Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Yankees Win, Thaaaa Yankees Win!
The Yankees win their 27th World Series title with a 7-3 victory over the reigning World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.
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The Yankees win their 27th World Series title with a 7-3 victory over the reigning World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Day Two Stars fell from the Sky
Thursday, June 25, 2009 is a sad day for entertainment fans around the world as two of its brightest stars met with untimely ends. One's death had been expected for some time now and the other's was a complete shock. With the death of Ed McMahon on Tuesday, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson's passings make up the proverbial "everything comes in threes." Rather than reporting on the already fast spreading news of their losses, I'd like to take a moment to pay homage to these stars that each brightened our landscape in their own unique way.
Charlie's Angel
Farrah Fawcett was best known for her role in the 1970's television series "Charlie's Angels." At the height of the show's popularity, Farrah quickly became a favorite among men, young and old, for her presence on the screen and her natural beauty. At the time, I had been in my early teens and hadn't come to the realization yet that I was playing for the 'other team.' That famous poster of her with her hand beneath her chin and sporting a big smile adorned the wall of my bedroom for years. I think back with fondness remembering it over my bed all that time.
In subsequent years, Farrah slowly faded from the television screens, appearing more in tabloid magazines for her publicized off screen relationship with Ryan O'Neal. She'd appeared now and then in a TV movie, but I'd never really paid much attention to her. What I will always remember when I think of Farrah Fawcett is that beautiful woman in the poster above my bed for so many years. It's how her life touched mine and many others. From what I have heard in gossipy tidbits over the years was that she was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. She will surely be missed!
The Tragic King
Michael Jackson's death is still being widely reported as I type this, as this news is somewhat of a shock and his fame was indeed celestial. Michael Jackson was a few years older than me, and I remember him as the front man (boy) of the Jackson Five on all of those variety shows that were popular in the early seventies when I was young. Back then, he was an adorable enigma, with a clear talent that no one would have expected to reach the heights he eventually achieved.
As he grew older, he continued to make music with his brothers, filling dance floors across the nation with great ditties such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" and "Can You Feel It?" Eventually he branched out on his own with the highly acclaimed and hit generating LP, "Off the Wall", but he really soared to mega-stardom with his "Thriller" album. During the time of the early eighties and beyond, Michael was at the top of his game, providing entertainment to millions with groundbreaking music videos, number one singles, white gloves, and a "moonwalk." Soon after the release of his "Bad" album, notoriety and bad press began to slowly consume the pop star.
The first video for the title cut to the "Bad" CD world premiered with much anticipation, as it was the follow-up to the all time best-selling CD." When fans got their first glimpse of Michael in the video, they were in for a shock. With clear signs of surgical transformation to his face and apparently lighter complexion, Michael's appearance was astoundingly frightful. Rumors ran rampant. Stories abounded everywhere regarding this transformation and he became fodder for late night jokesters everywhere. Then came the infamous allegations of sexual abuse.
Michael Jackson clearly had a fondness for children, publicly hosting children's parties at his Neverland ranch. Eventually, allegations were leveled against him on separate occasions by two young boys. The accusations gave credence to long held suspicions about his sexuality and many now looked at in a whole different light. By the mid nineties, Michael had gained notoriety among many of his fans that eventually plunged him into the obscurity he's lived in for a few years now.
In the end, with all the fame and fortune Michael Jackson attained in his too short life, I can't help but believe that his is as tragic a story as anyone's. Living under the public eye since an early age and with all of the scrutiny that followed him in his later years had to have contributed to his sad story and sadder ending. His sudden death is a shock to many and I'm sure we'll be hearing much more about this tragic figure's life for months and years to come.
So long Sidekick
These two sad news items cannot go by without an honorable mention to Mr. Ed McMahon. Though not as heartrending as the deaths of Farrah and Michael (he was around much longer than his two, much younger counterparts), Ed was an integral part of the fabric of American culture of the twentieth century. I'll bet that Johnny has already begun his new version of the "Tonight Show" somewhere out there now that his sidekick has returned to his side.
So, so long Farrah, Michael, and Ed. This week we've lost three treasures, and each will be sorely missed by many!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tribute to a Father, Part II: The Day My Daddy Died
The Day My Daddy Died
I woke up this morning, as I do many mornings, with a song in my head. Only the tune that landed in my head today was related to what was going to happen in just a little while. The song, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone", by the Temptations opens with the lines I'm still hearing now as I
write this:
"It was the third of September.
The day I'll always remember,
Cause that was the day my daddy died."
