Shame on you

What is the purpose of government? I am here to suggest that the purpose of government is to look out for those who can not look out for themselves. As individuals, we can not always rise to meet the challenges that strike at our core. Which is why we rely on our government to respond for us as a collective.

Government supports a police force to protect its citizens. Fire departments to protect citizens from danger. First responders to respond to tragedy. National guard to respond to disaster. Military force to protect the nation from danger.

North Carolina passed an initiative that amends the state constitution to make civil unions illegal. The STATE CONSTITUTION. This bypasses a law that was already in effect that made civil unions illegal. Apparently that wasn't good enough. This is a law that in 20 years will be overturned. Why? It isn't a party line thing. The split was age. The older generations are against civil unions. The younger generations have realized that homophobia is the next civil rights battle ground. But the thing that hurts the most is that the same people who stood with MLK on civil rights for African Americans are now drawing a line in the sand and stating that their religious doctrines say that homosexuality is a sin. Shame on you for not seeing the hypocrisy in this. Shame on you for not standing up for your brothers and sisters who are now fighting a civil rights battle. Shame on your for not realizing the bible says many things and that you must cull the items which no longer make sense in our world.

Closer to home, here in Colorado, the GOP effectively blocked a civil unions bill by preventing any debate on the floor which, in turn, prevents an up-down vote on the bill itself. At some point, you people need to realize you are standing on the wrong side of history. While homophobia will never disappear, the tide is turning as you age yourselves out of the way. I only hope that you realize how wrong you are, the legacy you are leaving in your wake and at some point either step aside or concede that your younger generation will overturn your shameful decisions. Shame on you, House Speaker Frank McNulty, for keeping this from a vote. Your fear should not prevent the rest of Colorado from making a decision. Your fear should not prevent the government from creating a stance for those who have been bullied, derided, abused and discriminated against. Shame on you for forgetting that government is created to protect those in the minority, those who need the support and protection of a larger entity, those who are simply looking for the same rights afforded to their fellow citizens.

Finally...shame on me. Shame on me for not lending a more active voice. Shame on me for not taking the time to stand shoulder to shoulder with others who stood in support at our state Capitol. Shame on me for not setting an example to my children that we must be more politically active.

With that, I climb down from my soap box.

Anniversary

Most of the time, I hope Anthony is off riding endless singletrack. Or taking another wonderful picture. Or still sponsored by a bike company AND a beer company.

All of the time, I miss him.

Class Act

I've been going to Avalanche games for years now. About 10 years ago, our friend moved her seats from the lower bowl up to the club level. Our server, Paul, soon became a friend and we look forward to seeing him just as much as we do seeing the game. 

Paul's late wife, a Denver City Councilwoman passed away a year ago yesterday. Paul came over to the seats and sat and talked with me for quite some time before the game got underway. I think yesterday was a tough day for him but it felt good to sit with an old friend and chat. He is planning a bicycling holiday this summer, taking a train west and then riding north along the Pacific coast before cutting back toward home and Colorado.

Paul is unlike most other servers. He is outgoing, loves life, extremely personable and always quick with a smile. He runs tabs for all his customers rather than taking a credit card at the start of the game. He'd rather treat us all like respectable adults rather than being suspicious of everyone.

Last night, a random patron just to the right of us walked out on the tab. When Paul came to settle up with our row, he found the guy was missing. As we settled our tab, one of my friends looked at me and asked if it would be appropriate for us to cover the walkouts tab. I told him to ask Paul and my friend proceeded to cover the drinks for the walkout.

My friend had no idea of the significance of last night to Paul. The anniversary. The grief. Or the fact that my friend made a tough day much brighter.

I want to grow up to be like him.

I love this game, part trois

I've just been served. Thank you, Mr. Baldwin.


And this.

And finally:


I am more than happy to take a drubbing on this one!

I love this game part deux

What other professional sport is putting gay rights advocacy front and center? Is it just that I really only follow hockey that I see this? Or is the sport I love so much really this cutting edge?

 

Read this.

I do know that there is a line being drawn in the sand. That history will look back on us, right now, and judge who was on which side of that line. We look back on the Mason-Dixon line. The Emancipation Proclamation. Suffrage and the 19th Amendment. The Holocaust. Rosa Parks and Montgomery. Four students in Greensboro. Harvey Milk.

I stand proudly on my side of the line. I will gladly be judged by the test of history.

"And though it's only my opinion

I may be right or wrong

You'll find them both

In the Grand Canyon

At sundown."

-Dylan

I love this game

All Questions are Rhetorical

In memoriam of Michael James Lachat

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.

You are a wonderful man, Joe.

In memoriam of Earl Baldwin

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.

Godspeed, Mr. Baldwin.

Life hits hard

"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.

I wish all of us luck.

It's not about your politics

(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

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.

He would have been 83 this year.

New Year, new focus

I'm not much for New Year's resolutions.

(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!)

Haiku

For whatever reason, the haiku form has been passed around lately....

11/28/2011 @ the morning meeting

Concentricity
Too big a word for Monday
Delivery sucks

11/16/2011 @ an evening skate

Goddamn private eyes
Why would they be watching me?
Fucking Hall and Oates

11/17/2011 @ another evening skate

Hockey night haiku
Composed in twenty minutes
I love this game so

Yeti is haiku
Artistic five seven five
Beauty words and bikes

601(e.2)

I am struggling with this one. I am sitting in front of a computer screen, far too late at night, trying to transcribe thoughts to words.

I was called many names growing up in Central Maine. It was, unfortunately, inevitable as I was one of a handful of Asians who lived in the area. And really, the other two I knew were my brothers. So racial slurs are nothing new to me. And I've been called every name under the sun as the kids I grew up with in grade school tried to find a label that would get my attention. They ran through a litany of Asian epithets as they tried to determine if I was Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese.... Then they started in on the color of my skin: black, yellow, brown, red.... They tried to determine if my eyes were slanted up or down.

However, once I put the skates on at 5, things changed. Names on the playground persisted but in the rink, we were all equal. In 30 years of playing, coaching and officiating hockey, I have never once heard one player turn to an opponent and reference their cultural background. I never had a player come after me with a racial epithet. I have been told it happened and addressed as an official with players and coaches but I have never dealt with it first hand.

Until tonight.

Thursday nights are usually cake walks. We have this one league pretty well trained and all we do is drop the puck, call icings, offside and goals, and joke around with the players. Occasionally we may have to put our hand in the air for a hook or hold. And, of course, there have been less than a handful of fights over the years. But generally, we do not have to deal with aggressive penalties.

Tonight, that all changed. Tonight, I wanted to take the referee sweater off and go after a player. Tonight, we had a Bertuzzi-esque fight that ended with a third player entering into the fray and calling the instigator of the fight the "n" word.

It angers me that racism still exists. I know in my heart that racism will never die. But I continue to have hope that someday we will be able to quell it.

We learn so many lessons on the ice. I hate to think the lesson this guy will eventually learn because the hockey gods frown on this behavior and karma will, ultimately, come back to haunt him. For all I know, he may never play in this league again and I would never, ever feel badly about that.

I am lucky since, as the official, I have a rulebook that I can throw at a player in an instance like this. I can and did bounce a player from the game in this situation. But as a player at heart, I wanted to put the whistle away and go after him. Logic and common sense tempered my anger tonight. Yet still I am crestfallen that my children will still have to confront racism and intolerance at some point in their lives.

There is still a long road in front of us. Tolerance, on so many different levels, has still not fully taken hold. But as long as we continue down this path to creating a better home and a better world, perhaps be will some day reach that distant vanishing point.