I realize that this is one of my random non-Japanese related posts, but this is a topic that’s close to my heart, and even though it’s Hanson related, and I know lots of people see their name and go “EWWWW”… They’re doing some pretty awesome things, so if you have a few minutes, I’d appreciate it if you could at least… skim? … this entry. XD

I got home from work today, and there was a box waiting for me… Now, I had two orders that I was waiting on – a book by Hanson called “Take the Walk” and the complete series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which I ordered off Amazon.com for a pretty decent price. My brother handed me the box, I looked at the shipping info, and…. HANSON!!!! <3

From Hanson’s official website:
“Take The Walk tells the story of individuals taking action to fight poverty and AIDS in Africa through vivid imagery and personal account from HANSON’s own experiences. The sale of each book will raise funds to benefit all five causes on TakeTheWalk.net.

I haven’t read the book yet, but I will definitely be getting to that soon. However, what astounded me when I opened up the package was what you see on the right side of that photo:

Heck yes, to another signed piece of Hanson goodness. I have the lyrics booklet from their 4th album “Underneath” signed by all three guys – I got it signed when they came to Toronto to promote the album back in 2004. So I have that in its case, one of my most treasured possessions, and now this, which I must go and get a frame for ASAP.

Here is the cover to the Take the Walk book. It truly is remarkable how these three guys have taken this matter to heart and are doing so much to raise awareness for a problem that plagues our world. The proceeds of their work go towards Africa, and yes there are many other parts of the world who need help as well. Hanson may be focused on just one section of the world, but doing things like this bring attention to the fact that this is a worldwide problem and hopefully other people with power, money and influence could catch wind and do more around the world.

But what I love about Hanson is that they’re not waiting on people with power money and influence… They are calling every individual to do what they can. In their particular case, whether it’s buying their single “The Great Divide” off of iTunes (proceeds from all purchases go to a hospital in Soweto, if I’m recalling correctly), joining them for a 1 mile walk barefoot that they host a few hours before every concert of theirs (they donate one dollar for every mile walked – 10 people on a walk equalling 10 miles), hosting your own walk to raise awareness (and if you register a walk through their webiste, they will donate a dollar for every person YOU get to walk with you), buying a pair of TOMS shoes (for every pair that is bought, another pair will be donate to a child in need – and TOMS shoes doesn’t give shoes to children only in Africa, they provide shoes all over the world), etc.

Their TakeTheWalk.net site has information on where the money they raise goes:

• Buy SMS Credits: Provide access to medical care through secure SMS messaging in partnership with Docvia. Learn more
• Fight Aids With Music: Provide AIDS treatment and research by supporting HIVSA when you purchase the song “Great Divide”. Learn more
• Donate Shoes: Provide shoes to children in poverty by purchasing TOMS SHOES. Learn more
• Build Schools: Help build a school and provide education to children living in impoverished areas of Africa, with Free The Children. Learn more
• Drill Water Wells: Provide clean water through Blood:Water Mission well projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more

They also have information on the site on how you can host your own walk, so if that’s something that may interest you, please check it out.

Personally, I wasn’t able to join Hanson on their walk when they were in Toronto last December, for there had been a snowstorm the night before, and my mom refused to let me leave the house until the roads had cleared up a bit. I was still able to make it for their concert that night, and I bought a pair of TOMS Shoes.

I’m waiting for Hanson to come back, and this time I will definitely be joining them on the walk. For anyone wondering, they do not do the walk barefoot if there’s snow… That would just be pointless if people ended up with hypothermia or having toes and/or feet amputated. They actually had to cancel the walk they had scheduled in Ottawa (capital of Canada and 4 hours away from Toronto) last year because the temperatures were ridiculously cold. It was around -30C (-22F) if I’m remembering correctly.

Hanson – The Walk
This is the title track of Hanson’s latest album. It’s a beautiful but melancholy song about the walks that we go on through our lives. I love the lyrics in this song, particularly in the bridge:

Everyone waits on the walk
Some are long and some small
But all of them tall
Everyone must make a choice
Will I go for it all
And possibly fall
The tightrope thin
I could possibly win
On the walk

The entire album is a collection of songs that are at times melancholy, other times energetic. But the unifying theme is that of hope – that we have the power to change the world. It may be a small scale change, it may be an enormous one for the betterment of the entire world. But no matter the magnitude, we have the power, and we can’t let that power go to waste.

*EDIT: I was thinking of this at work today… And I figure not many people will actually read this post. XD That’s okay. I liked writing it, but for those of you who did read the post (thank you, btw!) I thought I’d leave a little treat here at the end of my post (though, I guess some people might call this torture XD). Below is a recording I made a few months ago of Hanson’s “Fire on the Mountain” off of their The Walk album. The verses are kind of blah because it’s a little bit low for me. -_-; Anyway, only wu-san has heard this before, and I thought this would be a fun and relevant thing to add to the end of this post.