Thank You

As far as days go, Tuesday was a good one. It may have been one of the most heartwarming, humbling days of my entire life. Nothing can compare to some life events like the birth of a child or the joy of saying and hearing the words “I do,” but there are other events in ones life that create some of the same emotions.

Some of the people who work with my wife at the courthouse have been adamant that they wanted to do something for us after my cancer diagnosis. They decided that they wanted to throw a benefit lunch for us to help defray the costs of the constant trips to Petoskey and the mountain of medical bills that are sure to be rolling in shortly. In the spirit of honesty that I have maintained in this blog, I have to admit that I was really uncomfortable with the idea. I have always been on the other end of things like this, donating to causes, buying stuff from student-athletes to help support them and lending a hand where I can. Kelly is the same way. We talked about it a couple times and while neither of us was overly comfortable with it, who were we to respond negatively to people who cared enough about us to want to do something to help?

As I drove back from Petoskey yesterday, I caught myself wondering what it was going to be like. How many people would show up? As the person benefitting from this, do I stay in one spot, or mingle? Do I make an effort to seek everybody out or do I let them come to me? I just didn’t know.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up being a couple minutes late in getting back to town, and when I pulled into the courthouse, Kelly was waiting for me outside the doors. I knew that she was thinking some of the same thoughts that had been going through my head. We exchanged smiles and she asked if I was ready and I said I

was, so in we went.

As most of you probably know, I work as a corrections officer, which is a fancy way of saying prison guard. I keep track of 96 guys every night who have been convicted of a felony heinous enough to earn them a few years in prison. This place is not a flowing well spewing forth the positivity of the human spirit – in fact, just the opposite. In there I see guys who vary in temperament from resigned and downtrodden to angry and rebellious. Neither of which is exactly inspiring. The goodness of people is not easily seen in this environment and it’s not hard to get jaded and start seeing the worst in people and situations.

This wasn’t the case at all though. Margie, Carmen, Suzanne, and Vicki had everything so organized that all we had to do was show up and get some food and the rest took care of itself. I don’t know why I had this idea in my head that it was going to be a bunch of strangers there that I would have to make awkward conversation with, because obviously, if it’s a benefit for us, it stands to reason that the people there would know us.

I can’t even begin to tell you how appreciative and grateful Kelly and I are to each and every person that showed up to express their support for us. The money that was raised will certainly help, but even more than that, the friendship that was exhibited by even taking the time to be there was more than enough.

Also, I know that a lot of people brought in snacks, desserts, and pop in addition to all the paper plates and the necessities for the benefit. Thank you so much for taking the time to make or buy whatever it is that you brought. It is much appreciated.

On a personal note, yesterday sort of restored my faith in people. That, in itself, made the day worthwhile for me. Thanks to all of you for that.

With this in mind, I have decided to make a few changes regarding a few of the people who helped me come to this realization.

1: Carmen Fazari – I will no longer leave the toilet seat up in the courthouse bathroom and laugh as I walk out the door.

2: Micah Corbiere – I will stop thinking bad things about you when I back out of my driveway and don’t hit my mailbox.

3: Libby LaJoie – I will try (try, mind you) to not blow my nose at The Evening News and leave the kleenex on your keyboard while you’re not looking.

4: Kelly Church – I will beat this thing as quickly as I can so that we can get back to living the life that I promised you four years, two months, and 11 days ago.





I Will Win