tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21198673933000927972024-02-20T11:45:37.308-05:00Jason's BlogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-5673217456156716482023-03-11T20:00:00.001-05:002023-03-11T20:00:00.178-05:00"On the Importance of Half - March 14, 2023" by Aaron Beaird - guest blogger and Jason's son<p><br /></p><p></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnvKDFCic6gj6xcqXvEZrnEBaWI458ZZVLe0iwwaqJXIyy1v8wXNPycoBVbuv82JF5bfbTU3RCn-CGjjJQSdYW2L2CDJ05K4D2sofa5IVz_EJI58enEr6dTHumv9H73U0ua26FzFcBpCZcTXylezH2BvNQOU4sc1ky4XPjAlkdzyZtD9OFXUuH-dX/s1200/Spain%20Pool.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnvKDFCic6gj6xcqXvEZrnEBaWI458ZZVLe0iwwaqJXIyy1v8wXNPycoBVbuv82JF5bfbTU3RCn-CGjjJQSdYW2L2CDJ05K4D2sofa5IVz_EJI58enEr6dTHumv9H73U0ua26FzFcBpCZcTXylezH2BvNQOU4sc1ky4XPjAlkdzyZtD9OFXUuH-dX/w320-h213/Spain%20Pool.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason and Aaron enjoying some pool<br />time in Spain in 2004.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The word “half” according to the
Oxford Dictionary is “either of two equal or corresponding parts into which
something is or can be divided.” Half, or more importantly a value just above
half, dominates a wide variety of topics: either legislative body in the
Capitol needs more than half to win a vote, an MLS team needs to be better than
just over half of their division to make the playoffs, and more than half of
Florida drivers will lose their sanity driving on I-4 every day.</span></p><p></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Every point after the value of half
will always be greater than every point before half. It is very easily to see
this play out mathematically, as 1/4 and 1/3 will always be smaller than 2/3
and 3/4. In everyday life, the line is not as clear. For example, how does the
one vote putting Congress over the edge negate the opinions of every other
losing vote? Most people would also be interested in what day they die so they
could live life to the fullest. But how do they know when they’re over that
critical half?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">I apologize for that philosophical
introduction, but I hope it started turning the gears. Plus, after getting
accepted into PhD school recently, I am just trying to get used to asking
useless questions that most people don’t care about. This post is not about all
of life’s events, but rather one specific life event and its impact on me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Ever since I can remember, my dad,
Jason Beaird, had cancer. As a young kid, I did not (more like could not)
understand what cancer was in its entirety. Sure, I knew that his cells were
growing wrong, but I did not know that he would not recover from this. I now
regret not knowing this information, but I’m not sure what I would’ve done with
this information either as a young kid. </span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">What I do know is that I cherished every single moment with Dad. Whether it was winning championships in flag football or baseball with him as my coach, watching sports while he seemingly knew the name of every player [read one of his blog posts to see he made them up half the time], or just hanging out with him. I spent many days in the hospital after school just so I could see him during treatment. All I can remember from my days with him are good times.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cB8kzI4Q9Sx9Rlerbu9L2SJ0zhItpg8Mk-83Xz56NRXn9vecN4vhRUsvA8vXR78hbBFanP-atrtr5-ZG3_giAdYeXv2atfrA3pMlmOVaPxmvYlcS8G4m_soAM4RVvGSGaJdwfiJppmLr-JZbZig90N5ppSH_LC3aCO5tF61fXv45uIrxCVfnuGJA/s2643/March%2019%20upload%20073.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1983" data-original-width="2643" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cB8kzI4Q9Sx9Rlerbu9L2SJ0zhItpg8Mk-83Xz56NRXn9vecN4vhRUsvA8vXR78hbBFanP-atrtr5-ZG3_giAdYeXv2atfrA3pMlmOVaPxmvYlcS8G4m_soAM4RVvGSGaJdwfiJppmLr-JZbZig90N5ppSH_LC3aCO5tF61fXv45uIrxCVfnuGJA/w320-h240/March%2019%20upload%20073.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason and Aaron camping<br />in Jacksonville in March 2011.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Little did I know that my life as I
knew it would be shattered on March 14, 2013. The following weeks feel like a
blur, but I felt emotions to a level I had never felt before: anger, sadness,
guilt, and others. I was not exactly equipped to deal with these emotions, but
I tried to make do. I was not aware that this would come back to bite me. I
missed him so much during those first years and I could not stop thinking about
him. Even during sleep, I would have dreams that he would come back out of the
woods during a camping trip with Boy Scouts. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Would these feelings ever end?
