Hey, you got kids?

If you are reading on a smartphone, use landscape / hold phone sideways. 

Many years ago (11?) Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood did a show at UCONN. My wife knew (I did not know) that my youngest son Bobby was a HUGE FAN of Colin and Brad. Like, BIG FAN. 

So, she bought tickets online for the kids, and some their friends. Around ten tickets in total. I was recruited to drive the New Jersey kids up to UCONN for the show. OK, fine. My son Tommy was already on UCONN campus, my son Bobby was in the car for the road trip from BOONTON USA to UCONN.

And as we got closer and closer to UCONN campus, Bobby became more and more anxious. "Oh, man, I can't BELIEVE that we are going to see Colin and Brad!"

When we finally got to UCONN campus all the kids were together, talking about the show that was going to start in around an hour. The conversation was becoming more and more... intense. I thought to myself: how did I not know how big a deal this was for Bobby? And how did my wife know this about Bobby, and I did not know?

When we finally sat down in our seats, I knew it was time to act. 

"I'll be right back...." 

I went down to the lobby and found an usher. "Can you tell me who is in charge?" They pointed out the guy in the blue jeans and sportscoat, a guy looking very anxious, looking very occupied. 

"Excuse me, my name is Tom, we just drove up from New Jersey for the show. Hey, you got kids?"

I went on to explain how (I had no idea) that my son Bobby was basically the head of the Colin and Brad fan club, and how he was upstairs with all of his friends, basically freaking out waiting for the show to start. I asked, "is there any way that he could get an autograph?"

"How many kids you got up there?"

I told him that there were ten kids in total, but Bobby was the one who was totally into Brad and Colin. 

"At intermission, meet me right here. I'll bring you two backstage and your son can hang out with Brad and Colin in the green room." 

In total, it took less than ten minutes from "I'll be right back" to return to our seats. "Bobby, at intermission, come with me, we are going to meet Colin and Brad backstage." 

Everyone was stunned. HOW? WHAT? HOW??? One kid said (and I'll always smile over this) "Bobby, your Dad is like a retired Spy who still has all of his contacts....." 

Today's Facebook Memory Feed reminded me of this day. I remember like it was yesterday, watching my son interact with Colin and Brad, who were totally generous with their time. Basically, they spent THEIR break with my son. Bobby asked questions, they answered, and I just soaked it all in.

When it was all over, we went back to our seats, and Bobby was on Cloud 9 for the 2nd half of the show. And the rest of the "posse" were amazed. 

The big (life/business) lesson for all ten kids that day was clear: you make your own luck. You have to ask. And, most importantly, people rarely say no when you simply and sincerely ask for help. Most of the time, people will be happy to help, if you simply ask for their help. 

Ask for help, get the help, and then (one day) you too can pay it forward. One father asking another father for help. "Hey, you got kids?" 

EXPERT LEVEL: looks like the Colin and Brad show is in Ridgefield, CT later this month, and also will be in Englewood NJ in June. I'm going to get the family tickets to one of those local shows. And, I am going to reach out to Colin and Brad and I'll show them the link to this blog post.  

And, I am going to see if we can take this picture (again). 

Brad, Bobby, Colin