A Terrific Note from Adam Sandler

A few weeks ago, I did something simple but meaningful: I wrote a fan letter to Adam Sandler. This is akin to throwing a message in a bottle and tossing it to sea. I wasn’t really expecting a reply.

I wrote to Adam about his Netflix special Love You, because his show helped shape the film I’m currently finishing, Boys of Summer: Third Base. It's the fourth film in our documentary series about my dad Dan and our journey through his life with Parkinson’s disease (PD). In Love You, Adam has a series of things go wrong in the lead up to and during his show, ranging from mildly annoying to nearly violent and disastrous. Throughout, he says “Love you” almost like a mantra. It struck me as a great way to frame Third Base as PD is something where things always seem like they're going wrong. And sometimes, the best we can do is say, “Love you” and keep going.

I told Adam a little about our story. About a father and son who, in 2004, packed up a car and spent two months visiting all 30 Major League ballparks. About how that trip grew into a documentary series about baseball, family, aging, and what love looks like when life doesn’t go according to plan. And about how his show, with the mix of music, comedy, vulnerability, and love, unlocked something creatively for me.

I wrote, in part:

“The way you share about family, loss, memory, and love, all with a ton of laughter, it just felt like a guy talking to his people… That simple phrase, ‘Love you,’ unlocked something for me.”

Though Adam loves sports and clearly loves his dad (honoring him in the Happy Madison Logo “terrific!”), I didn’t expect anything back.

And then, this signed postcard arrived in the mail.

A small gesture, maybe sent by Adam or someone on his team, but it landed with unexpected weight. Not because it was celebrity memorabilia, but because it carried a quiet message: We see you.

Parkinson’s disease can be lonely. It chips away at parts of identity, movement, voice, independence, and it can leave people wondering if they still matter.

Psychologists call this feeling “mattering,” the belief that you are important to others. When that feeling fades, isolation grows. When it’s reinforced, even in small ways, it strengthens resilience.

My dad has lived with Parkinson’s for over twenty years. Our films capture the highs and lows, laughter and frustration, reminder after reminder that love shows up in unexpected ways. Throughout it all, we say “love you” a lot. 

That postcard didn’t create our sense of worth; our family and community already provide that foundation. These films have mattered for more than 20 years. But it added fuel to the fire. A reminder that connection still matters. That stories matter. That people matter.

And that’s exactly what Boys of Summer: Third Base, which will premiere at the World Parkinson's Congress in May 2026, is about. Love between fathers and sons. Love between caregivers and families. Love that survives even when bodies and circumstances change.

So thank you, Adam, or thank you to whoever made sure that response found its way to us.

Sometimes a small act travels a long way. And sometimes, it arrives exactly when you need it.

Love you.

You can schedule a screening of Boys of Summer: Short Stop, the third film in the series, this spring by contacting Robert (robert@yesandexercise.org).