My baby brother Paul is six years younger than me. This is currently confusing, because although I still see him as a chubby adorable child, he happens to be 30 years old. This means that he is—and has been for some time—an adult (still adorable.) And that means that he can do things like support himself, be in a serious relationship, and band together with his good friends to set up a fundraiser on Speed4Sarah’s behalf, which he did the Friday night after Thanksgiving.

The idea, I believe, came from the girls. I’ve known the sweet Anna Biggins and her family for years, since back when she was a Schroeder and before she had two kids, little blond babies with the names of fairies. I asked her brother Eric to King of Hearts, our high school’s version of a Sadie Hawkins dance. Our moms are friends who used to teach together, and Anna’s mom has read every novel worth reading. She writes her name inside them before passing them on liberally. I like this fact. I wonder if the books always make it back home. I wonder if I’ve accidentally stolen any of them.

Anna is friends with Elyse Caringella, a pretty pixie who has written me emails that make me laugh, and who felt motivated to organize an entire event to raise money for ALS, despite never having met me. But Elyse knows the rest of my family pretty well, and still seems to like us. In addition to being one of the gang who concocted the whole idea, she brought her considerable communications talents to the cause.

Donnie Biggins, Anna’s husband, comes from a clan the size of many Irish and/or Italian families in the Chicago area. Which is to say, there are a lot of Bigginses. And it is known that they are good people. Donnie is well-connected as a musician and a curator of live acts for a few different venues, including FitzGerald’s, where Friday’s event was held.

This brings us to Paul’s good friend Ryan Gac. If I were writing a movie, this is the part where we would flash back to my parents’ kitchen circa 2004, pan the room and then settle on a shot of my mom, who was advertising that night’s dinner as Soup and Bread.

“There’s Soup and Bread,” she kept announcing to a group of us who were sprawled out in front of the TV. “I’m not serving it. Just help yourselves whenever you get hungry.”

Most of us had managed to make it to the table with our Soup and Bread, when in wandered Ryan Gac, about 20 years old. “Where’s Paul?” one of us asked, because no one had seen him in a while. “I don’t know,” Gac said, plopping down at the table. “I’m just here for Soup and Bread.”

I actually had to double check with Paul that Elyse is as small as she looks, because Gac is her boyfriend and a mid-sized redwood tree would look small next to him. He’s not a heavy guy, just tall, and he has a heart the size of a redwood tree that is larger than that other mid-sized tree we were just talking about. If this metaphor has lost you, don’t worry. The point is, big heart. And something about trees. Let me also add that while we were frequently unsure of Paul’s exact location, Gac could regularly be found at our house.

My brother has good friends, which comes as no surprise to me. What I did find surprising was the level of selflessness and generosity they all displayed through their work to raise awareness and money for ALS. The event that they conceived and executed on Friday night was a spectacular success. Anna and Donnie welcomed guests at the door. Paul gave media interviews, and his lovely girlfriend Emily handled the raffle. Elyse made sure the night was running smoothly—and apparently did some shots with my mom. Gac was the emcee.

Wes Cichosz’s band opened the evening, followed by Jared Rabin, and Danny Chaimson & 11th Hour (together for the first time in 5 years.) Gac’s band Nasty Snacks closed down the show sometime in the wee hours of morning.

I watched the live feed from the comfort of my own couch, where I heard many familiar names called out as friends and family members won raffle items, many graciously donated by local businesses. Incredible creativity, hard work, and care went into the evening. It was quite a party, and quite a crew. More than $18K was raised, money that is going to ALS TDI and straight to ALS research.

Thank you to everyone involved: those who organized, those who donated, those who attended. You found a way to help, and it will make a difference in this fight. If any of you find yourself out on the west coast, please stop by my house for Soup and Bread. You’ll have to serve yourselves, though.

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