this excerpt was adapted from all these wonders:
true stories about facing the unknown. copyright
© 2017 by the moth. published by crown archetype,
an imprint of penguin random house llc. “the quest
for chad” © 2017 by arthur bradford.I said, “Sure, Ron. I can let him
know.” So I did. I told Chad Everett.
And an amazing thing happened
then.
Chad Everett started calling Ronnie
every Sunday, and they would talk.
Without fail, he called Ronnie every
Sunday.
And Ronnie outlived that diagnosis
by months and months. He lived for
over two years. In fact, he went back
to California and saw Chad and had a
party to celebrate.
Eventually Ronnie did die of that
disease.
I thought a lot about the lessons I
had learned from Ronnie Simonsen.
About the importance of having a big-
gest dream, no matter how silly it is.
But I often wondered, Did I spend
too much time chasing this other
person’s dream that wasn’t really my
dream?
Then, recently, we were putting
together a compilation of tapes that
we’d made with Ronnie.
The editor called me up and said,
“Hey, I’ve got this audio track I want
you to hear.”
It sounds like it’s someone who’s go-
ing up the stairs or really out of breath.
And then I hear my voice going, “Oh,
my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.”
It’s the audio from my camera as I’m
filming Ronnie running toward Chad
Everett. And as they hug, I swear you
can almost hear my heart beating out
of my chest. I’m so excited.
If you had asked me “What’s your
biggest dream?” ten years ago, it would
not have been “to meet the star of CBS’s
Medical Center.” But through Ron, that
became my dream. And I’ve always
wanted to thank Ron for sharing it with
me and for making it come true.The new book from the Moth,
Occasional Magic: True Stories About
Defying the Impossible, is available
online or at your local bookstore.rd.com 93My Most Unforgettable Character