Tony Memmel and I Go Way Back

February 5, 2012 — 5 Comments

My mind is officially blown.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with Tony Memmel.  Tony was born missing his let arm just like me.  If you’re not familiar with Tony, watch this video.  I remember watching it and immediately saying, “I need to meet this guy.”

So, I made this video (pre-livingonehanded.com!):

Ryan Haack ‘One Week To Philadelphia’ and Introduction from Ryan Haack on Vimeo.

Yeah, I did that.  And it worked!  Tony I met in October last year (read about it here) and I blame, er, credit that video completely.  Tony is a great guy and I’m incredibly excited to watch his career as a musician unfold.  Amazing talent!

And while that’s cool, this is what’s blowing my mind:

The other day Tony’s mom, Katie, found a newspaper put out by the Children’s Hospital back in 1988.  That’s 24 years ago.  Who was on the front page?  Yours truly.  Playing a recorder.

I guarantee I never played the recorder with that arm besides when this picture was taken.

And who was on page 2?  You guessed it!  Tony Memmel!

Look at that cute kid!

 That’s right.  24 years ago, Tony Memmel and I occupied page 1 and 2 of the same newspaper.  24 years later we met for the first time.

That is insane.

And I, for one, am proud to call Tony a friend and look forward to a lifetime of dominating newspapers together.

Twins! Ok, not so much.

Ryan

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I'm a husband, a father, an author, a speaker, a friend...all kinds of things, actually.

5 responses to Tony Memmel and I Go Way Back

  1. Wait a sec. Didn’t I play into you guys reconnecting somehow? Anyway, that newspaper clipping is a great find.

  2. God-incidences then Ryan occur all the time and all round our world .. PLTL!!

    Must confess I know who is the better singer-guitarist .. and it isn’t you 🙂

    Cheers

    Ivor

  3. This is such a cool story! I’m glad to be friends, Ryan!

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