share your thoughts on all things french toast

FTX LOVE
July 4th, 2009
Love Park, Philadelphia, PA

hey everyone, it’s me, shyam, ftx #1!

i have to apologize that it’s taken me this long (a month!) to get the word on the street about our ftx love extravaganza that took place on the fourth of july in philadelphia!!

philly, the city i was born in, is more of a mystery to me than it should be. even though i grew up only 15 minutes away from it in south jersey i pretty much only came over the delaware river on the walt whitman bridge as a young boy to go to museums and see the liberty bell and later to see concerts as i discovered my lifelong inspiration in music.

i was always proud to tell people i was from philly. to me it stood as a grand american city full of history – both old and new.
plus rocky! i mean come on, some of the greatest films ever made. at least 1, 2, 3 & 6!!!!

but i didn’t know the people and they didn’t know me.
this past 4th of july that has begun to change.

since starting ftx i’ve learned a lot of things. things about myself and about people and hopefully a thing or two on how to make french toast! i’ve also learned about faith. if you’ve ever read about or been to any of the previous ftxs you would know that more often than not the weather leading up to the event is usually rain. not just a simple rain but torrents of rain pounding down hard and exhausting.

and then the sun appears.

not just any old sun, but the kind of sun that only comes out after the rain storm has blown itself hoarse. the kind of sun that turns the drops into jewels and the puddles into glistening mirrors. the same was no different this 4th of july.

that’s a kind of faith i guess. to trust in what you can’t see but you somehow know. i’ve been thru it so many times that even a controlling person like myself has to accept that things will work out the way they are supposed to and to let go. even when we did ftx santa monica and i had to push a week on account of rain it didn’t seem like a mistake. it seemed like it was what was meant to happen. and for anyone who was there that day in february ‘07, i’m sure they will agree. it was the perfect day.

the other kind of faith for me is in the people around me that fill my life. the people i call friends and the strangers i meet along my way.

to understand what i’m trying to explain here’s a bit of my history for you….

i came from a place growing up where i didn’t see much worth in myself.
that place was deep inside me and i kept it safe and protected for 30 some years.
now that’s not my parents fault because i was blessed to have two of the best.
and it’s not the friends i had at the time because they were always there for me.
it’s just the way it was.
it’s just the way i was.

and then something happened.

one night in 2002 i sat and looked at the amazing group of friends i had seated beside me.
people capable of creating the most beautiful art i have ever seen.
people who’s word meant something. people who you could depend on.
and in that moment, in all the strengths of these assembled friends, i could see a glimmer of me like a distant star.

i think in that moment i was beginning to realize i was part of a gang.

since then i have discovered that all the pain i had that i thought was so unique was actually not.
that all of us want to be loved. that we want to be part of something.
it was so simple really.

in time i was able to see my faults as well as my strengths in my friends. and in doing so i was able to love myself and others more honestly. and not only with my friends. but with everyone. i see myself in everyone.

so when i came to love park the morning of the 4th i had an army of friends.
friends from los angeles
friends from new jersey & new york
friends from philly
even friends from as far off as australia and india!

but i also had friends i hadn’t even met yet. hundreds of them.

the strangers who came up and raised their hands in joy as they stood in line (for a really long time!) to get some french toast and hugs.

the cop who asked if we were going to be there long, not because of the fact that we didn’t have a permit but because he wanted to invite his pals!

the man with the American flag and the group who welcomed me and #36 in with them as brothers.

the visitors from so many countries who fell into place like they had traveled all this way just to see us.

and to the ones i knew:

regina & john & kate & joe in husum washington throwing their very own ftx with homemade challah bred & homemade maple syrup!

jimmy #17 with ftx shaved into the side of his head by his mom jamie #15!

there was my mom and both sisters, all of us together for the first ftx time!

even my doctor flew in from los angeles to be a part of it (AND probably to see why my cholesterol is so high!)

so i thank you.
on this day of independence i felt connected.
and in this city of brotherly love i felt welcomed home.

shyam
ftx 1

to listen to the ftx love streaming soundtrack click here:
FTX Love Soundtrack

to see the local philly chestnut hill newspaper article on it click here:
FTX Chestnut Hill Newspaper Article

FTX #68 – Cristina

hey ftx gang and friends, i just wanted to write a quick note about my friend Cristina.

i met her in early 2007 on a job. i can actually remember the first time i saw her. i can’t tell you why that is but i do. i guess it’s safe to say she made an impression on me.

time is a funny thing. for some reason i don’t remember working with her. i only remember the moments we shared while others were working around us. i remember being in a dirty downtown los angeles underground parking garage on a particularly exhausting day. i could tell she was feeling a bit down and i asked her if she had five uninterrupted minutes to give to me. without hesitating she said yes. i then put my headphones on her and played hammock’s “i can almost see you”. i knew that was the song that would take her out of her surroundings and release her.

she often did the same for me. we had lengthy conversations about love and the importance of truly enjoying every moment of your life. Cristina never hesitated to emphasize the importance of laughing.

2007 was a transition year for me. it was then that after 36 years i finally understood that i deserved to be loved. that we all do. and in less than a week later that belief came to fruition.

