Eden Atwood Music

07/10/2024

Taylor came out of surgery in a lot of pain and but mostly good spirits. They are monitoring him and he may be able to go back home today. Four weeks recuperation. This was a life changing surgery that will require consistent follow up. He’s a little down in the dumps. Very worried about his job but so far boss is able to make it work and keep him spot open. He is young and otherwise healthy so if he follows doctors advice and keeps himself calm and takes it easy, he should be feeling more himself soon. I am inordinately grateful for the support shown to Taylor. He is such a sweetie and he loved Ben so much. I had to be held down not to get in the car and go to the hospital but his mama was able to work it out to be there and it was good moment for them. The money is tight. Like tight tight. He will need to come up with another months rent and I am continuing to support him every way I can. Thank you for the shares and donations and love. In Taylor’s words “I never knew people would care about me like that. This has changed my life (the support and the surgery.) Thank you. For those more comfortable with Venmo he is -Callison-3

My friends, I introduced you to Taylor (19) on my page. He talked about how … Eden Atwood needs your support for Support Taylor's Recovery and Future

07/04/2024

Update from Taylor:

I just want everyone to know how so very grateful I am for everyone’s help. The past few weeks have been a struggle, and then with me not being able to work made things really hard. It made the healing process really difficult because I had to find a way to make money. Even though I wasn’t supposed to be exposed to sunlight I still did it because in my head. What else can I do? Eden asked me about everything and I was telling her all about my situation and she created the gofundme. Without her and everyone else’s help I don’t know where I would be right now. I’m extremely grateful for every single one of you and I hope you know how much you’re really helping me out in these hard times right now. It means the world to me. Feel free to reach out to me, anyone. If you need to talk, or anything. I love helping people out, I was always there for Ben and I tried to help him in every way I could possible, and I made it a promise that I would continue doing that. Thank you all❤️

My friends, I introduced you to Taylor (19) on my page. He talked about how … Eden Atwood needs your support for Support Taylor's Recovery and Future

07/03/2024

Hello, my friends, first, my heartfelt thanks for the support and love and generosity you have shown me during this god awful time. I have become, as I tend to do, a second mom to some kids that I love very much. They grieve the loss of Ben as I do, deeply and painfully. Helping them helps me. And I am minding my boundaries. Mostly. But remember Taylor? His texts that were shared with permission expressing his deep sorrow at losing his best and first friend, Benny? He is in a pickle. I am helping him and if you want to also help him follow this link, or share it or both. I’ve abandoned feeling bad about asking for and accepting help because I just need it. And I have never been shy about asking for help on someone else’s behalf. If you trust me you know this kid needs what I am telling you he needs. My love for you all is boundless.

My friends, I introduced you to Taylor (19) on my page. He talked about how … Eden Atwood needs your support for Support Taylor's Recovery and Future

05/16/2024

Benjamin Anderson Obituary

Benjamin Hubbard Atwood Anderson

Our beloved Benjamin Hubbard Atwood Anderson died May 11, 2024, from injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident that occurred May 5, 2024, in Missoula, Montana.

Ben's death created opportunities to save the lives of four people who will receive his fiercely loving heart, his liver, and his kidneys. Ben's family hopes the mothers of these recipients had their prayers answered this Mother's Day.

Every day with Ben in it has been better than any day before he came into our lives.

Ben was born Sept. 19, 2003, in Overland Park, Kansas, to his first mother, Rozella Jones, who made the agonizing decision to place him for adoption with Eden Atwood and Bruce Anderson of Missoula. The best day of our lives was not the best day of Rozella's life. Or Ben's. Adoption is many things: love and sorrow, joy and suffering. All are present in equal measure, much as they were in Ben's life.

Benny loved cars and motorized vehicles of all kinds. He was proud that his first word was "Honda." He even said it in baby talk that sounded distinctly like the proper Japanese pronunciation - one of the many legends of the boy his mother called Ben-Ben.

There were many others. There was the pulling of the fire alarm during a New Year's Eve concert at the Missoula Art Museum. Getting stuck in the Florence building elevator. Cutting his forehead on the craggy steps of Sacre-Cœur in Paris, which required that he wear band-aids (SpongeBob and bacon were his favorite styles) for a full year to avoid a scar on his unimaginably beautiful face.

Ben was a pro-scooter wizard who became a local legend for electrifying flips and high-flying stunts honed over hours and hours at the skate park with his father watching over him.

More than anything, Ben was known for his deep care and compassion for people who felt alone. As a black child, adopted by white parents, growing up in Missoula, where he could count his black friends on one hand, Ben understood loneliness.

The people who really "got" Ben loved him deeply. And we count ourselves the lucky ones. As he came into his young adulthood, his friendship group grew, and during the last week of his life there were at least 20 young adults at any given time sitting vigil in the hospital. Every single day. Ben's legacy lives in the hearts of the many friends and family who loved him so dearly.

When Ben was wheeled down the hospital corridor for the Honor Walk accorded to organ donors, we were told it was one of the largest gatherings St. Patrick hospital staff had seen in a very long time.

Ben is preceded in death by his brothers: Jamel Jones and Julian James Chaffers; father, Barry Nelson Jr.; grandmothers: Lori Anderson, Helen "Gus" Atwood, and Willie Mae Jones; grandfathers: Vernon Jones Sr., Richard Anderson, and Hubbard Atwood; aunts: Linda Jones and Deborah Williams; and uncle, Nathan Jones.

Ben is survived by his mothers: Rozella Jones and Eden Atwood; father, Bruce Anderson; stepmother, Catie Anderson; and stepfather, Brad Tyer; grandmother, Francine Nelson and grandfather, Barry Nelson Sr.; aunts: Brenda Butler, Susan Anderson, Kristin Anderson, and Kitty Atwood; uncles: Vernon Jones Jr., Gary Jones, Willie Ray Jones, Ricky Jones, Jim Atwood, and Stephen Nelson; and siblings: Jamaica Nelson, Ridge Hurla, Courtney Chaffers, Noreau Murray, Riley Turnbow, Robert Turnbow, and Hannah Dawson.

A celebration of Ben's life will be announced at a later date.

10/20/2019

The Concord Era. Yes, I am old enough to have eras.