SCOTT SANDS ALIVE

A small, baby blue envelope addressed to yours truly arrived in today’s mail. Now, I don’t always open my mail immediately; I figure that nothing is so important that cannot wait until later, unless it is a bill or pertains to anything medical. Since the envelope did not appear to contain anything official, I blew off opening it at that moment. About two hours had passed before I asked my nurse to open the little envelope. She removed a letter and unfolded it in front of me. Before even reading the letter, we both noticed that the words on the personal stationery were hand-written, apparently by the very individual whose name was embossed at the bottom of the page. This was the stunner of all stunners, and our jaws hit the floor! Does the name Carrie Underwood sound familiar to you? Yep, that Carrie Underwood, the former American Idol turned country music superstar herself! Yep, that Carrie Underwood, the Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum selling recording artist! Yep, that Carrie Underwood, America’s sweetheart who is adored by millions!

So, I bet you are wondering how little old me scored a personal letter from a big time celebrity. I bet you would love to know how I rate a note from Carrie freaking Underwood! Well, my pal Tom Junod, a writer for Esquire Magazine, interviewed Carrie recently and asked if she would drop me a line. Tom tried to get singer Faith Hill to call me on my birthday once to no avail. Fortunately, this time my man came through, as Carrie graciously obliged. She took the time from her hectic schedule to drop me a note. Wow! Now I bet you are dying to know precisely what a huge star like Carrie Underwood could possibly have said in this note. Well, here you go…

Scott,

- Carrie -

This was the ultimate thrill, a huge surprise, and something that really made me smile. Tom, thanks for being my friend. And thank you, Carrie Underwood, for reaching out to your new greatest fan!