Worthy

SeaVees is proud to support the Duffy Moon Fund - a scholarship fund to benefit children who have lost a parent to cancer. view more.

You can do it Duffy Moon, you can do it...

And with those words began a lifelong source of inspiration between dear friends. It was April 1976, when made-for-television afterschool specials were created especially for us – the first generation of latchkey kids. ABC premiered The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon, the story of a small-for-his-age boy severely lacking in confidence, and forever changed my friendship with Franklin Wayne Ayres, Jr.

We were inseparable as 4th graders so we must have been grounded the day we watched this movie from our own homes. Picked on by his classmates, Duffy Moon orders a self-help book that teaches him to control the environment around him with magical powers that commence by repeating the words "You can do it Duffy Moon." Duffy Moon overcomes his fears and soon learns that it is not magical powers but inner strength that allows him to gain courage and persevere. On our walk to school the following morning Frank and I laughed out loud about how silly the show was, but were each secretly thinking how great it would be to have powers like that. Powers like Duffy Moon.

A few days later we were between basketball games at the local Rec Center when we stepped outside to get some air. With behavior inherent of 9-year-old boys, our ball ended up on the high flat roof of the building within seconds. To abandon our ball wasn't an option and to ask for help would be to confess. We decided we'd get the ball down ourselves, and like everything we did, it would have to be a two-man job. There was a tree next to the Rec Center that was almost climbable. If we could somehow get up to the top branch we may be able to jump over to the roof. We started to climb the tree but as we got higher, we both stopped. We had faced our first Duffy Moon Moment. With fear in our eyes we looked at each other and said, "You can do it Duffy Moon, you can do it." We resumed our climb with newfound courage, jumped over to the roof and retrieved our wayward ball. Back on solid ground we concluded, "Maybe there's something to this Duffy Moon."

Through the years we called upon the strength of Duffy Moon often. Childish fears were all too soon replaced by adult-sized challenges, but Duffy Moon always delivered. What started as a silly catchphrase from a long-forgotten afterschool special became an enduring bond, unexpectedly transforming into a private, spiritual meaning as we transformed from boys to men. more.

The last time I spoke to Frank was on Thursday August 12, 2010. His 3-day old, still unnamed miracle baby boy had arrived 11 weeks early to meet his dad. Frank dreaded leaving his "little buddy" and dear wife Shelly for more treatment in Houston. After telling him he was the strongest, bravest person I'd ever known, a weary but determined Frank said, "I just need to find another Duffy Moon Moment." Our world lost one of its brightest, most caring and full of life people on Monday, August 16, 2010.

An idea was conceived this past November 15th on what would have been Frank's 44th birthday. The Duffy Moon Fund honors the indelible friendship of Frank Ayres, preserving the legacy of a very special man. It is a scholarship fund to benefit Oklahoma children who have lost a parent to cancer. (Psst! We've got our eye on you Brock Franklin Ayres, Class of 2028!) The Duffy Moon Fund exists as a source of inspiration and long-term hope for those in need of courage and strength. It is a lasting gift that Frank has left for us.

A group of Frank's friends and family are busy putting together a dinner and silent auction for what promises to be a great event. Shelly Ayres, Karen Ayres Becker, Todd Booze, Adam Bradley, Alan Carter, Rami Masri, Daniel Medley, Donna Ragozzino, Joni Rund, Deborah Smith Fung and Karen Strate McIntosh have selflessly made this event possible and have given real structure to what was an inspired but incomplete vision.

The Duffy Moon Fund will hold an evening in loving memory of Frank Ayres on Friday, September 23, 2011 in Oklahoma City. Official invitations and more details will be coming in a couple of weeks but please save the date now. This inaugural event and the on-going Duffy Moon Fund mission will only be successful with you. You will soon be called upon to face your first Duffy Moon Moment. You can do it Duffy Moon, you can do it.

With sincerest regards,

Steven Tiller

For more information or to donate to the Duffy Moon Fund, please email us. more.