Would I be able to move on with my life? Would I ever fill the hole that this
event left in me? The answer to all these questions would be simple; no, but I
adapt. Not a day goes by where I am not thinking about him. Lots of things in
my life could have been different if he was here - some for the better and some
for the worse. However, I would exhaust myself if I focused on these
differences while making every decision.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The present year is 2023, and I am
now 20. I was 10 years old when Dad died, and it has been now 10 years since
his passing. This now means that on March 14, 2023, I will have lived half of
my life with him and half without him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">There have been a million things I
have done since he has left this life, such as getting married, graduating high
school, and going to college. The emptiness in my heart is made more prevalent
during these huge life milestones, as I wish more than anything that he could
have witnessed these events in person. Some of you even got to see me bawl my
eyes out during the mother-son dance at my wedding to the song “Chasing Cars”
because I associate it so closely with him. However, despite his absence, he
has never left me. Just like any other person, I try to take the good values my
parents instilled in me and live them out. I remember all the teachings,
lessons, stern talking-to’s, and good times we shared, and I follow them. It
has served me well thus far. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="text-indent: 0px;">That is the beauty found after a tragic event- you learn more about yourself and you become a better person onwards. It allows you to reflect more deeply on your experiences and apply yourself to another level. It hurts so much but you become stronger while remembering to never forget. On this crucial half-way point in my life, I can’t help but to thank Dad for what he taught me and imagine his smiling face on me and my endeavors. We love you and miss you here.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ujociOXsz-jVR8lDv55lmHx5vJ5xRBOSruhg7InJBKHNPT_r1ZsJf3VVglfm9orsVMQkRNOg5Y1fJ1fxVDMutPbmlSAZnMz6p2KlqF9O6CEA6psliKwkadVupani4HRDxc73uDs8bLgAo2dhUtiNB0Wc5iLPH16HEHbLWP3JdqJb-EMt0Mdfv7Um/s958/09%20bday.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="958" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ujociOXsz-jVR8lDv55lmHx5vJ5xRBOSruhg7InJBKHNPT_r1ZsJf3VVglfm9orsVMQkRNOg5Y1fJ1fxVDMutPbmlSAZnMz6p2KlqF9O6CEA6psliKwkadVupani4HRDxc73uDs8bLgAo2dhUtiNB0Wc5iLPH16HEHbLWP3JdqJb-EMt0Mdfv7Um/s320/09%20bday.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason and Aaron at Aaron's 4th birthday<br />- his Fire Truck Birthday.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><span style="text-indent: 0px;"><br /></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-61800687542108168482016-05-28T19:46:00.000-04:002016-05-28T19:46:02.440-04:00"Happy Birthday #9" by guest blogger, friend & JBMF Board member, Rob Thomson<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizEETBF2FrDqwptAPYvk-cKSlw9hasP70nKS9_qDtjx08bb42-6CBg2uhobmfLmyUiKR0xAv6VL8nqQKfylAwTXNjoowFVCEPVEpF2w6O33Kv2rRCQDxTFq8sbSAY2mWOWrnGfgHJnMWc/s1600/Andersen+Mission+Inn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizEETBF2FrDqwptAPYvk-cKSlw9hasP70nKS9_qDtjx08bb42-6CBg2uhobmfLmyUiKR0xAv6VL8nqQKfylAwTXNjoowFVCEPVEpF2w6O33Kv2rRCQDxTFq8sbSAY2mWOWrnGfgHJnMWc/s320/Andersen+Mission+Inn.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason, Rob and Jennifer at Andersen <br />
Mission Inn Resort party circa 1996</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-i0ltKRMe7Fn05OlJ1ghPsjpaNXXN79nmgRL3b8tujrxbRchpQ7wjucWxMa-lhxijvVQUMjEBRAVUL218BKAu52R7eZblIJQmVF83fZspByj6_wUqjL133uSk8jmORplG6Mt3wViRXFU/s1600/CBS+Tennessee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-i0ltKRMe7Fn05OlJ1ghPsjpaNXXN79nmgRL3b8tujrxbRchpQ7wjucWxMa-lhxijvVQUMjEBRAVUL218BKAu52R7eZblIJQmVF83fZspByj6_wUqjL133uSk8jmORplG6Mt3wViRXFU/s320/CBS+Tennessee.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob and Jason on road trip to Tennessee<br />
to watch Gators beat Peyton Manning AGAIN!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "garamond";"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Happy Birthday, Jason!<br /><o:p></o:p></strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "garamond";">I can’t help but be reminded of Jason often especially in
