stiffwillichili

Relay for Life 2010

I was honored to cook at the Relay for Life Saturday for the Wishful Thinking Farm and my heroic friend Ben Clark, who is battling a devastating brain tumor. While I'm still holding out for a miracle, Ben's prognosis is not good. After a lot of difficult contemplation, he decided last week to go off his treatments, which were accompanied by some terrible side effects, and accept his fate. His doctor said he would start getting sick in only two weeks. I feel sick just having to write that.

It's painful celebrating a friend's life while simultaneously knowing you're saying good-bye. Saturday was one of those days where you wish you could just freeze time and enjoy the moments forever. But as I took turns throughout the night glancing at a high school race track filled with cancer patients -- some ill, some in remission -- I knew I wasn't the only one with those thoughts. And that's not counting the families who have already lost loved ones who are no longer able to attend events like this.

Two of the toughest moments for me were listening to speeches by the father of Jordan Paganelli, who was only 17 when he lost his battle with cancer last November, and a young boy (probably no older than 12) who described his two-and-a-half-year-old brother's cancer diagnosis, and then his own only four years later. Life most certainly is not fair.

Sorry if I just sent you into a mini-depression for the evening, but stuff like this just reinforces my belief that we should live every day enjoying family and good friends (and, of course, good food and drink!), which just so happens to be the underlying mission of T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili. With that said, here are some photos I took Saturday, and go here to view many more from Ben's Relay for Life celebration.

 
Ben and his mom (MomMom)

 
Ben has to be careful what he eats, but he was devouring my homemade salsa, which I was pleased to learn was a big hit. Notice he's got a hold of one right here in this picture!

 

 
We all took a lap with Ben around 10:30 p.m.

 

Supporting Ben Clark

T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili was proud to donate chili and spice mix last Saturday to our good friend Ben Clark, who is valiantly battling the bastard known as brain cancer. Ben's friends and family held a fundraiser and party for him and raised an impressive $4,500 to help defray some of his rising medical expenses.

Sadly, Ben's health has declined significantly over the past couple months, though you'd never know it by looking at some of the photos from his party. He was one of the first to arrive and the last one to leave! Unfortunately, I was unable to make the party due to a prior obligation to visit family in N.Y., but I will be joining the Wishful Thinking Farm -- Ben's Relay for Life team -- this Saturday (June 12) at Leonardtown High School and will be providing chili dogs and fresh salsa and selling t-shirts, spice mix, and hot sauce to help raise money for Ben's cause.

Ben, I can't even imagine the agony you must endure on a daily basis, but I hope the love and support of all your friends and family is able to provide a bit a solace in these difficult times. Keep fighting, and I'll see you Saturday!

Here are a handful of photos from Ben's fundraiser:

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

My Brother at the Rex

Eat your heart out, Lee DeWyze. This is an iPhone video of my brother, Erik Bothwell, performing at the Rex Theater in Pittsburgh two weeks ago.

After years of playing in garage bands and scoring a handful of pretty decent gigs, Erik's decided to give a music career one last shot by going solo. I think it's his best bet, especially if he can keep turning out originals like this.

Keen observers will notice the huge T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili logo flashing on the screen behind the stage. We were a proud sponsor of this event, which was held to raise money for The Call to Serve.

T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili Gets Good Reviews at Tiki Bar

Thanks to the folks at Tiki Bar in Solomons, MD for providing a forum to test out my chili on the general public last night.

We set up around 7 p.m. for a charity costume party held to raise money for local charter captains and donated chili for about three hours. I doubt many people would tell you your food sucks while they're standing in front of you eating it for free, but almost everyone who gave their opinion seemed to love the chili.

My only regret is that I didn't have my chili spice mix on hand to sell (it'll be out in about two weeks) -- at six bucks a pop people probably would have been much more willing to buy that as opposed to a $20 t-shirt after spending $20 at the door to get in. But, such is life. Even though southern Maryland seems to be more insulated from the depression than other areas of the country because it's home to the Pax River navy base, many of us are feeling the pinch nevertheless. So, many thanks to the handful of people who helped me raise money for the world championship chili cook-off by buying a shirt, and to everyone else who slapped a Stiff Willi Chili sticker on their shirt to help me advertise. It all helps and it's much appreciated!

Most of all, I want to thank my friends Brady and Erin Lesko for donating their time and helping me work the table the whole night. And thanks to Louis and Mike for wearing their Stiff Willi Chili shirts to the event to show their solidarity, even though I know they both would've preferred to wear their sexy snap shirts under different circumstances.

I managed to grab a couple pictures on my camera phone, so they came out pretty dark and crappy because I don't have a flash, but here's one of them followed by a much better one taken by my friend Erin.

The girl on the left won best individual costume for dressing up as a Victoria's Secret angel. Definitely a good candidate to be a Stiff Willi Girl!

 

T-Rev, Brady, and Louis.

T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili at the Tiki Bar

On Saturday, May 15, I'll be slinging FREE T-Rev's Stiff Willi Chili at the Tiki Bar on Solomons Island, MD as one of the sponsors for their third annual costume party. The event costs $20 per person, starts at 7 p.m., and will benefit local charities. This year all revenues from the party will be donated to the Solomons Charter Captains Association and the Save the Reef Program.

So put on your best costume, grab some great food and drinks, and be sure to stop by and say hi and have a taste of T-Rev's award-winning Stiff Willi Chili!