Day 268/365

     Yesterday/day 268 was a bit of an emotional one. My dad would've been sixty years old yesterday, and for work I covered two memorial services. In a way it was all entirely fitting. The first service I covered was what would have been a local boy's ninth birthday. The boy, Jayden Lamb, passed away last month after more than a two year battle with cancer. In honor of his birthday, hundreds of people met at a Midland church to light and send off hundreds of lanterns into the sky. It was really cool to see. There's also been a pay it forward movement gaining steam in the wake of his passing, and if you like you can read about it in one of the articles on MLive here.

     The second service I covered last night was the eleventh annual Project Blue Light ceremony, which is for law enforcement officers and their families to pay tribute to deceased officers. It was amazing to see so many officers from different areas, (some as far as Canada), and their families come together to support each other. I was doing fine with everything yesterday, until at the end of the ceremony they had bagpipers play "Amazing Grace" to lead out the processional. Gets me every freakin' time!

  

 

Day 265/365

     Sunday/day 265 was spent paying homage to my dad. My dad would've turned 60 December 12 of this year/yesterday, so when my family was together this Sunday we celebrated it together. We had his favorites for dinner: my mom's lasagna, boston cream pie for dessert, and beer throughout the entire day. Halloween through Christmas have been hard and a bit surreal without him, and he's missed by us and so many of his friends and family every day. So Sunday was for him. 

Day 259/365

     The day has finally come; volleyball season is over, and basketball season is only just beginning! I covered my first game tonight, and loved every minute of it. Unfortunately I could only stay for the first  two quarters, because I had to get back to the office to get the photos in by the print deadline for tomorrow's paper. Hopefully I'll get to stay for a full game at some point. I've missed playing basketball so much; I literally think I've only gotten to play once or twice since I played in high school. I was never very good, but I always had so much fun playing nevertheless. None of my friends or living immediate family share the interest in the sport with me, and shooting hoops by yourself only keeps you going for so long. There are an indefinite number of things I miss about my dad, but hanging out in the driveway playing one-on-one or playing horse or just seeing who can shoot the farthest is definitely in the top ten.

Blogger's Note

     "A man tells so many stories, that he becomes the stories. They live on after him, and in that way he becomes immortal."

     Four years ago today, your stories became immortal. Backing your car into a dumpster when you were teaching me how to drive became immortal. Trying to fix the ceiling fan in my room only to short out the entire house's electricity became immortal. Inventing swear words by combining three and four of them together the year our Christmas tree kept falling over became immortal. You made everything so much better; even your mistakes made for good stories. You were the best dad I could ever hope to have, and one of the best friends I will ever know. I don't believe in any god or deity, I don't believe in heaven or hell, I don't pray, I don't believe everything happens for a reason. I believe in you. Four years  ago you became immortal, and that's how you'll stay.