Monday, August 2, 2010

The Strong Resolve to Fight. I've got proof.

Some of you may know my bud, Lenny, from his love of racoons or the sincere comments he leaves on everyone's blogs. But since the start of my contest a couple weeks back, this little dude, and his wonderful family (I'm talking to you, big brother Alex!) have made quite the impression on me, and my family's heart.

As some of you may know, there's always more to the blogger than what meets the eye. Of course, Lenny's World suits him perfectly, but there's some things you wouldn't know by reading, about this insanely infectious ten-year-old (eleven in October). Lenny was diagnosed with ALL, which stands for acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

He's been through the gamut from losing his parents to chemo and radiation, and he now blogs/writes/socializes/melts hearts per doctor's orders, with the support of his devoted family (and a BIG family it is!). From the many graphics to contest donations, (the Lee family gathered and contributed $100 to Joy 2 the World), they're a bunch to be admired, and so full of love. I could not be more lucky to know them and today, a closer look inside Lenny's World.

What is your favorite thing to read?
For books i like adventure stories, animal stories and sci fi. for magazines i like nature and animal stuff. i got a subscription to ranger rick for a present and i love it. i like comic books too.

What do you do for fun? 
Wow, im doing lots! i love doing stuff outdoors that i couldnt do for a long time. i swim a lot and thats my favorite thing. im part fish for sure. ha ha. for the first time im playing baseball and i love it but i gotta say im not so good at it and in one game i struck out 4 times in a row! ugh! i felt lots better after i got a big pecan pie blizzard at dairy queen. J i do wii games at my cousins house and i love going to the movies.

I know you love raccoons (me too!), but what other animals are your favorites?
Yep, raccoons are my favorites for sure and one time we had a pet one named rowdy. she was soooo smart. mostly i like all animals. on our deck we feed lots of animals at the critter café that my brother andrew built. i like squirrels and possums are cool looking. most people dont like possums much but i think theyre neat. theres one that comes up on the deck and eats cookies right out of your hand. we call her blossom, so shes blossom the possum. ha ha. theres a couple of flying squirrels and a big owl that eat at the café. and theres lots of raccoons and one mom with 3 little kits. in the day theres lots of squirrels birds and chipmunks. for indoors dogs rule! i love cats too and theyd rule right up there with dogs if they didnt make me sneeze and itch.

How did you get started writing?
One of my doctors got me started. she said maybe it could help me to not think about being sick. i tried it and i found out it was something i really love doing. my first big story was from an idea that came from one of my doctors and me talking about sharks. its called shark fins and its about me and a bunch of my fish and sea creature friends trying to save a shark named shak from getting unfinned and tossed back in the sea to drown just to make soup.

Are you working on anything right now? 
I'm doing a lot of changes on my first for real book that i finished. its called bloopers magic wings and its about a little dragonfly named blooper that wants magic wings cause hes a lousy flyer. my wip (i just learned what that means from writers blogs J) is called the forever forest. its called that because if you get lost in it you get lost forever. yikes! thats pretty scary isnt it. its a neat adventure story.

Who do you look up to?
I got a lot of people i look up to but mostly its my brother alex cause after dad was dead for so long and then mom died even though it was real hard for him he kept everyone of us together and kept us living like a family just like when mom was here. when i got sick again he was always right there. all of my brothers and my sister are there for me and i gotta admit im pretty spoiled. ha ha. im soooo lucky.

What do you do to feel better when you feel down?
I got a cool idea one day and made a book called lennys feel good book and its got lots of pictures of people i love and people i like and animals and anything that makes me feel good. its in a binder so i can take stuff out and put stuff in if i want to. i cut out pictures from magazines and get pictures and cartoons printed off the computer. i drew pictures and colored pictures and wrote stuff and put it in the book. you can put whatever makes you feel good and happy in the book. when i feel down i just sit and look at all the stuff in my feel good book and it makes me feel lots better. sometimes i listen to music and theres a cd i got called reggae for kids and all the songs are happy songs. i like to sing along with it sometimes. reeses peanut butter cups make me feel pretty good too. ha ha.

Do you have a favorite song or tv show?
I like music a lot. sometimes i make up silly songs. my favorite song is three little birds. its a neat song and i like the beat and the words “dont worry bout a thing cause every little thing gonna be alright.” my brother s j sang it to me a lot the last time i was sick. on tv i watch sports and i like animal planet and the sci fi channel. theres one i been watching called cash cab and its a trivia game in a taxi cab and its fun and you can learn a lot from it. i like trivia stuff.

What advice can you give to someone who wants to start a blog?
My doctor got me blogging so i could meet up with writers and share stuff and learn from other bloggers. so for someone who wants to start a blog they should know who they want to get to know cause theres a zillion blogs out there and you could get lost for sure. they should make their blog look like just who they are put stuff on it that they really like. they dont have to be with just one special group if they just want to blog with lots of different people cause theres lots of cool blogs out there and you can get lots of new friends. i got a bunch of them and theyre all really nice. blogging is sooooo much fun!

Thank you, Lenny, for letting us get to know the supercool person behind the comments. We all  love you and send SUPERSIZED HUGS for you and your family! 

Tomorrow, WINNERS from the I Heart Joy Like BR80 Contest revealed, and I will continue to sell shirts as long as possible. If you haven't gotten yours yet, GET AFTER IT!
Graphic of the day, by my girl, Sheri Larsen:
Until then, friends, go visit Lenny's blog and give it some love. 
Candyland. OUT.

36 comments:

Jessica Bell said...

Lenny is adorable and his comments always make me smile. He's a treat. I had no idea he was so young - I think I'd better stop swearing on my blog! LOL What an amazing little trooper! :o) I wuv Lenny ...

Matthew MacNish said...

