Their calls connected with others. Managers of five-star hotels and tourist attractions, restaurants and even a Chamber of Commerce. Everyone wanted to donate something to help a family with a simple wish for their little boy.
“It was one of those things where love was breaking out from Kansas City to Myrtle Beach and back,” remembers Chief Elf, whose identity is secret.
“I still am awed how this grew so large. … We didn’t pay for anything. Everything that happened was given by strangers.”
The family drove to St. Louis, staying in the presidential suite at Four Seasons Hotel, and was given a tour at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn. When they reached Myrtle Beach, the city leaders gave the keys of the city to Tadan, and the family went on a fishing trip.
Newspapers and television stations followed his story before he arrived and as he passed through, capturing Tadan with stories and photos, tweets and YouTube videos, his head flung back, his toes dipping into the surf, his face filled with joy.
The family went on to Washington, D.C., with a limo ride to see the memorials by night, and to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va., where they lunched with Elmo. More stops were in Columbus, Ohio, and in Indianapolis, seeing the sights and museums and roadside attractions — the postcards that are America.
