onefrombills
09-10-2008, 03:54 PM
By Steve Gorches
Gary Post Tribune - Gary, Indiana, USA (Sep. 10, 2008)
She was everywhere -- teaching kids to bowl, asking people to make bids in the silent auction (with awesome items from the White Sox, Cubs and Chris Paul of the NBA's New Orleans Hornets), signing autographs, teaching more kids to bowl ... it goes on and on.
Diandra Asbaty must be a super soldier like the alien hybrids in "The X-Files" because it seems like she can't be human. At least based on her energy level and amount of things she fits into the average day, week, month, lifetime.
As for her heart, it's more human than most people on this Earth ... and then some. Her "Bowl for Mason" event on Sept. 6 to raise money for her best friend Megan Gilbert's baby boy Mason (who has Cornelia De Lange Syndrome) was a rousing success with more than 150 people showing up. In the end, more than $21,000, thanks in large part to 71 items in the auction.
Diandra Asbaty (second from left) talks to crowd before her Bowl for Mason event on Sept. 6 at Stardust Bowl III while Reece Gilbert (left), Megan Gilbert and Scott Gilbert (holding carrier with Mason Gilbert inside) look on. -- photo by Steve T. Gorches/Post-Tribune.
There were so many other things that weren't noticed, like Diandra giving Reece, Gilbert's other son, his first bowling ball (it was a Sponge Bob ball) and helping him learn to bowl in the morning and evening at Stardust Bowl III in Dyer. Then again, when it comes to kids, she'll never turn them down.
"She was so swamped this morning," Diandra's dad Dennis Hyman said last Saturday. "The kids just look up to her so much."
She even had time to take pictures with several kids who see Asbaty as a hero, including Danielle Rudnickas and Amber Evans.
Kassy Golden (left) works with Amber Evans during the clinic portion of the Bowl for Mason event on Sept. 6 at Stardust Bowl III in Dyer. Golden's sister, Diandra Asbaty, organized the event. -- photo by Steve T. Gorches/Post-Tribune.
Of course, it all stems back to Asbaty's youth when she attended a women's pro bowling event at Olympia Lanes in Hammond. That was when hall of famer Lisa Wagner took time out of her busy schedule during a tournament to pose for a picture with Diandra and her older sister Kassy.
That moment led to the sisters making a goal to become great bowlers. Maybe Diandra's moment with hundreds of kids on Sept. 6 at Stardust III -- in the morning and evening -- will lead to more future bowling careers being started.
Let's also hope the events of that day help a little ray of sunshine named Mason get better and grow up to realize how special his "Aunt Diandra" truly is.
Gary Post Tribune - Gary, Indiana, USA (Sep. 10, 2008)
She was everywhere -- teaching kids to bowl, asking people to make bids in the silent auction (with awesome items from the White Sox, Cubs and Chris Paul of the NBA's New Orleans Hornets), signing autographs, teaching more kids to bowl ... it goes on and on.
Diandra Asbaty must be a super soldier like the alien hybrids in "The X-Files" because it seems like she can't be human. At least based on her energy level and amount of things she fits into the average day, week, month, lifetime.
As for her heart, it's more human than most people on this Earth ... and then some. Her "Bowl for Mason" event on Sept. 6 to raise money for her best friend Megan Gilbert's baby boy Mason (who has Cornelia De Lange Syndrome) was a rousing success with more than 150 people showing up. In the end, more than $21,000, thanks in large part to 71 items in the auction.
Diandra Asbaty (second from left) talks to crowd before her Bowl for Mason event on Sept. 6 at Stardust Bowl III while Reece Gilbert (left), Megan Gilbert and Scott Gilbert (holding carrier with Mason Gilbert inside) look on. -- photo by Steve T. Gorches/Post-Tribune.
There were so many other things that weren't noticed, like Diandra giving Reece, Gilbert's other son, his first bowling ball (it was a Sponge Bob ball) and helping him learn to bowl in the morning and evening at Stardust Bowl III in Dyer. Then again, when it comes to kids, she'll never turn them down.
"She was so swamped this morning," Diandra's dad Dennis Hyman said last Saturday. "The kids just look up to her so much."
She even had time to take pictures with several kids who see Asbaty as a hero, including Danielle Rudnickas and Amber Evans.
Kassy Golden (left) works with Amber Evans during the clinic portion of the Bowl for Mason event on Sept. 6 at Stardust Bowl III in Dyer. Golden's sister, Diandra Asbaty, organized the event. -- photo by Steve T. Gorches/Post-Tribune.
Of course, it all stems back to Asbaty's youth when she attended a women's pro bowling event at Olympia Lanes in Hammond. That was when hall of famer Lisa Wagner took time out of her busy schedule during a tournament to pose for a picture with Diandra and her older sister Kassy.
That moment led to the sisters making a goal to become great bowlers. Maybe Diandra's moment with hundreds of kids on Sept. 6 at Stardust III -- in the morning and evening -- will lead to more future bowling careers being started.
Let's also hope the events of that day help a little ray of sunshine named Mason get better and grow up to realize how special his "Aunt Diandra" truly is.