The unlikely journey of two very different men…
Meet Denver Moore
“Nobody can help everybody, but everybody can help somebody.” - Denver Moore
Denver was born in rural Louisiana in January 1937 and after several tragic events went to live on a plantation in Red River Parish with his Uncle James and Aunt Ethel, who were sharecroppers.
Sometime around 1960, he hopped a freight train and began a life as a homeless drifter until 1966 when a judge awarded him a ten year contract for hard labor at the Louisiana State School of Fools, aka, Angola Prison!
According to Denver, he went in a boy and left a man and received a standing ovation from prisoners in the yard as he walked out of there in 1976. For the next twenty-two years he was homeless on the streets of Fort Worth, Texas. However, there were a few times after a brush with the law, he'd ride the rails visiting cities and hobo jungles across America, sampling regional cuisine like Vienna sausage with fellow passengers.
In 1998, in Denver's own words, "I never met Miss Debbie, Miss Debbie met me" and his life was forever changed.
Denver was quick to tell everyone he was just a nobody trying to tell everybody about somebody that can save everybody. However this self-proclaimed nobody became an artist, selling hundreds of his original paintings to fans everywhere. He became a singer and self-taught piano player entertaining thousands with his down-home, red-dirt-road style of blues and gospel. Convention centers and auditoriums were filled to hear him tell his motivational story of hope and redemption while raising millions for homeless causes all across America. In 2006, he was named Fort Worth Texas' Philanthropist of the Year for his work on behalf of the Union Gospel Mission.
Denver's mantra was "We are all homeless, just workin' our way home". On March 31, 2012, God swung open the gates of heaven and welcomed him home. He was seventy-five years old when he was reunited with Miss Debbie and left behind millions of folks forever changed by his testimony.
Meet Ron Hall
Ron Hall’s life was centered around a successful career as an international art dealer and a passion for his Rocky Top ranch on the Brazos River. All this changed in 1998 as a result of an encounter with a homeless man who was threatening to kill everyone in sight in the homeless shelter where Ron and his wife Deborah had begun to volunteer two weeks earlier.
This life-changing encounter, featured on many television and radio shows, inspired Ron to write his first book SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME, a story of hope and redemption. The word-of-mouth hit became a New York Times platinum bestseller and stayed on the list for more than three and one-half years.
In 2007, President Bush appointed Ron to the State Department Cultural Property Committee to advise the President on diplomatic matters regarding international art and antiquities. He served through December 2011.
Currently, Ron is the screenwriter and producer of the movie version of his book SAME KIND OF DIFFERENT AS ME, which can be found on Netflix and Amazon.
Even though only 8 critics panned the movie with comments like, "The very horrible complexities of racism and intolerance are simplified in ways inherent to many a Hollywood and faith-based film, all in the aim of glib uplift that may salve the individual spirit but solves absolutely nothing."
BUT 91% of audiences loved the movie. With comments like:
"5-stars. This movie was outstanding.
The official critics you definitely can ignore. Very inspiring and so glad I went to see this movie. Loved it."