Today George Myers, my father, passed on, and I awoke this morning knowing that it was going to happen. We'd been dreading it for four days now, knowing that any hope of survival was near zero percent. From the moment he was taken into the hospital, we were told that he had gone far too long without oxygen and that his brain was no longer functioning. As the hours and days passed, we knew this was the one time he wasn't going to beat it.
We'd decided late last night to remove the support machines keeping his body alive, but we had to put it off for today because one of us was unable to be on hand. It was an unpleasant situation, to say the least. We all wanted to get past this anguish. And having to wait until morning, waking up with the knowledge that your dad was going to die, is just too odious a circumstance to be in.
Twenty eight years ago, my dad was diagnosed with Diabetes. At first, none of us had been too familiar with the disease, but what we did know it was controllable one if you followed the guidelines associated with the having the condition. In the beginning, dad was great about it. He quit smoking. He stopped drinking. Changing his dietary habits, though, proved too difficult for him and this allowed this debilitating sickness to attack his body slowly and steadily for so long.
Early on, dad's kidneys began to malfunction and he was sent to undergo dialysis treatments three times a week. He was placed on a list for a kidney transplant. I hadn't known what dialysis was at first, and I don't wish to speak of it here, but I know from dad's experiences that it is not pleasant.
As is common with diabetics, one problem invariably leads to other problems. To make things easier for his dialysis treatments, his doctor placed a plastic shunt in his arm. I recall almost immediately there were infections, blockages, and other problems associated with the multiple shunts that were eventually placed within his arms. These problems foreshadowed the more serious and painful things to come. I can't possibly recall the numerous problems dad's experienced over the years, but here are some I remember:
-While working in a local supermarket, a 2 liter bottle of soda fell off a shelf and landed on dad's big toe. An infection began to materialize. That was in May. By August, the infection had gotten so bad; he had to be hospitalized for over six weeks. It was the first time we thought we were going to lose him, but he persevered and eventually pulled through.
-A little over ten years ago, dad got a call that a person with a donor kidney had passed and he needed to get to the hospital ASAP. In what turned out to be his happiest hospital stay, dad's surgery was successful and he got to spend Christmas with the greatest gift he's ever received. Dialysis was now a thing of the past.
-About two years ago, dad began to have trouble hearing in his right ear. It was soon discovered that he had a massive, benign tumor growing on his cerebrum. With his state of health, surgical treatment was not an option, so he underwent 39 radiation treatments. Soon after the treatments had finished, his hearing improved once again, but his new kidney had begun to fail. In what turned out to be the beginning of his end, dialysis treatments once again became a necessity.
-A more recent infection on his foot hadn't been responding to treatments. Intravenous antibiotics were no help as circulation problems were preventing the medicines from reaching the infected site. A surgical bypass on his leg was ordered by his vascular doctor. During pre-surgical testing, though, a blockage was found in his heart and a resulting angioplasty put off the vascular bypass. The cardiac procedure was successful, and he was released from the hospital with the infected ulcer still oozing and painful on his foot.
-Two weeks ago, and six weeks after the angioplasty, dad was brought back in to the hospital for the original vascular bypass to help fight the infection, which had gotten so bad that he had developed tendinitis in his Achilles tendon which prevented him from walking anymore. He had had to give up his job and his car, which crushed him. This surgery was successful, and the infection had begun to heal.
These episodes represent only a fraction of the seemingly countless health-related issues dad has had to contend with. Late night phone calls became all too familiar. Every time there was a new emergency, the situation led from a dire to insignificant, a false alarm. Dad took each case in stride, with rarely an utterance of complaint, even through two toe amputations (Though he always hated the needles!). We became too used to these episodes, expecting the same result each time. We'd lulled ourselves into a belief that dad was a fighter who'd always bounce back and be around for years to come. But it wasn't meant to be this time.
The day after dad came out of the hospital, he experienced this episode which ultimately led us to today. Now I've skipped ahead a bit from the first part of this story, but this part of dad's story is more pertinent to the freedom from suffering he earned today. Having been faced with the decision we all made, we knew we had no choice. Dad deserved no more pain.
In the end, he passed peacefully with his wife, his six children and other significant people in his life all around him. The room was filled with anguish, devotion, love and a sense of collective relief as George finally let go of all that pain.
So long dad! I love you!
It was the sixth of May...
I woke up this morning, as I do many mornings, with a song in my head. Only the tune that landed in my head today was related to what was going to happen in just a little while. The song, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone", by the Temptations opens with the lines I'm still hearing now as I
write this:
"It was the third of September.
