#ewingsarcoma

Happy Belated Birthday Long.

. The first video was taken at Sundance 2015. I asked @kenjeong if he could do a shout out for my friend Long, a fan of “Community”, who had a rare bone cancer called Ewing Sarcoma (1 in 500,000 people get it). Ken was so gracious about it. He shared that his wife had also battled cancer (breast cancer). I was really touched by his kindness and openness.

— The next three videos are of me at a recent open mic singing “Ewing Sarcoma”, a song I wrote for Long when I first heard his diagnosis. Here’s the lyrics (note: I messed up on some of them, haha):

Ewing's not a friend of mine He sits on your lower spine He came out for the summertime To take some of your time

I called you the other day "Tell Ewing to go away." Like a bad guest, he overstays And sits on your bed, sits on your bed*

Ewing Sarcoma He's been making you feel ill, we'll kill him together

Ewing Sarcoma He'll be leaving soon and soon you'll get better

I heard on another day, You're going through chemotherapy Sounds kinda bomb Like Michael Rosenbaum.**

You are two in a million You've got talent, you've got feeling Across the sea I wrote this song to give you some healing (not sexual)***

Ewing Sarcoma He's been making you feel ill, we'll kill him together

Ewing Sarcoma He'll be leaving soon and soon you'll get better.

— *Long hated it when people sat on his bed **We were fans of “Smallville” ***One of Long’s favorites: Weezer - Across the Sea

I think my heart’s cracking a little bit, and my faith in all things divine is diminishing a little bit more. Recently (and by that I mean a few months ago?) a young 7 year old boy grew his hair out, was the target of a lot of stupid jokes made by real insensitive & stupid kids. The young lad grew his hair out for a good cause, he grew it out so he could donate it to make wigs for cancer patients. My faith in humanity was restored by such a simple, small act of kindness by a little boy with a ginormous heart...something a lot of us could learn to have. Here’s the kicker, months since then, he’s been diagnosed with Stage 4 aggressive cancer himself. Calling it a cruel twist of fate, as some journos have called it, is nothing short of an understatement. The Docs suspect it could be Ewing’s sarcoma, a very aggressive form of cancer that affects soft tissue and bone, and affects children. I don’t think, in fact I know my heart is broken.

I guess it just goes to show, time and mortality don’t really wait for us...nothing is guaranteed and whatever it is you plan on doing, do it without expecting anything in return. Life’s too short to hold grudges, the world is a small place crowded and clouded by misunderstandings and miscommunication that easily lead to nonsensical things like hatred...but guess what, we can work around that. Most importantly, if you want to make a difference, even the smallest acts have a helluva impact on those around you.