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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2008 > February > 22 > Entry
Baseball bar mitzvah Little Leaguer’s dream
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dunwoody Little Leaguer Justin Franco knew he wanted a baseball theme for his bar mitzvah last weekend. And for his good-deed mitzvah project, the 13-year-old also knew he wanted to find 13 generous donors to raise money for the Murphey Candler Challenger Team. The charity is a division of Little League designed for kids with physical and mental disabilities. Justin, dad Paul and little brother Max have served as “buddy helpers” in the nonprofit for several seasons now.
True to his word, Justin secured the 13 donors and a total of $4,680 for his friends.
But during his party last weekend at Turner Field’s 755 Club, Justin and his friends, all decked out in the appropriate dress of baseball jerseys and jeans, were shocked when a 14th unexpected donor came forward.
Veteran Atlanta Brave and Justin’s baseball hero Julio Franco (Justin even wears the player’s famed No. 14) suddenly appeared on the club’s big screen TV, via a video greeting to say hello and donate to the charity.
There was just one problem: holding aloft a large cardboard check made out to Murphey Candler, Julio told Justin: “I don’t know how many stamps to put on a check this large. Why don’t you turn around and I’ll give it to you?”
Justin whirled around where Julio Franco was standing just a few feet away. The 25-year major league vet had been flown in from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and stashed in 755 Club’s kitchen as a surprise.
“He was in complete shock,” Paul Franco told Buzz Thursday. “When he could finally say something, he told everybody, ‘I can’t believe my parents pulled this off.’ “
Julio Franco, a deeply spiritual individual himself, then went off with Justin to quietly discuss the rituals of Justin’s bar mitzvah and later returned to sign “at least 200” autographs for party guests.
When he got home from school Thursday, Justin had another surprise awaiting him: an anonymous donor had contacted his father and quietly matched the original 13 donations, bringing in a total of $9,360 for Murphey Candler.
“I get to tell him when he gets out of baseball practice,” Paul Franco told us. “I know he’s going to be thrilled.”
Paul Franco says the 49-year-old free agent didn’t disclose where he might be swinging this season.
Admitted Paul: “Honestly, I forgot to ask him any questions about baseball at all!”
As for the obvious, Paul Franco says he doesn’t quite know yet how he’ll top this when 10-year-old Max’s bar mitzvah rolls around.
“He’s a very different kid so it’ll be something completely different,” says dad. “I’m just glad I have a little time in between to recover!”
OVERSCENE
R&B singer John Legend at Sugar Hill’s weekly Tuesday Jam. He road tested three songs from his upcoming third studio CD. (And of course he couldn’t leave the popular improv session without doing “Ordinary People.”) Legend’s been working on his new material in Atlanta and already has created something with fellow Grammy winner Ne-Yo, new producer Malay and industry vet K.P. Plus, we hear that he’s also scored a rhyme for the project from rapper-actor Andre Benjamin of OutKast.
BUDGET ‘BLUE DOOR’
Interested in checking out some live theater, but on a budget? Good news, Buzz Central received an e-mail Thursday informing us that Theatre in the Square’s Alley Stage production of playwright Tanya Barfield’s “Blue Door” in Marietta is offering two-for-one tickets to the play Friday night only. That’s $15 for a pair of tickets. Meanwhile, “Room Service,” the hit comedy on the venue’s main stage (yes, the Marx Brothers made a movie out of the farcical material as well), has been extended through March 2. For tickets: 770-422-8369.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Announcer Don Pardo is 90. Director Jonathan Demme is 64. Actress Julie Walters (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Billy Elliot”) is 58. Actress Ellen Greene (“Pushing Daisies”) is 57. Actor Kyle MacLachlan is 49. Comedian Rachel Dratch (“30 Rock,” “Saturday Night Live”) is 42. Actress Jeri Ryan (“Boston Public,” “Star Trek: Voyager”) is 40. Actress Drew Barrymore is 33. Singer James Blunt is 31.
ON MY iPOD & TiVo
Chris Daughtry, lead singer-songwriter of the rock band Daughtry: “Let me just begin by saying I have ‘i’ everything: iCal. I’ve got iPhone. I just don’t have eyeglasses. That was soooo cheesy, I know. But OK, I just bought Dwight Yoakam’s “Greatest Hits” on iTunes. Favorite song? ‘Ain’t That Lonely Yet.’
“I TiVo all of the time. ‘TMZ.’ ‘Extra.’ ‘Access Hollywood.’ My wife tapes these shows and I’m never on them. But I’m always looking. I don’t want to be on TMZ, though. I just like to watch everybody else. It’s so funny — I always talk about people who read tabloids so much, and I am one of those guys. I ended up becoming one of those guys.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“They’ve been saying he’s too old. Well, now he’s got a new lease on life.”
“The View” co-host Joy Behar on Thursday’s front page New York Times story alleging that presidential candidate John McCain got a little too friendly with a leggy lobbyist. McCain held a news conference Thursday to dispute the article.
Contributing: Sonia Murray and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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