the spring – from Shamrocks and Shenanigans to Little League season at Delaney
Park to my first Obscure Bar Tour …<br /><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "garamond";">As we “celebrated” in March, knowing Jason has been gone 3 years,
it is fulfilling to look back over those 3 years and know that his legacy is
continuing to live on, thanks to many of you, but especially thanks to
Jennifer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those of us who help at
various times in the planning of golf tournaments, parties, memorials, IRS
paperwork, etc. are continuously amazed at the strength and dedication that she
has shown, and also by the support team that has assembled around her.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "garamond";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "garamond";">There’s so much good news to share – the Jason Beaird
Memorial Foundation was recently approved as an official tax exempt charity by
the IRS, a website is on the way, parameters for a scholarship are being
finalized, and efforts are being focused to continue to grow the mission of the
Foundation through hospital or patient outreach.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond";">Over time, certain memories of my interactions with Jason
pop up when I least expect it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve
grown to just accept it as Jason letting me know he’s still around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does this happen to any of you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not talking about the obvious ones, like
the signs hanging at Delaney Park, or running out to the flagpole to pat his
bronzed face before a game for good luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For example, on a recent bus trip to a Rays game, a huge Gator fan was
flipping through her phone pictures and she ran across some pictures of the
Final Four games in Atlanta and started talking about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I remember from that night, more than it
being a precursor to my first Masters visit, was running into Jason on the
streets of Atlanta on the way into the game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Somewhere I have a physical picture of the encounter, but for now the
mental picture is seared into my head, and that’s all I need.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ewe2ZOF66NFzcuh6zxB7Nhk3ntIZRof4Nc6GmTPAT4F5il2uIx7y-KVXY6vVzdnv1XoF4jSnI9LJK5g9YmjR9L0WSBAgNlZ5tYn9UZ9OehDB316ueTk0vVOzlAilEsg535BZnIyvDcE/s1600/Rob+T+Beaird+Jersey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ewe2ZOF66NFzcuh6zxB7Nhk3ntIZRof4Nc6GmTPAT4F5il2uIx7y-KVXY6vVzdnv1XoF4jSnI9LJK5g9YmjR9L0WSBAgNlZ5tYn9UZ9OehDB316ueTk0vVOzlAilEsg535BZnIyvDcE/s200/Rob+T+Beaird+Jersey.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lester Beaird from Sarasota</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHxSqBSOKHf-Z9UssrKApDpd8Q9yyclVu7sKTRjSVPoGVb280R6c_qH9cA_cOTr7r85Hou1WHs6bj4vcuLSGyxhlaPg3pSSKfhigHEjJ8SGXi_7PozDNA7n94SpjRwmo-mPvwG0YS8W0/s1600/Rob+T+Pitching+recent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHxSqBSOKHf-Z9UssrKApDpd8Q9yyclVu7sKTRjSVPoGVb280R6c_qH9cA_cOTr7r85Hou1WHs6bj4vcuLSGyxhlaPg3pSSKfhigHEjJ8SGXi_7PozDNA7n94SpjRwmo-mPvwG0YS8W0/s200/Rob+T+Pitching+recent.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob T on the mound</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond";">Another reminder comes when I put on a baseball uniform and
try not to injure myself each spring when I participate in a Fantasy Camp or weekend
tournament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think many of you know I
met my wife while playing on the same adult baseball team as Jason and Ted, as
one of the players on our team recruited her to come watch a game and she
placed her eyes on the pitcher and the rest was history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll continue playing baseball as long as I
am physically able to, as there’s no better way to take my mind and body to a
place where I can focus (or daydream) about the present, past, or future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know Jason would kid me if he was around to
see pictures of the much older and much heavier guy on the mound in the Mets
uniform (and probably make some Bartolo Colon jokes).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a way, he’s been there with me the last
