Umphrey’s McGee – Make A Wish

We’re passing this along from Umphrey’s McGee’s blog The Floor.

When 18 year old Derrick Meade was diagnosed with level IV lymphoma he could of asked for anything from the great people at the Make-A-Wish foundation. They offered him a 10 day all expenses paid trip to Amsterdam so he could see the city he’d always wanted. They offered him the best drum kit money could buy. He decided he’d rather spend the day with Umphrey’s. To say we were flattered is an understatement.

It’s easy to take a day for granted. It’s easy to get in the habit of a daily grind and just go through the motions. Even in the business of rock ‘n roll.

But today we were fortunate enough to be part of an experience that truly makes you stop and smell the proverbial roses. I guess its easy to overlook that we have had a lot of our wishes come true. Many we have worked hard for. Some due to just plain luck. As hard as the gig to gig struggle may be, ultimately, we are living our dreams. I don’t think any of us really think about something as catastrophic as a terminal disease tearing our dreams apart. It’s really never something you ponder when you walk to your position as the lights go down and the crowd starts screaming. How could sickness ever befall such a hard working group of individuals? The bottom line, however, is that it could happen to any one of us at any time. It serves as a sobering reminder of just how blessed we all are. Today we got to shed some of our light to a young man who was faced with this challenge, and in doing so, showed us that we should never take any of this for granted.

-The UM Family