The day I'll always remember,
Cause that was the day my daddy died."
Today George Myers, my father, passed on, and I awoke this morning knowing that it was going to happen. We'd been dreading it for four days now, knowing that any hope of survival was near zero percent. From the moment he was taken into the hospital, we were told that he had gone far too long without oxygen and that his brain was no longer functioning. As the hours and days passed, we knew this was the one time he wasn't going to beat it.
We'd decided late last night to remove the support machines keeping his body alive, but we had to put it off for today because one of us was unable to be on hand. It was an unpleasant situation, to say the least. We all wanted to get past this anguish. And having to wait until morning, waking up with the knowledge that your dad was going to die, is just too odious a circumstance to be in.
Twenty eight years ago, my dad was diagnosed with Diabetes. At first, none of us had been too familiar with the disease, but what we did know it was controllable one if you followed the guidelines associated with the having the condition. In the beginning, dad was great about it. He quit smoking. He stopped drinking. Changing his dietary habits, though, proved too difficult for him and this allowed this debilitating sickness to attack his body slowly and steadily for so long.
Early on, dad's kidneys began to malfunction and he was sent to undergo dialysis treatments three times a week. He was placed on a list for a kidney transplant. I hadn't known what dialysis was at first, and I don't wish to speak of it here, but I know from dad's experiences that it is not pleasant.
As is common with diabetics, one problem invariably leads to other problems. To make things easier for his dialysis treatments, his doctor placed a plastic shunt in his arm. I recall almost immediately there were infections, blockages, and other problems associated with the multiple shunts that were eventually placed within his arms. These problems foreshadowed the more serious and painful things to come. I can't possibly recall the numerous problems dad's experienced over the years, but here are some I remember:
-While working in a local supermarket, a 2 liter bottle of soda fell off a shelf and landed on dad's big toe. An infection began to materialize. That was in May. By August, the infection had gotten so bad; he had to be hospitalized for over six weeks. It was the first time we thought we were going to lose him, but he persevered and eventually pulled through.
-A little over ten years ago, dad got a call that a person with a donor kidney had passed and he needed to get to the hospital ASAP. In what turned out to be his happiest hospital stay, dad's surgery was successful and he got to spend Christmas with the greatest gift he's ever received. Dialysis was now a thing of the past.
-About two years ago, dad began to have trouble hearing in his right ear. It was soon discovered that he had a massive, benign tumor growing on his cerebrum. With his state of health, surgical treatment was not an option, so he underwent 39 radiation treatments. Soon after the treatments had finished, his hearing improved once again, but his new kidney had begun to fail. In what turned out to be the beginning of his end, dialysis treatments once again became a necessity.
-A more recent infection on his foot hadn't been responding to treatments. Intravenous antibiotics were no help as circulation problems were preventing the medicines from reaching the infected site. A surgical bypass on his leg was ordered by his vascular doctor. During pre-surgical testing, though, a blockage was found in his heart and a resulting angioplasty put off the vascular bypass. The cardiac procedure was successful, and he was released from the hospital with the infected ulcer still oozing and painful on his foot.
-Two weeks ago, and six weeks after the angioplasty, dad was brought back in to the hospital for the original vascular bypass to help fight the infection, which had gotten so bad that he had developed tendinitis in his Achilles tendon which prevented him from walking anymore. He had had to give up his job and his car, which crushed him. This surgery was successful, and the infection had begun to heal.
These episodes represent only a fraction of the seemingly countless health-related issues dad has had to contend with. Late night phone calls became all too familiar. Every time there was a new emergency, the situation led from a dire to insignificant, a false alarm. Dad took each case in stride, with rarely an utterance of complaint, even through two toe amputations (Though he always hated the needles!). We became too used to these episodes, expecting the same result each time. We'd lulled ourselves into a belief that dad was a fighter who'd always bounce back and be around for years to come. But it wasn't meant to be this time.
The day after dad came out of the hospital, he experienced this episode which ultimately led us to today. Now I've skipped ahead a bit from the first part of this story, but this part of dad's story is more pertinent to the freedom from suffering he earned today. Having been faced with the decision we all made, we knew we had no choice. Dad deserved no more pain.
In the end, he passed peacefully with his wife, his six children and other significant people in his life all around him. The room was filled with anguish, devotion, love and a sense of collective relief as George finally let go of all that pain.
So long dad! I love you!
It was the sixth of May...
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