Will Novak of Phoenix, AZ recently received an e-mail invitation to a man named Angelo's bachelor party in Vermont. The invitation (intended for a different "William Novak") included details about a planned ski weekend at Okemo Mountain Resort. But, instead of ignoring the message clearly intended for somebody else, Will chose to craft a witty response, indicating he would indeed come to Vermont for the bachelor party and to support Angelo.
"I do not know who Angelo is," Will wrote. "I am a Will Novak who lives in Arizona. Vermont seems like a very far way for me to travel for the bachelor party of a guy I've never met. That being said: fucking count me in!"
Will didn't expect to hear back after replying to the original e-mail. But, sure enough, a few days later Will received another e-mail officially inviting him to the bachelor party. Several of the attendees even offered to chip in to help minimize his costs. Will also started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help cover his remaining expenses and give any extra money raised to Angelo.
Will's feel-good story has gone viral. He was interviewed live on Good Morning America. The Washington Post reported the event. Seth Meyers even dedicated three minutes of airtime to explain the situation in a segment called "The Kind of Story We Need Right Now."
In this exclusive Steemit interview, Will uncovers a few more of the details behind the most talked about bachelor party of the year.
Will - I would describe myself as a fun loving goofball whose temper is sometimes as quick as his wit.
Will - The "real" Will Novak, aka Bill Novak, seems like an open-minded, kind, fun-loving guy.
Will - When I received the initial e-mail, I thought it was spam based on the subject line and how urgently it encouraged the reader to open it. Once I read it, I quickly realized it was meant for another Will Novak, but thought it might be fun to reply anyhow. I wasn't really expecting a response... much less an invite.
Will - When I replied I didn't tell my wife anything about it. Again, I didn't think I'd be going on a trip! I was just trying to write back a silly email that would make people laugh and I forgot about it. So I don't recall if I even brought it up with Veronica. Though, once they responded, I did bring it up with her. She was all for the whole idea, provided it didn't cost us much money. We have a 10-month-old baby and we recently spent our life savings gutting, remodelling and expanding our house, so money is a bit tight right now. Plus, we have the long-term dream of Veronica being a stay-at-home mom. Once the bachelor party hosts offered to help defray the costs and we had the idea of the GoFundMe, I had Veronica's blessing. However, I didn't really know if the GoFundMe would work or not. I was shocked when I posted it on my personal Facebook and friends and family funded it in 2 hours! That wasn't money from strangers, but people I know. The overage amount was funded by strangers.
Will - We were given a lot of wonderful gifts, and I'm sure I'll forget some. We got: $25 in Dunkin Donuts, a HUGE quantity of free beer from Night Shift brewing in Everett, Mass, a couple of 6 packs in Greenfield, Mass from a man named David Knox who met me at an Applebee's parking lot, a bunch of Jack Links beef jerky, discounted ski rentals and passes, a gift bag from the Vermont board of tourism, free rounds of drinks at local bars, Budweiser tried to send beer, but by that time their truck couldn't get to our snowed-in cabin. Plus, a lady in Mesa, AZ made a custom baby blanket for Angelo's baby and my neighborhood in Phoenix — the Coronado district — gave Angelo a great swag bag full of t-shirts, locally made crafts, etc. The Coronado neighborhood even offered Angelo and his bride a free trip to Arizona (inclusive of airfare and lodging) if they want to come visit some sunny weather.
Will - Meeting Angelo and his friends was great. It was only a weekend and there were 20 guys, so there wasn't time for it to be awkward. I don't even recall a lot of the guys' names because it was such a go-go-go pace and there were so many of them. Angelo and his friends were all super welcoming of me and seemed to love having me there. I was worried I'd feel like a 21st wheel, but it was great.
Will - Devin's wife is a good cook! I didn't arrive in time the first night for dinner, but I had the meal the 2nd night and it was quite tasty and it was so nice not having to go back out and brave a blizzard and try to round up food.
Will - I totally enjoyed the party; it was a once in a lifetime thing. I'd say it was 10/10. I was, and still am, totally exhausted from all the travel, doing media calls, meeting new people, and trying a new sport I don't know how to do on very little sleep. But it was fun! I had a minor panic attack when the rental car got stolen, but thankfully it was back in no time.
Will - Yes I plan to stay in touch with them. We're all connected on social media and such now. Obviously, they live on the other side of the country, so it's not like we'll see each other regularly, but I plan to keep in touch.