two springs in Tampa, as I have turned the corner in the clubhouse and seen a
Pirates jersey with the name Beaird on it hanging in a locker, even spelled the
right way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turns out that Lester
Beaird is from Sarasota and is not related to Jason, but talk about getting
stopped in your tracks and being thankful for being able to put on a jersey and
play baseball for a couple of days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People
ask me why I continue to do it, and because I still can seems to me to be
reason enough, doesn’t it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With all of
the crazy athletic stuff Jason was willing to do during his recovery periods, I
know if he was still around, I would definitely have gotten him back out on the
field with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe not at the Yankees
complex, though …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "garamond";">I encourage you to keep the memory of Jason alive in any way
you can as we celebrate his birthday this May.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Things will be quiet for a few months until our next formal gathering in
his memory, but I know he’ll be present in your lives in some way this
summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look for it, chuckle to yourself
when it happens, and try to make a commitment to tell someone a story about him
and the efforts that we are all making around keeping his memory alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve only just begun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><strong>Happy Birthday, #9.</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<img height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicHxSqBSOKHf-Z9UssrKApDpd8Q9yyclVu7sKTRjSVPoGVb280R6c_qH9cA_cOTr7r85Hou1WHs6bj4vcuLSGyxhlaPg3pSSKfhigHEjJ8SGXi_7PozDNA7n94SpjRwmo-mPvwG0YS8W0/s200/Rob+T+Pitching+recent.jpg" style="left: 537px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 1091px;" width="96" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-83629860524429357062016-05-13T09:14:00.000-04:002016-05-13T09:17:32.919-04:00<br />
<span style="color: #333399;">"In Honor of Friday the 13th…" posted by Jennifer Beaird</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjep1Z3XdeWVTQK-gHQWI-iOsbiAMAP9wWvJyWUzy-6rosSBPd9gqylB3QvybbEc0OjJC-Hb6mVbvoWFiuxdXHKgfKix0o8hdfkTW5qdXVy3RpC8vTmrkTP8N0vbCtrjYomhwXpA385-Og/s1600/067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjep1Z3XdeWVTQK-gHQWI-iOsbiAMAP9wWvJyWUzy-6rosSBPd9gqylB3QvybbEc0OjJC-Hb6mVbvoWFiuxdXHKgfKix0o8hdfkTW5qdXVy3RpC8vTmrkTP8N0vbCtrjYomhwXpA385-Og/s200/067.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason as "Jason"!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<strong>In honor of Friday the 13th today, I'm reposting one of Jason's previous blogs. As you may recall, 5 years ago today - 5/13/11 was Jason's "New Birthday" - the day which he received his actual Stem Cell Transplant. Jason wrote the blog below just prior to that date...</strong> <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4si9az0H8qlHgNvwl-QVprUcP986VMh81niptqN8kzgEkHo3pkYaiU-2J3EWngj3rY0q7h3IYbBIThMc9zSl72c1aV0yVChB6blzoiD-PKr_CBwsMuh7eIp_2-rtgnPYlpaR1n1xET8s/s1600/073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4si9az0H8qlHgNvwl-QVprUcP986VMh81niptqN8kzgEkHo3pkYaiU-2J3EWngj3rY0q7h3IYbBIThMc9zSl72c1aV0yVChB6blzoiD-PKr_CBwsMuh7eIp_2-rtgnPYlpaR1n1xET8s/s200/073.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason receiving his stem cells.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<em>"I've caught some grief over my life because I share a name with </em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Voorhees"><em>Jason</em></a><em>, the hockey-mask wearing killer of hormone-fueled teenagers. The Friday the 13th movies were a highlight of my Cinemax-fueled young adulthood. If you look at my treatment calendar at the right of the blog page, you'll see that my once-faint connection to this coed cadaver-maker is about to grow stronger. In transplant talk, "Day 0" is the day that stem cells are inserted to begin the process of re-generating the immune system that has been wiped out by high-dose chemotherapy. Day 0 is often called a patient's new birthday. That means my new birthday is Friday May 13th. I am now Jason, "born" on Friday the 13th. I'll be adding a machete to my pool equipment in case I need to hack to bloody pieces any frolicking teenagers who have sneaked into my pool to skinny dip." Jason Beaird 5/1/11</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-83447380731271733992015-12-10T10:37:00.000-05:002015-12-10T10:37:58.184-05:00"Now That’s A Set List"…by guest blogger, Joe Bramuchi<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><u><strong>A guest post from friend, former coworker, Downtown Orlando neighbor and drummer for Under Arrested band, Joe Bramuchi...