It's been a rough start of the year. Last night, after finishing up an ECHL game, we got news that one of our good friends lost his brother.
Rocket, our hearts go out to you. I am going to borrow your words as they are far superior to anything I may say.
He
was born May 15th 1957 at 3:50pm. The doctors told our Mom & Dad he
would not survive & they had an emergency Baptism for him on May
17th. In my Mother's distraught state she told the nurse the wrong name
-- He was suppose to be James Michael & he was officially Michael
James. He survived 6 months & then the doctors told my folks he
wouldn't function well, if at all after age 16. Well as always
he thumbed his nose at that prediction & 4 mos shy of his 55th
birthday at around 11:30am on Jan 28th, God invited Michael James Lachat
to heaven for a family get together with our Mom & Pop, aunts &
uncles, grandma & nana, grandfathers & great grandmother. I
will miss him everyday but know they're all having the time of their
lives breaking bread. I love you Mike.
I began receiving several emails from my brother Nick yesterday, by way of my mother.
They wanted that one of my best friend's grandfather had passed away. The more I read about him in the articles from the Bangor Daily News, the more I wished I had met him long ago.
It's belated but thank you for your wonderful grandson, for the stories I have yet to hear about you and for your service, both public and during World War II.
"It's about how hard
you can get hit and keep moving forward."
Life hits hard. It hits unexpectedly. It can throw you off your game, make your eyes water, make your knees buckle.
Everything started around Christmas. One of our employees lost her mother to a sudden brain aneurysm. She collapsed during an epic powder day. Then one of the owner's father had a sudden grand mal seizure out of the blue, something that never happened before. The doctors have been struggling to get the proper drug cocktail for him so he was in the hospital for days. An uncle, a man I think of before every hockey game I work, suddenly took ill and has been hospitalized off and on over the past few weeks. The initial scare was cancer but it turned out to gall stones. The initial operation took care of the pain temporarily but he was then hit with an infection and another gall stone attack. My father-in-law has been dealing with an ankle problem that can only be rectified with surgery. At best, he would be in a wheelchair for 2 months after the surgery and then a soft cast for 2 more months. The concern is that since he is in his 70's, surgery could be a challenge and the semi-worst case is that he would lose his foot.
Couple all of this with the news I got yesterday from my parents.
My mom and dad sold their Rialta with plans to buy an SUV and travel trailer. I have been looking for the appropriate tow vehicle for the past month or so. We were getting ready to purchase a truck when the call came in that we needed to hold off on any purchases until other things were figured out.
My father explained that Mom had been feeling short of breath. They finally went in and found that fluid had built up around her lung, essentially collapsing her lung. And then they found cancer cells in that fluid. So she was now scheduled for a bone scan to determine if anything else was going on and that she would need to start a low dose chemo treatment.
This all made me feel like my knees were going to buckle. My eyes were already watering from the sting. Dad was doing all the talking because Mom just wasn't in a place to talk right then.
During her first battle with cancer, she always listened to the soundtrack from Braveheart. It was music that lifted her spirits and set her mind on fighting the cancer that had grown inside her. She has still never seen the movie. She doesn't need to...she fought that battle in her head over and over and over.
Mom, I don't know what words can help. All I keep coming back to is this: "Let me tell you something you already know. The world
ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I
don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep
you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as
hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard
you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep
moving forward. That's how winning is done!"
My Mom is a fighter. She will get her feet under her and she will walk forward into this with her head high. And all her family and friends will be walking by her side to help her fight this next battle.
Mom, there is a whole army ready to go to war with you.
Today is a big day. My uncle is in for surgery to have his gall bladder removed. My father-in-law is meeting with the doctors to make a decision about his ankle. My Mom is in for a bone scan to see what we are up against.
(Credit:
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
It's not about your politics, it's about being part of a team. As a team, you either live together or die alone.
Tim Thomas decided to forgo a celebration at the White House for last year's Stanley Cup victory. I initially felt that it is his prerogative to decline an invitation from the President. Thomas' team released several statements about how it was not a mandatory event, that it was his choice, that it was his politics.
And then I read Thomas' horseshit Facebook post which he didn't have the chutzpah to post before his teammates and his general manager had to begin fielding questions regarding his noticeable absence.
Thomas' message: "I believe the Federal government has grown out of control,
threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People. This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and
Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the
Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government. Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free
Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics
or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the
situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make
as an INDIVIDUAL. This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT"
Really? It isn't the Democrats and it isn't the Republicans? At least try being honest. It is about Obama. Admit it. Have the balls to admit it! Of course you have the right to decline the invitation to the White House. We all do. But this was your opportunity to voice your opinion about what is going on in your country with the man America elected President. You could have taken the time to talk to him quietly about your view of politics in Washington. You could have posted to Facebook that while you don't agree with politics in Washington, you took the opportunity to express any of your concerns with the President of the United States. But rather than standing up with your teammates, you stood up alone.
As my father so aptly put it, if Thomas can't see past the politics to celebrate as a team, how will he feel about teammates who have alternative political views? How will they feel about laying down to block a shot for him? How about trying to slow down a forward crashing the net?
Tim Thomas, you have disgraced the nation. You have disgraced the American jersey you wore in the Olympics. You have disappointed me. I shared in New England's excitement when the Bruins finally won the Stanley Cup last year. Now, I will never be able to root for a team you play for.
Finally, your actions took the spotlight away from a team that deserved
to celebrate their victory. You are the black sheep that sullied that
party. You have to live with being "that guy." You really do stand alone.
MLK's birthday has always been a big thing with my mother. There was always a cake. There was always a discussion at the dinner table that night. There was always a great deal of respect for a man I know only through what history has told me.
Mom's message to us last night was that Paul McCartney had written Blackbird to honor and commemorate the struggles of black American's in the sixties. I had no idea.
Over the years, I have learned more about the man himself. His horseplay, his friends, the men and women who stood by his side in the face of such incredible adversity. Each generation has their heroes; this year, I found myself wondering who would take MLK's lead and walk us forward into our next American chapter. Whether it is eradicating homophobia, xenophobia, poverty, religious intolerance or any of the other major social issues we face on a daily basis, who will follow MLK's lead?
Winslow was already asleep when I arrived home last night. Emiko and I sat at the dinner table at talked about MLK. About how it was an important man's birthday. About how he struggled to make things right in a world where there was injustice, where some people were being "mean" to others. I struggled to find the right words to frame for her 3 year old intellect how MLK helped correct the course of history.
After we spoke, Emi turned to Hope and said, "Mommy, it is Martin Luther King's birthday today. Can we have cake?" My mother will be so proud.
(says the guy who gave up soda a few new years ago)
I have a few close friends who are giving up alcohol. Tobacco. Other vices. But I could not think of something I could do to join them.
And then I thought of our kitchen. How Hope cooks there every night. How she cleans it up every night. (During the hockey season) How she does all of this after putting the kids to bed.
I have been coasting since Winslow was born. Hope has been home full time taking care of everything while I breeze in and out, relying on her to maintain our household. Too much has been on her shoulders.
So, my plan is to make sure I lead the charge on maintaining a clean kitchen.
(one final thought...this picture was taken when we first purchased the house...boy, those two plants have not fared well!)
