Making A difference

Michael J. Lenstra
Reprinted from the Disc Jockey News
www.discjockeynews.com

Michael J. Lenstra

January, 2013 -  As a DJ I like to feel that our community is somewhat making a difference, whether it’s by enhancing someone’s special event by entertaining their guests and creating a memorable moment or by offering our talents and/or our equipment for a special cause. As a community of difference makers, the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, is both inconceivable and unimaginable to us.

 However, I think we can relate to the great people that rushed to the aid of the victims within moments after the first shots rang out. People like the first wave of law officers that arrived. “I have no doubt that because of law enforcement’s quick response many lives were saved,” said Connecticut State Trooper spokesman Lt. Paul Vance. “I wish we could have saved more.” Or the more than six dozen doctors and nurses that assembled in a matter of 30 minutes at nearby Danbury Hospital in anticipation of treating the wounded only to be disheartened to realize that after the initial three victims no more would be coming.

Other heroes included the group of volunteer firefighters who provided a safe haven for the children at the local fire station as they escaped from the school. Another notable figure was school neighbor and retired psychologist Gene Rosen, who discovered a half dozen small children at the end of his driveway just moments after the tragedy, although at the time he was not yet aware of the situation. “We can’t go back to school,” one of the children explained to him. “Our teacher is dead . . . .”  Rosen took them in, gave them juice and some stuffed animals, and made arrangements to reunite them with their parents.

In the days that followed that heinous act of violence, more random acts of kindness followed. Local resident Michael Craigin, a former special education teacher and volunteer firefighter, felt the need to do something to help so he gathered up his bulldog Truman, parked his SUV at a local donut shop, and erected a small sign that read “My bulldog gives hugs.”  More than 100 passersby stopped to take advantage of the offer. Truman was not the only canine offering support. A team of golden retrievers–the Comfort Dogs, as they are known—and their handlers were sent by the Lutheran Church Charities from as far away as Indiana and Illinois to be there to offer support and an ear to scratch.

Another need was filled when employees from nearby Panera Bread stores volunteered to work behind the counter and in the kitchen at Newtown so that their company colleagues could attend memorial services for the victims.

Help was not contained to the local area. Writer Tom Cavanaugh from Los Angeles called the local coffee shop and donated $125 for 100 cups of coffee to be given away just to make a difference. The store’s owner, Peter Leone, thought it was such a good idea that he offered free coffee to everyone for the day. And the Wahlert Foundation in Dubuque, Iowa, along with other volunteers, teamed up with the monks of Trappist Caskets to offer free caskets to the families of the young victims.

The entertainment world was also quick to react in their own way. Many celebrities tweeted out their messages of support. Radio stations, both in the area around Newtown and nationwide, pulled songs like Ke$ha’s “Die Young” and Foster The People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” due to titles or lyrics that were deemed inappropriate, swapping them for classic inspirational songs like Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings,” Eric Clapton’s “Tears In Heaven,” and even USA For Africa’s “We Are The World.” The studio behind the new Tom Cruise movie “Jack Reacher” delayed their premiere, as did the new Billy Crystal movie “Parental Guidance.” TV shows like “Haven” and “Family Guy” pulled their new episodes, and the Discovery series “American Guns” was canceled outright, as the networks felt the content in these shows could be viewed as insensitive so close to the shooting.

And maybe that word—sensitivity—is the way I as a DJ can make the biggest impact. Maybe a second look at some of the songs in my playlists or requests that I get might be in order over the next few weeks while the memories of that terrible day are still in people’s minds. Even an upbeat song like David Sanborn’s “Bang Bang,” with no connection to the events, might nonetheless need to take a little vacation simply to avoid an awkward introduction. Alice Coopers “Schools Out” might be another song to avoid at those end-of-the-year school dances.

The way I see it, for every one of these tragedies that occurs at the hands of a single person or two, thousands of other people show up almost instantaneously to offer help and support. Although they may not be the ones who the media focuses on, these people may be more representative of who we truly are as Americans rather than the perpetrators of these horrific crimes.

Michael J. Lenstra is a twenty-one year veteran of the Mobile Disc Jockey Industry, a full time entertainer, and owner of Alexxus Entertainment in Dubuque, IA and a monthlu columnist for the Disc Jockey News, a monthly national trade magazine based in Gey Eagle, MN

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