Bellmorite pens children book to give back

Opening night at Madison Square Garden was long a ritual among friends for Bellmorite Jason Mayo, but the Rangers’ home opener in October of last year turned out to be much more.

Mayo, who makes his home in North Bellmore with his wife, Ronni, and two daughters, Sophie, 8, and Ruby, 4, had had season tickets for more than 10 years, shared between three friends. But one moved away to Florida, and another, Rich, had recently been diagnosed with cancer. Rich had been undergoing chemotherapy and didn’t know if he would be able to make it to opening night. Mayo said that he would hold the ticket no matter what, hoping that his friend would be strong enough to attend. While he waited to hear if Rich would be there, Mayo reached out to Rangers great Adam Graves.

Graves far exceeded Mayo’s expectations. When the two childhood friends sat down in their regular seats, Mayo and Rich were met by an usher who escorted them up to an empty skybox. Waiting for them was Graves. The three spent the period watching the game, talking hockey and life. Reflecting back on that day, Mayo said he felt he had to give back. “Adam was the most gracious, kindest person,” Mayo said.

Mayo decided to work with The Garden of Dreams, a nonprofit organization that works with the sports teams of Madison Square Garden to help children going through difficult times. By telling the story of the night that he and Rich shared with Graves on his dad’s blog, outnumberedonline.com, Mayo raised $6,000 dollars to donate to the charity. But he wanted to do more.

Mayo found his answer through his eldest daughter. Sophie, who was in second grade at Dinkelmeyer at the time, told her dad that her class was inviting parents to read books for story/snack time. Mayo said he knew that he wanted to read to his daughter’s class, but he wanted to create the story.

From there, Mayo developed a children’s book, “Do Witches Make Fishes?” The book follows a boy who hates his mother’s cooking and would rather spend his days eating candy. The boy wishes that his mother and her cooking would go away. When he opens his eyes, a witch has replaced his mother. The story follows the boy’s adventures as he comes to terms with making healthy eating decisions on his own.