Only In Michigan

I'm NOT trying to sound morbid here. But I got a true story told to me by one of my best friends who lives over in Pittsburgh and I haven't seen him in about 4 or 5 years. The hockey team had a game over there so I made a side trip to go see him and his wife. In the midst of his and my catching up, he tells that his father (whom he hadn't had a relationship with for years), passed away late last year. He didn't seem too down about it at all. So I didn't really press the issue. But he did go to the funeral back in northern Michigan. He then proceeded to tell me a story that was nothing short of BIZARRE. I don't have enough space here to list all the oddities that happened at this service. But it involved everything from motorcycle gangs (he didn't like or own motorcycles), to during the service, someone actually... I kid you not... actually going up (as part of the service) and channeling the spirit (and voice) of the deceased's dog. I'm NOT KIDDING! It took every ounce of energy within my being to look at my buddy with something resembling empathy (he still had a look of bewilderment on his face)... He looked at me and laughed at the thought of a girl going up and reading letter in the voice of a dog. I dang near wet my pants and did everything I could to not shake like jello. I'm not one to be judgemental, but when they take the coffin out to the hearse after the service was over and leave it in the hearse (unlocked) and go downstairs to the church basement to eat BEFORE they go out to the cemetery for burial... yes, it was that, uh, um, odd. So my head started thinking in the wrong direction. I didn't want to think about it, but I gave into temptation and had to ask: What is the strangest funeral story you've ever heard? On second thought, maybe I'll just say have a nice week and I'll try to figure out a more interesting subject to write about next week... I'm such a dork!

Rambling Thoughts on a Wednesday Night...

Hey folks
Just updating on what's been going on here in my world. Here's the update: (in no particular order)

-Lucas is fine. He has feeling in his arm again.
-Terri is hanging on. She is still gutting it out with the chemo that she's allergic to. She's gutsy.
-Lou is doing better now. She had a cardiac cath done and her circulation appears to be good.
-My gal pal loves me more than ever.
-I still love her MORE...
-I'm stressed to the hilt, but I'm happy and I know that I'll survive.
-I've been thinking about my love walk and I know that I need to work on that.
-It's 10:30pm as I type this and I'm sleepy as all heck... when did I get old?

Tis the Season???

Boy, talk about being tested...
In the last month I've seen three friends pass away, one a very dear family friend and two that I knew from working with them. It sucks, but I'm doing alright with it. Terri is still battling with her stuff and she texted me last night when I asked how she was doing: "I'm good but please pray for my friend who had to be induced into a coma because she was having seizures non-stop. She was in remission but the cancer returned and spread to her brain." Oh boy... but that's Terri for you... even though she's got her own stuff to deal with, she's always thinking of others. So I told her that I would definetely be praying for her and her friend.
Just got back from a lousy weekend in Iowa. We lost both games we played out there but that wasn't even on my radar. One of the players, Lucas, was injured in the hockey game on Saturday and was laid out on the ice and wasn't moving. The trainer asked him if he was alright but he couldn't feel anything in his extremeties. The trainer pinched his hand hard and Lucas didn't feel a thing. So they called 911 and immobilized him, the EMT's came and put him on a stretcher. My heart sank with worry as I knew his family down in Florida was listening to the game. But the father of one of the other players had made the trip to Iowa with us and he stayed with Lucas the whole time. He stayed on his cell the whole time with Lucas' dad. One of the players who didn't dress for the game due to injury went over to Lucas as he was being carted off the ice to offer words of encouragement. Willy later came over to me during the broadcast and said that Lucas was cracking jokes to try and calm everyone down. After the game, we sent the players back to the hotel and our team bus driver carted the coaching staff and yours truly over the hospital not knowing what to expect. I feared the worst, but I prayed. Boy did I pray. And my prayer was answered, thank the Good Lord. All feeling returned for Lucas in his extremeties with the exception of his left arm feeling very sore, he was alright. I exchanged emails with his dad the next day and he told me that he was grateful for being kept in the loop via cell phone during the whole ordeal and that talking to Lucas really calmed him down. Lucas was released from the ER a couple of hours after the game and we ordered a pizza for him and everyone went back to the hotel with a big sigh of relief. I got back to my room, grabbed a bite of pizza, and gave thanks to God for Lucas' health, and then went to sleep. I interviewed Lucas on the air the next day during the game and I got hit with a ton of email from listeners thanking me for that because they were worried. He cracked a couple of jokes to try and keep things loose and I told him how good it was to see him. He smiled and said "yeah, I'm really glad I'm here to see you too." Now that I think about it, that about sums up what I'm feeling overall these days. I'm glad I'm here and I'm going to continue to pray for family and loved ones and that I endure...Because I know that this stuff too shall pass...

A Weird Day (out) of Sorts...

Just wanted to update on Terri... she underwent her first chemo treatment for her lungs and even though she is allergic to it, she gutted it out and went through it. She sent me a note afterwards to describe it: "It wasn't as bad as we thought. I only had one episode where I had a tight chest and trouble breathing. but I told them I wanted to keep going. The nurse told me that with each cycle, the chances for a reaction increases... But I wouldn't quit."
If you really want to know about Terri... that last sentence pretty much says it all... "I have faith Mickey" she continued. "I'm in a lot of pain and I'm weak and tired and got sick only once, but I know I can do this."

What more do I need to say? I think she said it all... She is an inspiration.

It seems only weird that today was the anniversary of my mom's passing. I was just a kid when she passed. I feel like I know less about her as I get older, but I know she had a hard and rough life. I'm glad she's in paradise. I know her and my dad are together up there. I believe that with all that I am. I know they are happy. I know they are complete up there. I don't know... right now with everything going on, I don't feel worry. I'm stressed out but I'm not wigging out on anyone or anything. But even though this is a tough time right now, I feel a sense of peace. More accurately, I'm choosing peace over pain. And I feel like God has calmed me down and is giving me the courage to stand on faith. To believe when to others, there might not seem like a reason to believe. I'm good with that...

Resolution...

Since we've now barely tipped our toes into the sea of 2010, I was wondering what do you have as your resolution for the new year? Me, I'm a creature of habit so in addition to trying to try and do something, I'm going to admit to trying to do something different. My sugar has been off because of my constant travelling and staying in hotel rooms and eating lousy food at all hours... I got a juicer for Christmas and my new year's resolution is to try and use it at least once a day to replace pigging out at a meal. It won't be easy but I want to try something to get back to healthier choices. As much as I may hate eating healthy...lol... That's my new year's resolution... What about yours?