</strong></u></span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></u></strong><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Rp30Wmopm9aszqoq4TTHSHOXCBgy233x6BSWaaTugG8ZcJ-MKwm2KxrzRpia_b2Ob_UVZ6GNSFlqZJLgUdvvf7_hpssjST6tNq8lVh0y9d_Mkeynxt3kj-mJKI4mUpOd1JW3nlUy1h4/s1600/Bramuchi+Drummer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Rp30Wmopm9aszqoq4TTHSHOXCBgy233x6BSWaaTugG8ZcJ-MKwm2KxrzRpia_b2Ob_UVZ6GNSFlqZJLgUdvvf7_hpssjST6tNq8lVh0y9d_Mkeynxt3kj-mJKI4mUpOd1JW3nlUy1h4/s320/Bramuchi+Drummer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<strong><u><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I first met Jason around 2002/2003 and grew to know him only
gradually early on. I was working at Marriott Vacations Club International in the
Capital Markets group which tended to be a bit sequestered from the broader
business and I continued to hear about Jason as a sharp, witty and young VP that
easily managed through business matters based on his smarts and his ability to relate
to people in an endearing manner. Inevitably, our paths would cross on certain projects
and I came to appreciate Jason for all of the above and also for his up-tempo
outlook on most everything. This was less about his attitude toward work and
more about his attitude on life - it’s short so have some fun diligently
managing your affairs and don’t take the lumps too seriously. I came to realize
quickly that Jason tactfully infused humor into most any and every situation.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">So h</span>ere and there Jason and I would cross paths on certain business
points. At one point I visited Ireland while Jason and Jennifer were living there
and I had some time to sit with him over a most bland Irish lunch. That evening
would be better over Irish beer and Jason and I quickly discovered our common
interests and appreciations:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we lived in
the same Downtown Orlando neighborhood, we bled Orange & Blue and both of
us came with financial backgrounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
enjoyed quick wit that evening while he effortlessly dispensed it. Perhaps the
real point of trust came when I told Jason I needed to find diamonds for my 10
year wedding anniversary and Jason referred me to a family friend, Rick, who came
from a family of jewelers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rick owned a
construction company, yet continued to dabble in jewelry on the side. In the
end I purchased diamonds from this character out of his house and Rick and I eventually
became good friends and fellow baseball coaches. <strong>Point being, I was confident
that if you came referred by Jason, you’re the gold standard even if you’re
selling me diamonds from your garage!</strong> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Back in Orlando I was coming to know Jason’s brother, Jim,
through different folks and saw Jim finish in the Final Two in my Bramuchi
Poker Tournament. Soon we’d all be spending time at Gator gatherings and
neighborhood events. I still have the vivid memory of a Bama beat down of my Gators
at Jim’s house. The game was so painful for the Orange & Blue Gator Nation but
Jim found some relief for everybody by pausing and replaying in slow-mo the
play of Bama’s Tyrone Prothro’s excruciating ankle break during the game. The
slow-mo ankle dangle was projected to a nauseated gathering (including Jason)
in the living room over and over. I wish no harm to anybody but that was a
damned good time and it lessened the anguish from the beat down we endured. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjlC67TT7GG9a57yHAnArUu8XsD4M4Cs_OznkMuEyl9fbWFtWCtIFI09fsfHWRinySOGSleAqH9uwY_O3bqpTTDhpSNOwKR52pqIjZsbTYb45roGyHFpMVmgIYh93XzSqHE3FTPe0njA/s1600/Bramuchi+Red+Sox+Rookie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEjlC67TT7GG9a57yHAnArUu8XsD4M4Cs_OznkMuEyl9fbWFtWCtIFI09fsfHWRinySOGSleAqH9uwY_O3bqpTTDhpSNOwKR52pqIjZsbTYb45roGyHFpMVmgIYh93XzSqHE3FTPe0njA/s320/Bramuchi+Red+Sox+Rookie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DPLL Red Sox Rookies 2010<br />
