Winner of Contest for Neil Young Tickets

Thanks to a very, very generous Thrashers Wheat reader, we are pleased to be able to offer a pair of tickets to see Neil Young in concert at the Wang Center, Boston, April 19.

We had over 50 Neil stories submitted and had a tough time narrowing it down to a final round of stories. After much thoughtful decision, the donor has made a selection of a runner-up and winner. (Here is the Runner-up Winner of Contest for Neil Young Tickets.)

Here is the ticket winning Neil Young story:

Neil Young's music reminds me of my childhood, especially spending time with my Dad.

It's strange how we remember certain moments from when we were younger, especially when they aren't moments of extreme elation or disappointment. When I hear Neil Young's music, I remember a regular, weekend day during the winter of 1993, shortly after Harvest Moon was released. My Dad was working on some drawings at his drafting desk and I, a hardcore daddy's-girl first grader, was sitting next to him drawing on graph paper, imagining I was "getting my work done" too. Harvest Moon was playing in the cassette player of the stereo.

I still think of this day when I hear his music, but I also remember a more recent period.

The day before this past Thanksgiving, my Dad was hospitalized after falling off of a ladder while he was at work. The fall caused some major brain hemorrhaging and within minutes of entering the ER, he was taken in for a craniectomy to alleviate the pressure off of his brain and prevent any more damage. Three days after the accident, the doctors arranged a meeting with my Mom, two sisters and I. They told us that his temporal lobe was "destroyed" and since the temporal lobe is responsible for speech and vision, there was a pretty good chance that he wouldn't be able to communicate with the rest of the world.

He had also lost movement in his right side--preventing him from walking-- along with a laundry list of other injuries. The doctors said that we should talk to him even though he wasn't responsive and that we should play music in his room. Everyday in the ICU we'd play some of his favorite CDs, Neil Young amongst them, while sitting with him, holding his hand, talking to him and trying to calm him so he didn't need to be put in restraints. They were the most difficult days to get through; to sit there and see someone who was once so independent, talented and capable be completely helpless.

Forever ingrained into my memory is when i looked over at my Mom, who was holding his hand, fighting back tears and singing along "I want to see you dance again/Because I'm still in love with you/On this harvest moon."

Things have gotten a lot better with time and he has progressed far beyond the doctor's expectations. After four weeks in the intensive care unit and six weeks in rehab, he's back to living at home and involved in an intensive outpatient therapy program. He's walking, talking and if you saw him on the street, you might not be able to notice anything wrong. It's been difficult for him to adjust to the limitations put upon his post-accident life, particularly his loss of the ability to read and drive a car, losing a lot of independence and realizing that he won't be able to go back into construction, something he was very passionate about.

When I found out Neil Young was playing in Boston, I wanted to get tickets for my Mom and Dad. They hardly get out of the house except for doctor's appointments and I know that with losing the larger of the two incomes, going to a concert isn't in their budget. I went to the Wang's ticket site and was disappointed to see how expensive even back balcony seats were and unfortunately out of my budget as well.

I happened to stumble upon the giveaway today and thus, have written this very Oprah-ish story.

Thanks for reading,

Quincey
Somerville, MA

Thank you Quincey! Your Neil story was truly moving. Enjoy the concert. Maybe you'll get a Harvest Moon?!

And thanks again to all of the other contest entries. There are a lot of amazing Neil stories out there, many of which moved us to tears.

Thanks again to our generous ticket donor.

It's really a joy to be a part of the Neil community.

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