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Sunday, July 6, 2025
Greetings from C. Darby Ulery, founder of "Let's Go! Fairhope," events-related newsletter, calendar and website resource for Fairhope, Alabama.
Has the universe ever pointed you in a direction with so much gusto that you feel the need to tell someone about it? Well, here it goes to over 1,200 someones:
Thanks to an invitation by the Bay Business News, I attended an event at the Innovation Portal in Mobile where Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson recommended the book "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek. It really resonated with me, and if you've read it yourself, or experienced something that profoundly affected you, you might understand this next part.
"Why... Let's Go! Fairhope?"
On January 28, 2020 I woke up with a sore throat and lost my sense of taste and smell. Soon, I had difficulty breathing, and noticed I was making a lot of typos. I seemed to be constantly losing and forgetting things I always remembered before.
Despite a few lingering issues, I recovered slowly, then started losing my balance, becoming short of breath, and felt flu-like. Soon, I was falling asleep multiple times throughout the day and was trying to explain to my new co-workers that this wasn't like me. My legs started aching, and my temperature went up. By mid August, I couldn't walk. Something was very wrong.
A feeling of intense pressure, numbness and severe pain came over my limbs. Half my hair fell out. Involuntary tremors in my arms and legs fluttered visibly day and night. Counting, telling time, and all forms of communication became difficult and at times impossible.
The world was in lockdown, but I knew the pandemic was temporary and I was excited about the future. I was thrilled to be re-centering and reorienting myself after becoming divorced and resigning from my dream job after years of stress and mistreatment. I was determined to push through this strange flu because I had much to look forward to regarding everything I knew that was on the other side.
When I lost the ability to drive and lost my job in the same day, it became very, very concerning.
Was it a resurgence of an old Lyme Disease infection I contracted on a trip Tennessee in the 1990's? Was it MS, Lupus, Covid19? The day I received the report that it wasn't ALS I knew I had hope for a cure... But what was it? And how long did I have?
It's not like in the movies or on TV where you receive a diagnosis and treatment, and either you get better or your family and friends keep your story alive in memoriam. After more than 45 doctors and five years later, Let's Go! Fairhope is here because "Doing something to celebrate life and my community" was a commitment I made to the ceiling fan as I lay on my back staring into the unknown the summer of 2020.
I wasn't depressed; I'd lived a good life. I no longer had the energy or brain capacity to conduct research, watch TV, make a plan, or talk to anyone. Envisioning the spot I had picked out in the Colony Cemetery, I knew I was either headed there fairly soon, or I might survive. What would I do, and how would I live my life differently if I got better?
Lying there, I remembered the feeling I had reading about the original goal of the founders of Fairhope towards something called Cooperative Individualism. Single Tax, politics, racism, growth, change, and everything else that happened after aside, the original premise of the small group was an inspiring and fascinating beginning for a town.
The founders were on a mission that was more important than prestige, a big house, or a fancy horse. They were helping each other and themselves. They cared about solving the problem of poverty, making sure everyone had a piece of land, no unfair taxes, and if there was a better way to operate. They were not waiting for others to solve it first.
I decided if I got better I wanted to do something to help foster a spirit of connectivity, inspiration, and hope for our growing community.
Nowadays, I can (usually) walk, talk, and drive short distances despite some issues. Some days are better than others. I still have a lot of pain, but I'm having more good days, the good days are getting better, and I'm doing things I couldn't before.
I create the newsletter and moderate the Events in Fairhope, Alabama Facebook group sometimes from a restaurant or coffee shop and other times from bed. It's not easy and admittedly it can feel discouraging when people don't seem interested in the mission or think advertising should be "free," as if all the hard work it takes to build and maintain communication channels isn't real... but luckily those are few and far between, and the feeling is fleeting.
No matter how I'm feeling that day, I feel incredibly blessed and I have a lot of hope.
Having traveled internationally and had over two dozen addresses in my life, I think Fairhope is special. Fairhope was founded by folks who didn't care where you were born, which religion you belonged to, or how important you were. What mattered is if you had something to contribute to the community and you wanted to help make a difference.
We were founded by ideas and people who cared about others as well as their own individuality. We could let growth, politics, technology, social media, fear and negativity to take away our fair hope of optimism and opportunity, but what if we don't...
The reason for "Let's Go! Fairhope" is to keep the spirit of community alive while growing with unique individuals.
THANK YOU for being on this journey. Sure, we've grown and changed, but who or what hasn't? To those who are reaching out to participate by submitting feedback, stories, events, and financial contributions, not only are you sharing your ideas, you're helping create a positive outlook for our future.
You won't often see me physically out and about at the 150+ events each week, but like our town's namesake, I'm operating with a fair hope of success.
Each time you open the newsletter, and every time you visit the website, YOU are helping. When you show support financially, you are demonstrating that it's worthwhile.
I hope you'll check out the A.I. related article embedded below where I ask readers the question of "Do we even need community newsletters like Let's Go! Fairhope anymore?" Please respond with your ideas and honest thoughts.
If you can sponsor $55 or more of news for our community in the next month, we'd love to give you a big thank you shout here in the newsletter.
If you prefer to recognize a friend, family member, or even the family dog, we can do that, too.
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