Hey guys, this might not be relevant news to you, but Sean Carlson has always been very kind to me professionally and is about as stand-up a guy as you will meet in the music world. This email was sent out to FYF Fest subscribers and I thought I’d share it with the One Thirty BPM community. As he notes, he is not looking for handouts or sympathy, but the message of this email is important and that, above all, is why I am sharing it. Here is the link to the FYF Fest website. I’m sure you can find any relevant contacts there. But yeah, this is a shame and I’m pretty sure the community will rally around Sean and take good care of him. He takes care of everyone else all the time. Here’s the email:
Hey All-
Early Friday morning my house went up in flames. I intended to write an email solely based on this and how lucky I felt to be alive that evening but needed time to process everything. Here is what happened.
I woke up at 6:45am to my porch on fire and flames coming into my room. I jumped out of bed and ran through the halls waking up all my roommates in a panic. I went back into my room to get my phone to call 911. I made it out the backdoor without any injuries and was lucky to have my dog by my side. Everyone was ok but we couldn’t find the cat. She didn’t make it.
My four roommates and I then climbed over a small wall into our neighbor’s yard. Going out the front was not an option. A man approached me in the street with a pair of sweatpants and an oversized shirt that had in large print, “You Good Girl?”. I felt crazy but having clothes gave me some security. I was no longer barefoot and in my underwear. It was going to be ok. I was alive. It was going to be ok.
The fire department arrived within two minutes. It took roughly 30 minutes to put out the initial fire and three hours to make sure the house was safe to go back into. The front of the house was destroyed but they were able to save the back of the house.
I walked away with grocery bag of belongings but it didn’t matter, I was alive and I knew everything that I lost could be replaceable and if couldn’t, well, that’s life.
I’m not writing this email looking for a handout or sympathy. I am writing this with hopes that you can look at my experience and appreciate your life a little more. Life is very short and unpredictable. Make the best of it and follow your dreams. There is no reason to ever compromise.
I want to thank my friends that came to my side and gave me comfort. Juanita, Brian, Mike, Kate, Sonya, Frank, Justin, Missi, Keith, Phil and everyone else. Thank you. I’m back on my feet and feeling much better.
Here is a blog that covered the story. http://www.theeastsiderla.com/2011/01/update-on-echo-park-house-fire/
I’m not going to write about the upcoming shows that FYF is presenting. I will send another email later in the week with details. Instead I am copy and pasting the last show listing below. This email not intended to promote anything.
Stay positive.
Love,
Sean Carlson
