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Frashers Steakhouse & Lounge 6th Annual Charity Golf Tournament
2008
Frashers/LMSarcoma DR Foundation Charity Golf Tournament
Celebrates the Life of Misty Morgan
Memorial Day
By Kevin Lambert
Nature gave splendor to its gathered subjects through a gentle spring sun and soft white clouds, as if agreeing with them that this most solemn of holidays was also to be a celebration of beauty and life. As they laughed, played golf (mostly poorly), ate and drank (mostly drank), and reveled in the blissful mystery of life that none will ever solve, they also remembered a life cut short of its full promise by that other mystery we will all come to understand eventually. And in agreement with Memorial Day's defined intention, the Frashers/LMSarcoma DR Foundation Charity Golf Tournament honored a life lost by a brave fighter and protector of human dignity.
Misty Morgan's boyfriend of eleven years, Ryan Warren, met her in Guatemala where they were both body-deep in humanitarian work. "She was tenacious," he chuckled while taking a moment to reflect, his eyes showing signs of an emotional day. "She was unconditional. And stubborn. Those are the things that I loved about her most." Ironically, and surely without realizing it, Ryan embodied these very traits as he spoke, surrounded by family and friends at Flicka's Bar and Grill in Scottsdale, where the event's evening activities took place. They had set down a plate of food for him, begging him to come eat, knowing he wouldn't take in a long overdue meal when there was further opportunity to give something of himself. After all, there was this guy who didn't even know Misty, asking Ryan the three things he loved most about her, even though the limitations of the question trivialized the enormous impact she had on all who knew her, much less the person she was closest to. He repeatedly waved off their pleading requests so that he could accommodate a person he had just met, a simple act revealing why this love story was inevitable. The best fighter/protectors are complete givers, and are drawn to each other because there are so few of them among us. They are absolute in their purpose, both with those they don't know and with those they love. They are tenacious, unconditional, and stubborn.
Ryan continues his life as a philanthropist and counselor, personifying the spirit that brought him and Misty together. Undoubtedly, the maddening anonymity of Leiomyosarcoma, the rare form of cancer that took her four months ago at 32 years-old, will forever shadow his thoughts. But on May 26th, along with the folks from Frashers and the LMSarcoma DR Foundation, her loved ones came together in a way that moved him to a unique happiness few could possibly experience in their lifetime. "Not one person who signed up to golf didn't show," he said. "Can you believe that? People were so generous. To see her pictures all over, the volunteers, and all the people there… it was an amazing day." When he relented and finally sat down to eat, his father Tom offered an insightful thought about his fallen friend who he knew more as a daughter: "Misty made people better than they were, without them knowing they were getting better." Fighter/protectors are efficiently subtle, not wanting too much attention directed their way. It is their nature.
Misty's spirit flowed throughout the celebration, from the 11am shotgun check in time at Raven Golf Club at South Mountain and well into the night at Flicka's, which featured Frashers catered food, a moving awards ceremony, and the music of alt/folk rockers Tramps & Thieves. The event saw emotions that will be felt time and time again surface once more, though this time was different from any other. This time, the memories of a special soul produced over $5000 for the LMSarcoma DR Fund. This time, Misty was as tenacious as ever.
For more information on Leiomyosarcoma and how you can help, please log onto www.lmsdr.org.
Here is the article as it appeared in AZ Weekly Entertainment Magazine
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Last Edited -
15 April 2009 20:49 pm
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