2007 was a transition year for Cristina. it was the year she found out she had breast cancer. but she fought it thru many surgeries alongside Bruce her husband and i’m sure many close friends and family members. she fought it and won! Bruce, i believe, married Cristina after they found out about her cancer. an act that i will always remember as a guideline for my life of what a man really is.

in the end i believe our actions are who we are. what we physically do with our time is all that we leave behind. Cristina in the midst of her chemotherapy came out to FTX Echo Park in the winter of 2007. it was literally the week i finally understood love. and her act was nothing but that.

when we did FTX Downtown Los Angeles this year it was Cristina who wrote on our blog about how moved she was by all of us. about how our actions as a group proved to her the existence of unconditional love. fifteen days after her post she emailed a group of her friends about the return of her cancer. that was february 17th of this year.

it was always my intention to come back to los angeles in september after finishing my current job and see her. she has been constantly in my thoughts. i felt a tenuous connection with my heart and hers that ran across our america. i was fighting to get back to see her.

our one rule as a gang, to be only who you are and who are only adds to the planet, well that rule is Cristina. as it is with all of you. i, who like to do things in my own time, was going to surprise Cristina with her FTX shirt this september. i wrote Bruce two days ago and asked if any number was special to her. he asked for 608 or 68 which was the month and day of their wedding.

but time ran out. she passed away last night at 5:23pm pst with her loved ones near.
her gang shirt as promised will be delivered. #68.

Cristina asked me for two things.

when she found out about her cancer in 2007 she asked her friends to click on the the breast cancer site. each click goes towards giving a woman a free mammogram. i’ve done it every day since she’s asked and maybe you would like to too.

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com

while i was working last year in new zealand in an amazingly beautiful home on the water with my wonderful girl Brandy she wrote me, knowing how hard it was for me to finally get to a place where i could be loved, and asked me to yell out at the top of my lungs “I am alive, I love life!”. i didn’t do it then.

i did it today.

welcome to our gang Cristina & Bruce. welcome to our family.

with love,

shyam
ftx 1

to read Cristina’s post on our 2009 ftx downtown los angeles blog go here and scroll down:

http://frenchtoastandhugs.com/?p=104

hey everyone, in honor of ftx love in philadelphia this saturday, legendary santa monica radio station KCRW is re-broadcasting my interview from earlier this year on saturday july 4th at 11am PST.

if you aren’t in the california area to listen to it live then go to their website for a live stream of the show on saturday morning:

http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/gf

(click the live button on the top of the page).

my deep thanks to harriet & evan of good food for doing this!!!!

shyam
ftx 1

hey everyone!!

so I just wanted to send you a quick reminder that the 4th of July is right around the corner!! and so is FTX Philadelphia!! or as I like to call it FTX Love because we plan on holding it at Love Park in Philadelphia.

click here for a google map:
http://alturl.com/nje7

click here for the flyer:
http://frenchtoastandhugs.com/?p=223

so come on down for some fun french toast and hugs action!!!! we’ll be starting around 9am. if you don’t see us there then just call the number on the flyer for a location update.

and if you get there early enough pick up a free copy of the newest funky FTX mix cd that has a handful of celebrated philly artists on it.

but is one FTX 4th of July event enough????!!!!
the people have spoken and the word is NO!!!!!!!!

that’s right a SECOND FTX 4th Of July Spectacular (i added the spectacular!) is happening in Husum, Washington. if you’re in the area come on down to the 3rd annual Husum Pride Parade and .1k fun run. This event will be hosted by none other than FTX #9 & FTX #10 (john & regina!!!!)

click here for a google map:
http://tiny.cc/j85jz

and finally if you don’t already know about it, FTX has a facebook group page. if you’d like to sign up then head on over. and send the word to your facebooky friends too!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/group.php?gid=81235971582&ref=mf

while you’re at it don’t forget to sign up on the official FTX site:
http://frenchtoastandhugs.com/

I hope to see you all in philly OR you make it to out to husum!!!!

ftx love to you all.

shyam
ftx 1

hey everyone it’s me again. i tell you when it rains it pours and that simple fact was confirmed to me as i stood outside in nyc all last night for work. 😉

well the same goes for FTX. after what usually is months and months between my posts here is another couple of pieces of important news for you.

henry cline, Mr. FTX #38 himself, has been busy. now let me tell you about henry. he’s the kind of guy who puts an abundance of hard work, detail and excitement into everything he does.  a truly unsung FTX hero. the first comparison to henry i can personally think of is my mom growing up. now i know, it sounds kind of funny, this grown man reminding me of my mom but before you laugh let me tell you why.

growing up, my mom every morning woke up early and made my sisters and myself breakfast. not just a box of cereal mind you, not some of those modern pre-fabricated breakfast/lunch packs – but a genuine straight out of a tv show breakfast. i’m talking french toast (of course!), german pancakes with powdered sugar, apple cinnamon pancakes, cottage cheese pancakes, eggs, bacon with brown sugar, corn mush – the list could go on and on an on. and it’s not that she just woke up and made us breakfast. it’s also not that she just followed some recipe and fed our bodies. it’s the fact that she tweaked the recipes when she heard us comment how we liked one thing better than another, it’s how she was always there taking care to give us the best breakfast she knew how to do. it’s the LOVE that she put into it in addition to the effort.

and that’s what henry does for FTX. not only was he excited to do the FTX Downtown slideshow. not only did he agree and push me to use The Band’s song “The Weight” as the music for this most special event. he sent me TEN VERSIONS of the song!!!! i’m talking live versions, cover versions, remastered versions – the list could go on and on and on. sound familiar?

eventually he decided on a live version. and i love it. so when you get some time go to the following link and check out the slideshow. whether you were there or not i believe you will be inspired by it. at the very least it will put a smile on your face. 🙂

http://frenchtoastandhugs.com/?p=200

and lastly henry has been working hard at getting all the images from all the past 12 events on the site. currently you can find FTX 1 thru 4, 7, 8 & 12. check out the pics here if you have a moment:

http://frenchtoastandhugs.com/docs/pages/imageviewer.pages.folder/main.images.html

until the next bit of news i wish you all the best.
i wish you to have people like henry in your life.

love shyam