Will - Angelo will be getting a check for $3,121 once the GoFundMe deposits on my end. He has a wedding coming up on 2.1.19 and a baby on the way; he'll have no shortage of places to spend it!
Will - I didn't really pay attention to the social media numbers before hand, I think they were both around 500 or so.
Will - I'm totally shocked by the coverage. A lot of people have reached out now and asked me for social media tips or "how to make things go viral." I have no idea! This was just a dumb luck sort of thing and I happened to be in the middle of it. I couldn't make this happen again if I tried.
Will - All the coverage has been amazing. Being in studio on Good Morning America was pretty incredible, and having Seth Meyers speak glowingly about me for 3 minutes was amazing as well. In terms of written coverage, the Arizona Republic (my hometown paper) which is part of the USA Today network was big because USA Today picked it up and blew it up. The Washington Post (the freaking paper that took down Nixon!) was crazy. Then the NY Times covering the aftermath (in the fashion section no less... no my wife can never tell me what to wear: was she in the NY Times fashion section? Exactly!) was crazy too.
Will - I work for the City of Mesa, AZ in the economic development department. We help companies looking to grow, move or expand to do that right here in Mesa. In my free time I am active in my neighborhood, the Coronado historic district, and try to do volunteering (i.e. tree plantings in the neighborhood) when I can. I have a lovely wife of almost 4 years, Veronica, and we have a 10-month-old baby. We just finished totally restoring and remodelling our 1941 ranch home. I enjoy playing Nintendo, board games and Dungeons and Dragons with my friends. I'm a dorky indoor kid, though, I do follow sports, specifically the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and Arizona State athletics.
Will - Yes! Someone invited me to their 5-year-old's birthday party in August. Someone else invited me to be in an 'art car' parade in Houston in...May? March? I don't recall. There's been a bunch of (half joking?) invites to other events. I'm all for going to whatever; although, with a baby and remodelled house, I'm not sure how to make these things happen financially. We shall see I guess.
Will - My biggest takeaway is: be open to the universe and to other people. I see so many friends get a phone call from a number they don't know and they ignore it. Why? As far as I know, no one has ever been murdered telephonically. Sure, it's probably a junk call, but those are quickly resolved and maybe its a great call! It may be a new opportunity or new friend. Talk to new people, talk to your neighbors, be open to people...most people are awesome and are just trying to get through this crazy life.
Will - Things are starting to normalize, but I'm still getting a fair number of calls, a flood of Facebook friend requests, etc. It's a lot of fun and I love making people laugh, so I'm just trying to ride this silly wave as long as I can.
Will - I don't think I caught the skiing bug. I think it's one of those things if you don't catch onto young, you likely won't do it. It was fun, but it's a steep learning curve. It's so much time and effort and money. You have to rent a place near a ski resort, rent or buy equipment, get lift tickets, get the right clothing, etc. I already own a Nintendo, I can buy a skiing video game if I want and sit in Phoenix in 70 degree weather. I'm very lazy.
Will - If I could have dinner with 3 people living or dead, I'd choose living people. Dead people will likely be decomposing and make me lose my appetite. I'd probably just choose "Weird" Al Yankovic and leave the other 2 seats empty so I have more time to talk to Weird Al. Why muck it up with other people when Weird Al is theoretically available? Why Weird Al? He's a comedic genius and has influenced my tastes in music, comedy, pop culture, etc. since I was a small child. Plus he seems like an all around nice guy. Though, I think he's a vegan. I hope he wouldn't mind if I ate meat.
Will - One thing that very few people know about me.....hmmmm. Thats hard. I pretty much wear my heart on my sleeve and I'm an open book. I won 2 gold metals in karate in 2nd grade. I did stand-up comedy for 6 years. I've officiated 2 weddings. I once got a job as a tour guide in a city I had never been to. I have irritable bowel syndrome and am constantly worrying about where the nearest bathroom is. I've never consumed alcohol, tobacco or mind-altering drugs of any kind (other than like medicine to put you under for a surgery or whatever). I think YooHoo is manna from heaven. I missed the first half of freshman football season because they had to special order a bigger helmet for my giant head. I'm a firm believer that the "baby butt spatula" is an underrated baby tool to have for a newborn. But people who know me well know all of those things anyhow.
Will's e-mail response to Angelo's bachelor party invite may go down as one of the greatest digital responses of all time. I appreciate Will taking the time to share his story.
As always, thanks to all of you for taking the time to read.
Who would you like to see me throw 20 questions at? Drop me a comment below and I'll work on setting up the interview.
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