Okkkkk Sooooo when the TOASTED LIFE reached out to me…I will admit…I was…SUPER STOKED! I had been patiently waiting for an invite from the exclusive ultimate/party/time of your life-time entrepreneurs…since like…FOREVER! Like most of the promo the TOASTED LIFE posts, it was simple, clean, and immediately made me curious about the event they were having. After curiosity got the best of me I called Matt Tuffuor aka 1 half of the TOASTED LIFE , and picked his life away for details. I was informed that the TOASTED LIFE had powered up with #RAKE and the RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS EVERYWHERE creator Ricky Smith (* I know...I know…unbelievable!) to throw a POP-UP PARTY/PROM. Not just any PARTY/PROM, and noooooo... it wasn't going to be at your local banquet hall, gymnasium, or hotel ballroom. This POP-UP PARTY/PROM was being held inside of a retirement home, for seniors! After hanging up the phone, and quickly realizing the event was happening in THE BAY out in California, I furiously networked my A** off (*work work work work workkkk *Rihanna voice) , and after 20 minutes I had booked my roundtrip flight (*that left at 6am the next day) from CLEVELAND to SAN FRANCISCO for the once in a lifetime event! Like seriously…it's not everyday you get to check 3 things off of your bucket list! #1 performing a Random. Act. Of. Kindness. Everywhere with #RAKE, #2 attending an exclusive TOASTED LIFE event, and #3 finally getting to THE BAY!
While riding in the overloaded Jeep (*Ricky was in the process of completing his 50 city tour cross the country) with myself, RICKY, his assistant Jasmine Nicole (+ all of her gorgeous hair), and AMEILIA ( 1 of Ricky's beautiful friends who is also an elegant beer connoisseur) we were informed that the delivery of roses had been confirmed. The professional photographer + photo booth was being set up, and DJ HELL RELL (*yes…an actual DJ) was warming up on the 1's and 2's!
Walking into the Lobby of the Tunnell Center (Kindred Transitional Care and Rehabilitation) everything looked …normal. No signs of an epic POP-UP PARTY/PROM on the verge of happening. There was a front desk , where we all followed protocol and signed in. We slowly made our way around the maze of hallways, before locating the party room.(*Hooray! Now it looked like a Parrrrr-tayyyy! *headroll fingasnap*) A large group of strangers, old and new friends, #RAKE and TOASTED LIFE social media followers all stood by a colossal pile of luggage. Most of us had packed light and hit the road just to participate in this life changing event.
Once inside , I could't help but notice…that this party resembled most stereotypical High School dances. Even with age, disabilities, and communication barriers , there were still your stereotypical "cliques". Small groups of seniors were seated at different tables. Many were in wheelchairs, some had their walkers parked beside them. There were your older male seniors who were "still super cool", decked out in their finest party attire (*which consisted of sweatshirts, layered button-ups, bubble jackets, soft slippers or velcro strapped shoes and jogging pants). Located at the back table by the DJ booth , a group of senior ladies (*who looked like they may have run the place…the "popular" ladies) enjoyed meals that consisted of solid foods, unlike others who enjoyed a more pureed diet. The ladies all had their hair done. Headbands, curls, and hints of lipstick brightened the mood. Far back against the wall….were your typical "wallflowers", not really sure when or how to interact with the moment, kinda swaying to the music and being observant.
RICKY wasn't having it! He gave the moment about 15 mins, before he belted out "why is everyone acting so shy?" Strangers who had driven hours to participate in the #RAKE event started to move about the PARTY/PROM. The seniors finished up their meals and began to wheel themselves around the room. DJ HELL RELL turned up the music, and everyone started to warm up.Once RICKY yelled the magic words "BINGO", everyone wanted in on the action! (*Who doesn't love a good game of BINGO?!) Bingo boards were passed around, and secretly we all hoped we would be the lucky winner to scream "BINGO! In #RAKE fashion…the winner had a chance to win 1 crisp $100 bill (*well it was kinda crumpled, I mean sheesh…RICKY did drive cross country with it in his pocket, just for BINGO) *Shoutout to AMEILIA…she won!