Oh man. I already had a lot of love and respect for Lenny - and I knew he was young, but not that young. Of course now I'm crying a little at my desk but that's okay.

It's really uplifting to see a little guy with so much courage and such a beautiful outlook on life, in spite of everything he's been through.

That's great that you listen to Bob Marley Lenny, peace, love and unity are beautiful things that I see you embody every day. Keep your amazing comments coming and let us all know if there is ever anything we can do to help you with your writing.

Thanks for this Candace.

Amie Borst said...

great interview! great post! as usual! thanks for sharing!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

Lenny sounds amazing. To Lenny, people like you keep this living-thang going. Good for you. *((hugs)) from a stranger but an admirer*

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness! *melts* Lots of love to you and your family Lenny!

Lindsay said...

*sniff* I wasn't ready for that emotional hit today. Hugs to Lenny :)

Creepy Query Girl said...

wow, what an inspiration and funny kid! Thank you for introducing me to Lenny and his family. His strength and the story behind him are really touching. *On my way to join his blog:)

February Grace said...

Lenny, you are an absolute inspiration.

I think the forever forest sounds like the best adventure story ever-seriously.

I am so glad that your doctor suggested that you write otherwise I would never have happened to find out about you. I'm so glad you can do things like swim again now. You have such deep kindness and strength- for anyone, regardless of age and yet you're still so young. For someone who has been through so much you still care so much about other people and that speaks volumes about who you are.

Thank you for letting us get to know you better and also thank you, Candyland for this amazing interview. You are both so wonderful.

bru

Dawn Ius said...

I am in awe of Lenny. Thank you so much for sharing this <3

Sherrie Petersen said...

My parents died when I was 10 so I can totally relate to Lenny on that. His older brother sounds awesome. Too bad we don't live close. I have a 10yo who would like hanging out with him :)

storyqueen said...

Going to visit Lenny's blog right now!

Thanks for the link.

Shelley

Lydia Kang said...

Great interview! Thanks for introducing Lenny to us. I'm going to go visit his blog now!

Shannon said...

Thanks for sharing this, Candy and Lenny. I love the idea of a "feel good" book. Pure awesomeness. <3

Linda G. said...

Lenny, you sound like an awesome guy. Raccoons rule!

Your blog is cool, too. If only you liked asparagus you'd be perfect. ;)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Wow. I'm amazed and overwhelmed by the awesomeness of this kid. Thanks for posting this, Candace. I will definitely pop over and say hello! :-)

Talli Roland said...

Lenny is amazing! What a cool kid, with so much strength. I can certainly learn a lot from him!

Thank you so much for sharing this.

Janet Johnson said...

Lenny is one of my favorite people. His comments always make me smile.

Thank you for interviewing him so I could know more about him . . . and of course, now I only like him more. Lenny, you are amazing! (and so is your family):)

Penelope said...

Lenny made me smile. That's awesome :)

Rose Cooper said...

I knew Lenny was amazing and his comments always make me smile, but I had no idea about the story behind him or how young he really is. Thank you for the interview, Candace. I think this shows how special Lenny really is and I'm happy to call him my blogging buddy :)

Slamdunk said...

Thanks for featuring Lenny's World today. I just returned from a visit--inspiring...

Tahereh said...

wow. Lenny is an absolute rockstar.

thank you both for sharing yourselves with us.

<3333

Jackee said...

Oh, man, I'm crying and smiling at the same time. I love Lenny! He's the sweetest.

Thanks for sharing, the both of you!

*Hugs* here too!

Cassie said...

Aww how cute and adorable! I can't wait until I get my shirt and to see the winners!! All the prizes look good!!

Unknown said...

Lenny is one of the coolest bloggers around! Whenever I see his name on my blog it makes me smile! Always such a positive attitude and outlook on life! I feel inspired just getting to know him a little better!!

BTW Lenny I love "three little birds"

Kelly Polark said...

I can see that Lenny rocks from this interview, I'm popping over to his blog now!

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss candace! wow i didnt know i could get so many nice words on my interview. thanks for doing it with me. it was lots of fun and you got me feeling real special. biggy hugs just for you. and thanks and bunches of hugs for everyone that said such nice stuff.
...big hugs from lenny

Susan Fields said...

Thank you for this opportunity to get to know Lenny better! I've been following his blog and just loving the comments he leaves on my blog and others, and it's great to get to find out more about Lenny and his family. Lenny, you rock!

Kelly Breakey said...

You say read...I read.

You say buy a t-shirt, I buy a t-shirt.

You say follow this blog...I follow this blog and I am so glad I am. Looking forward to getting to know Lenny through his amazing blog, so thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Kelly

VICTORIA SAAVEDRA said...

Lovely interview!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for giving us some insight into a very special boy.

Lenny has inspired me. I want to make a feel-good book now!

Theresa Milstein said...

Lenny is one strong kid. I like his story idea. I'll head over to his blog.

Christina Lee said...

Aww Lenny you sound AWESOME!

JE said...

What a wonderful interview! Thank you! I already knew Lenny, and thought he was a smart and funny kid, but I hadn't realized how young, or how brave he has been. I love him now even more than I did!

~JD

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

You know I don't know when I "met" Lenny...I think it might have been when my cat passed away. He took time to make me smile. I've enjoyed him every day and I've loved learning about him. I now understand why he sounds so mature. Lenny you are one amazing young man! I'm so glad that we are blog buddies!

Robyn Lucas said...

Thanks for sharing. Talk about perspective, man.

Lenny is a rock star in my book!!

vic caswell said...

i've read lots of super sweet, funny comments with that shiny happy sun next to them, and thought "what a sweetheart!" it's great to learn about lenny! what a brilliant kid! his stories sound A-MAZING (especially the forest one)!
going to go check out his blog now! thanks!