Me and Bon Jovi, a Strange Day Indeed.

June 2020 -

So I’ve been volunteering for Island Harvest on and off since their start over 25 years ago. They called me late Monday to see if I could assist with an event in East Hampton the next day. I was actually going to decline, as that’s a pretty far ride, but I checked my calendar and I was free. They said I would be packing orders for a food bank and loading trucks as they pulled in. Ok.

I pull up yesterday morning to an abandoned clubhouse-turned-food bank and seek out my point of contact who is heavily involved on the phone. The only other people in the space are a masked man and woman toward the back, picking through non-perishables that are stacked against a wall. I walk over and say “Hi, are you from Island Harvest too?” They look at each other for a moment, then introduced themselves, which I hardly understood because it was garbled beneath their masks. I heard their first names and something about them starting this whole food bank thing for the community. “Oh that’s really great,” I say and walk back to my contact to discuss my duties. 

I waited around for many minutes, pacing, not really sure what to do with myself.  He finally got off the phone and immediately began another task. Am I invisible, I thought? What the heck! 

I interrupted him gently, and he lifted his eyes to meet mine. I told him who I was, and he impatiently proceeds to tell me what I will be doing. He directs his chin toward the man and woman working in the back, who I had just walked away from, and says “Yeah so Jon Bon Jovi and his wife Dorothea launched this food bank to help with the Covid crisis in the area. You'll be helping them sort and load boxes.” 

OMG. Did he just say what I think he said? “Is that Bon Jovi back there?” I tried to whisper but my nerves lifted the volume a decibel. “Yep,” he said with a smirk.

It’s hard to walk with a tail between your legs, especially when they're shaking, but I shuffled back to Jon and Dorothea. I stood there for a sec, not really sure how to phrase my opening sentence. I gathered myself and apologized for my stupidity, awkwardly expressing my deep gratitude for their initiative. I felt like an idiot for the next three hours, even though I was in awe and disbelief that I was working side by side with Jon and his wife (who were truly hands on, talking to every food pantry member personally and busting their butts physically the entire morning). Jon even saved me from a case of boxed oatmeal that tumbled off a tower of crates.

Jon Bon Jovi and Dorothea will be serving the East Hampton area and surrounding communities for the next four months through the newly established food bank they are funding themselves. That region was hit pretty hard by the virus, and there are many families struggling to put food on the table. They've been residents in East Hampton for over 15 years (as well as Manhattan). Kudos to them!