After BINGO, and during the seniors many cups of "turn-up drank" aka coffee, the POP-UP PARTY/PROM had finally blasted off! RICKY provided everyone with blow up musical instruments, and light up bubble blowers (*those things are friggin awesome!). The seniors all took turns playing the electric guitars, bass, keyboard, and saxophones. "1st come 1st served" must have been the motto for the bubble blowers. 1 senior called dibs , and looked happier than ever, shooting the bubble blower til no bubbles remained!
DJ HELL RELL kicked everything up 10 notches, and after studying the vibe of the moment, managed to spin a perfect set. A mixture of top 40, and old classics which the seniors seemed to enjoy immensely . There were many elderly people, who had somewhat lost looks upon their faces, but when the music started to play, and they heard a song from back in the day, it seemed to unlock some kind of personal memory. Most of them would suddenly start to sing, their faces would soften, and some even managed to release themselves from their prior disabilities, wheelchairs, and walkers…and began to dance!!!
Even those who were unable to stand , still found a way to maneuver their beds, and chairs to the beat of the music, just in time to make it down the soul train line! YES!!!! A soul train line! All of the genuine, kind souls who volunteered for this #RAKE event were smiling non-stop. It was hard not to. WARREN aka the 2nd half of TOASTED LIFE, patiently shared himself , his charming good looks and smile amongst the senior ladies. Taking turns dancing with them, while softly wheeling them around. I smiled so hard that I my lip almost became stuck to my gums, and tears filled up more than once. The employees aka caretakers were amazing! Making sure that the residents didn't turn-up to much, yet still made sure they all enjoyed the music, cookies, and 1 on 1 interaction with many different people. Not a soul was left out.
By then the "wallflowers" had made their way to the middle of the dance floor, some even stood up (*to the surprise of the staff) and danced away with Ricky! There were "oooohhh's" "ahhhhhhh's", and "whoaaaaaa's" when residents suddenly began to spring to life, smiling, dancing, hugging, kissing, and picture taking! Lot's of picture taking! We flicked up! I'm almost certain there was 1 senior who was actually using snapchat! (*NO LIE)
Ricky, #RAKE and the TOASTED LIFE made sure everyone and everything was taken care of. Beautiful bouquets of perfect red roses were passed out to each person! Roses were on tables, the back of the beds and wheelchairs. Bubbles were flying around in abundance (*thanks bubble man!). The seniors even started their own dance off battle! The War of Wheelchairs! It was incredible! The photobooth was beautiful! The backdrop was over the top with sparkles that screamed FUN! Just like a photobooth you might see at a party, club, or POP-UP PROM/PARTY duhhhhhh! It was jumping!!!!! The cliques were rounding up their members to take pics. Everyone wanted a pic with RICKY. The male seniors all wanted pics with the beautiful caretakers and #RAKE volunteers, and the senior ladies all wanted pics with their besties!
As we laughed, danced, flicked up, hugged, kissed, and loved for hours…..the POP-UP PARTY/PROM slowly started to come to an end. Some of the residents started to collect their belongings, pictures from the photobooth, signed autographs from RICKY they eagerly waited for, plates of cookies, and some even grabbed their dentures (*hey…that's life) and headed back to their rooms. It was somewhat of a bummer…watching all of our new friends leave…not knowing if we would ever see them again. Then the smiles returned, knowing that even if we never saw them again, we would always remember this day, the smiles, and love that filled that party room.
I've been a lot of places, and seen a lot of things. This by far…is 1 of the most memorable moments in my life. Watching Matt and Warren from TOASTED LIFE, bustle about the room, quietly making sure the event, vibes, and energy meshed into a memorable moment…in such a humble way, was intriguing. Watching RICKY perform such an effortless Random Act Of Kindness , in such a selfless , authentic way was incredible. He took the time to make each resident feel special, loved, and appreciated. He listened to all of their stories, and that's what we pray for. That when we get older, we are not forgotten. We hope that someone will remember us, listen to us, and take the time to give us life again. With that 1 simple #RAKE…the seniors at Tunnell Center got to enjoy…the TOASTED LIFE!!! XOXO
