WOW. This was such an inspiring weekend. There are always so many wonderful stories and memories whenever we do our Stuff The Bus Weekends. I had such a fantastic time meeting new friends and seeing old friends too. Stuff The Bus is our huge food drive where everything we collect stays local in Sussex County, going straight to the Sussex County Division Of Social Services Food Pantry. There are so many memorable stories that can move you so much. Stuff The Bus is about the people. Stuff The Bus is about the people we are helping all over Sussex County. Every single town in Sussex County has families below the poverty line. Stuff The Bus is also about our people who are helping other people. At one point Saturday afternoon a senior citizen veteran handed me cash explaining "I don't want anyone to go hungry. When I was growing up, there wasn't enough food. I know how it feels. I don't want anyone else to go through it." We talked about how tough this current climate can be especially for folks on fixed incomes. Here's this veteran, likely on a fixed income, helping us help others. One of my many favorite parts of Stuff The Bus is when you see kids also joining in helping others.
Friday afternoon I was doing my show kicking off Stuff The Bus at Lakeland Bank in Sparta. We had a great time despite the cold weather. Keith and his team at Lakeland Bank are all rock stars. I had so much fun telling them so many stories from our Stuff The Bus events throughout the years. As we were taking selfies for my Epic Weekend In Pictures, a couple of gentleman approached us. They asked if the bus near us was the one where they could make donations. We answered yes, and then offered to help them. They said oh great we have a couple of boxes. We went over to see them, they had 9 large boxes full of food from two cars!!! I laughed and said "just to clarify, 9 boxes is definitely more than just a couple boxes." Everyone cracked up. Shout out to my new friends Cayanne Castro and Dan Kise from Repligen in Newton. Thank you so much for helping! Karen and Alex Flockhardt also showed up to say hi and make a donation. It was great seeing so many friends.
It made me almost tear up Friday at 6pm when I saw the now full bus driving away from Lakeland Bank in Sparta. Friday night I then had a quiet night in with Jasen and Brendan watching the Pan Am series. The series itself was rather interesting because it showed how different life was, and flying was back in 1963. It was funny seeing all of the large cameras and phones.
Saturday morning involved picking up my dry cleaning. They were happy we were playing Christmas music and it helped Beth do all the Christmas decorating at Jenny's Cleaners on 23 in Hamburg. It's fun to wear my dress shirts again whenever I want to do so. I also love living in my hoodies when not wearing the dress shirts. Then it was off to ShopRite in Franklin on 23. Steve Andrews was there doing his show from 10am to 1pm, and I was there from 1pm to 4pm. I had so much fun meeting new friends and running into some old ones. One listener joked "wow Steve Allan you're popular!" I'm not so sure it's that I'm popular, I think it's more likely because of my cute Pets Of The Week. Speaking of my Pets Of The Week, Twinkle was adopted over the weekend! She is going to be one lucky puppy, and that family will be happy for years to come. I'm so happy she ended up with a great family! I received a super sweet email from friends Earl and Tracey, who love when Steve Andrews and I bust on each other every weekday morning at 8:45. They then went to Franklin ShopRite to surprise me and meet in person. It was great to meet them in person! Stuff The Bus is such a wonderful way to bring people together.
We Stuffed The Bus big time in Franklin! It was such a great feeling knowing that we're helping so many and getting to run into friends while doing it. By Saturday night I was ready for a victory drink. I was able to meet up with my friends Steve, Tory and Kyle at Hef's Hut. The place was packed and had a fun vibe with live music. We were happy we ended up there. It was great to catch up with my friends and brag about how much Caboose we were kicking with Stuff The Bus.
Sunday morning I was able to get my haircut at Pro Cutters in Franklin with my personal stylist Jennifer. She's fantastic at her craft and a wonderful friend too. Then it was off to ShopRite Of Sparta for day 3 of our Stuff The Bus. I had a great time running into more friends. I also ran into Steve from Mohawk House / Industry in Sparta. I enjoyed a delicious IPA after Stuff The Bus. Fantastic time. I was at ShopRite Of Sparta from Noon to 2, then I did something I absolutely try to avoid doing. I watched my Patriots against the Jets with Jets fan friends! The energy at The Cottage in Franklin was definitely intense. My Patriot fan friend Kelcie was happy that she wasn't alone. In my almost 9 years here, this was the first time where both fan bases were literally equally miserable during the whole game! Well, the first 59 minutes of the game at least. I was psyched and let out a big scream when the Patriots got that punt return for a Touchdown in the final 5 seconds of the game. I joked right before it and said "the longest weeks all year are when my Patriots have to play the Jets, now they're going to make it even longer with Bleepin Overtime???? Bar manager Shannon saw me during the game and offered me a chair. She probably was trying to get me to stop pacing and jumping up and down like a maniac. I almost bit her head off, yelling "I can't sit while there's this bad awful football happening!!!!" Comedy gold.
My fantasy football teams have a chance of winning, we will see.
Overall I had a great weekend. Thank you for taking the time to read my Epic Weekend In Pictures. Time to start planning my next weekend. I'm going home to see my family Thursday morning, then Friday I turn the big 4-1. Here we go!