

Spent Wednesday afternoon in Carrollton drawing for an incoming student party put on by the school. Lots of kids just getting used to the campus and college life. It was a great event with music, food, airbrush artist, food, information, food, activities, food, inflatables, food, and me drawing as fast as I could. Oh, did I say there was food?

Mom is gone

My mom passed away at 1:15am Tuesday August 5.  She’s had a  tough couple of years. My Dad cared for her 24 hours a day with a superhuman love that comes from a 54 year marriage. We flew to Ohio and spent two days with her in the hospital six days before she died. She couldn’t hear or see very well, but she could smile, touch, and say “I love you.” My wife and sister are so cool. They climbed in bed with my mom and cuddled her and loved on her. Mom liked that. I loved Mom’s smile when she knew she was with her family.

The following was written by my sister, who spent 10 days by my mom’s side at the hospital…

To Mom:
You were our #1 fan and we were yours.
You loved us from our births and you loved us till your death.
You held our hands when we were scared and we held yours.
You wiped our tears away with your smile.
When you cried, we cried with you.
You were concerned with our every sniffle and cough.
We watched for your last breath.
It took courage for you to decide to go Home, it broke our hearts.
We watched your body slowly say good bye.
I will always hear your last, “I love you.”
I will always feel your last kiss warm on my cheek.
Your words stopped but I could see in your eyes everything you wanted to say.
See you later alligator.

Well said sis…love you mom and dad.

Ft. Benning

Soilder and Family Appreciation Day.

What a great night for our military and their families! I drew non-stop for four hours! I was drawing fast, two minutes or less, trying to get to everyone. These are some young families in our armed forces. Young moms, young soilders, children, and infants. More than once I heard from a young mother with children, “Let’s send this to Daddy in Iraq.”

I got multiple thanks for being there for our soilders and all I was doing was drawing! One woman was in tears as I handed her the drawing of her and her daughter, and I was starting to choke up a little myself.

There were thousands of folks at this event. Everything was free with some great door prizes included. Grills, laptops, big screens, a Harley motorcycle, and a GMC truck!

Eve 6, Kimberely Locke, and Miranda Lambert were belting out the tunes from the stage. Nothing like drawing to the beat of some great tunes!

Pam and Samantha from Starwalk Fun, sign me up for this one for next year.  It was an honor to be there and a great time too!

Todd Key doing his thing!

Photo by Rachel L. Watkins

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