The Angel Angle Issue #09

May 1, 2024

Three pinned topics to jump start your day.

Before I tell you all about this month’s SHARE, which involves my grandfather Buzz, I just want to celebrate how lucky my family and I are to have my “Gran the Man” in our lives. He’s ninety-one years old and he texts everyone in our family every single morning, without fail. Every text is a little different but with the same message, one of love. There’s always a string of emojis at the end which is fun too! He’s truly the greatest guy living on this earth and you can’t convince me otherwise.  

So a few weeks ago, I got a text from my Gran “I have a great angel story for you.” This was music to my ears because every month as soon as I put out this newsletter, I start worrying about where my next story will come from.  I need to stop worrying because every month, they find me!

I called him and I couldn’t believe what he told me.

“I handed an angel to a young lady today and when I told her my name was Buzz she said, ‘The Buzz from the book?’”

Apparently, in a store down in Florida, my grandfather handed an angel pin to someone who had just bought and finished reading my book. I had never met her. My grandfather had never met her. She was a stranger…but with a connection to us I still can’t believe.

A few days later, my Gran called me and said he wanted to send more angels to the girl he met but he couldn’t remember her name. He asked if I could go through my orders to find her. So I did. I reached out to several customers in the Florida area explaining who I was looking for and finally got an email back. I found her!

Turns out, the girl he met happened to be the real estate agent representing the buyers of the condo my Gran was selling. The condo he’s lived in for nearly two decades. The condo I shed tears leaving a few weeks back knowing it would be the last time I’d get to see it. We’ve created so many amazing memories there and there I was emailing the agent who sold it.

So to recap:

A random real estate agent in Florida heard about my book, bought it, and read it.

Shortly after reading the book, she received an angel pin from THE Angel Man.

Then, on a whim, my Gran decided he wanted me to find her so he could send her some more angels and when I tracked her down, I found out she was the agent responsible for finding the buyers for his condo.

You can’t make this stuff up.

I’ve been emailing with her over the last couple of weeks and to make this story even more special, she and her husband work with a pro-life group and they want to hand out angels to mothers who have made the decision to continue with their pregnancies.

Life is beautiful isn’t it?

This SHOUT goes out to Jerry and Mary Ellen Anselmo and their amazing daughters Julie and Lori. They have turned the loss of their son/brother, Brian, who I knew during my time at Rockhurst High School, into a movement of positivity in Kansas City.  

Brian passed away unexpectedly in September of 2008 and his loss was felt throughout the entire Kansas City community and beyond. Brian was truly a “Man for Others”, a motto that is the very soul of everything Rockhurst High School embodies and wants their students to live out in their time at The Rock and beyond.

Brian loved animals and worked on a turkey farm and developed a passion for natural farming methods and even worked for the Animal Welfare Institute as a farm auditor. Always sporting a pair of yellow Crocs, Brian’s fun-loving personality was often on display and Brian had no problem making friends. He was loved by all.

And I REALLY loved Brian. I was a freshman on the varsity track team and when one of the seniors in Brian’s class was giving me a hard time, Brian told him to race me. If I lost, this senior could keep up his antics, but if I won, he had to leave me alone.

I smoked him.

I stopped getting picked on.

Brian was my hero.

And from heaven, Brian is watching his family carry on his spirit and legacy. You could say they are his heroes now and I can attest to the amazing work they are all doing.

I sit on the board of the BMA Foundation, started in Brian’s honor. With over $3 million dollars raised to date, organizations all over Kansas City are benefiting. The money is shared among a huge portfolio of local non-profits and grants are given to many who apply for them, all in the name of helping Kansas City serve our youth and of course, our animals.  

Jerry, Mary Ellen, Julie, and Lori had to go through something no family should but their strength and commitment to honoring Brian, have changed hundreds of thousands of lives in Kansas City and beyond.

We still have tables available for our largest party of the year, Dine and Dance With the Stars. We bring in the dancers/judges from the hit TV show, Dancing With the Stars, and local charity dancers are teamed up with professionals who perform all night long. It’s one of my favorite nights of the year. Come party with us!

You can learn more or purchase tickets here:

https://dance.bmafoundation.org/

For the last week, as part of a mental toughness program I've been doing the last couple of years, I got off Instagram and Facebook (the only two social media platforms I use). My rule is “no social media, whatsoever, for any reason for 30 days” and it’s been wonderful.

It’s also been extremely eye-opening as to the hold it has over me. The number of times the first few days I reached for my phone without thinking, to open Instagram, is straight up scary. What’s worse is, I deleted the Facebook and Instagram apps from my phone and I still find myself at least once a day thumbing to where their icons used to be, without even specifically thinking or wanting to do so.

I have actually been accidentally clicking an app I never use because it currently occupies the space my Instagram icon used to. Bottom line…I had and have a problem.

I suspect most of us do to some degree when it comes to social media and our phones in general. The good news is that I’m extremely self-aware of it right now and without it physically on my phone, it’s easy for me to put it down and focus on things that matter.

So my SHINE for this month will require some sacrifice on your part but I promise it will be worth it. Spend this month being more present. More present with your family, with your job, with your friends, and with yourself. I’m telling you…delete your social media.

You don’t have to delete your account, just remove the apps off your phone for 30 days. Not only will you realize how much time you waste on social media, but you’ll look up more…seriously. You’ll be more productive as an added bonus, but above all, you’ll be more present.

Enjoy…and you’re welcome!

UPCOMING EVENTS/ANNOUNCEMENTS:

-A new Angel Man website is being built and I can’t wait to share it with you all!

-Angel Man is being carried in our very first bookstore, Monarch KC in Stanley, Kansas!

—If you’d like me to come speak to your group, please contact me at angelmanbook@gmail.com

—I am now accepting bulk orders for schools, churches, and other organizations.

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