Connor and Colin in middle - perhaps<br />
"inspired" by the movie Warrior's "Yankees"<br />
(see photo below)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sometime after, a mutual friend, Mat Tyndall, and Jason
teamed up for Delaney Park Little League - coaching for a baseball team that in
our minds became the infamous “2010 Delaney Park Rookie Red Sox.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jason and Tyndall saw a young Charlie
Bramuchi on the draft list and knew he was a coveted pick- not necessarily for
his prowess on the diamond - but perhaps because he would come with an extra
coach!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our time with the kids on the
diamond was something special. Coach Beaird and Coach Tyndall loved to dish out
endearing caricatures of the kids that <strong>still bring tears to my eyes. </strong></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ07FTgI704hR-k7zLSMpRLujOgl2Lhtwe3Im8PCqvRyE5VApLVsSmz_x_WBrM6_9AqHnI6aZxojj0_WyWYTFfsXE8hxnqrPRg6bSKgjH-13FyZ6-wuAKe_QoBjeTocbm8vlSB_XWIN3Q/s1600/Bramuchi+Warrior+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ07FTgI704hR-k7zLSMpRLujOgl2Lhtwe3Im8PCqvRyE5VApLVsSmz_x_WBrM6_9AqHnI6aZxojj0_WyWYTFfsXE8hxnqrPRg6bSKgjH-13FyZ6-wuAKe_QoBjeTocbm8vlSB_XWIN3Q/s320/Bramuchi+Warrior+Photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I was always so entertained with Jason and Tyndall, their
constant lampooning of fellow friends and neighborhood characters, their quick
prognostications of kids in later life, and, of course, their outlook on Gator
football was always something I enjoyed. I couldn’t match their wits but I
could fuel their flames and listen to them cut loose with repartee. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Downtown Orlando living is like living in a bubble and over
the years house parties ensued while we and the kids grew together. Jason,
Tyndall, Dave Morrissey (a UM Meatchicken fan) and I would be sure to make time
every 6-8 weeks to get out for a “Coaches’ Night” to scout out new drinking/eating
holes. One Coaches’ Night we were wrapping up at Tilted Kilt out near UCF when
a steady stream of 20-something-year-olds (obviously UCF students) began
trickling in. We decided to postpone our departure and ended up sitting through
several hours of party bingo and thinking- "damn we’re old—who’s got next
pitcher?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNiUf0ebDACbxno9OK8E2O_n874SmJNsc1A1bGAcQLowIppwBZBAegH-aqEvOGj77TdBVB5X7az8SrXPN01zHJngLt-zg5Xmqb8G_F4EnGuOoa4sI80XEU0EnLZZ2LkUTtVRAPgy52KQ/s1600/Bramuchi+Gator+Jason.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQNiUf0ebDACbxno9OK8E2O_n874SmJNsc1A1bGAcQLowIppwBZBAegH-aqEvOGj77TdBVB5X7az8SrXPN01zHJngLt-zg5Xmqb8G_F4EnGuOoa4sI80XEU0EnLZZ2LkUTtVRAPgy52KQ/s320/Bramuchi+Gator+Jason.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">During our first Coaches’ Night immediately after Jason
passed, we ordered a drink and set it up “On the Bar for “JB”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our Coaches’ Night tradition has continued
and with it, we added another JB to the Coaches’ Night – Jamie Barati; fitting
given how close Jamie and Jason were. (Barati is another Delaney Park coach.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <strong> </strong></span>It’s special to us Coaches to know the “One
on the Bar” concept continues and we’re looking forward to the next “One on the
Bar” event on January 9.<strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am especially
proud of the January 9 event as I have a personal connection to this one…I’m a
member of the performing band, <i>Under Arrested</i>!</strong></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCGTPcYND_X-wi07vxjUlMHCIUyCy9exeZ2P4FobaN8daD6URpk35k0NkeCdCR6SeYd_S6h-FU-lNqq2OuX1UrT_0FjSuK6gtXEutHrYYA3YPzZ9KSySbGvbLIBcQ2NNFFexsF2tSAjo/s1600/Bramuchi+UA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCGTPcYND_X-wi07vxjUlMHCIUyCy9exeZ2P4FobaN8daD6URpk35k0NkeCdCR6SeYd_S6h-FU-lNqq2OuX1UrT_0FjSuK6gtXEutHrYYA3YPzZ9KSySbGvbLIBcQ2NNFFexsF2tSAjo/s320/Bramuchi+UA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Story of Under Arrested</i></b>…Sometime around 2008 I took up drums and cajoled some neighborhood buddies to burn off some steam in the garage “studio” (which allowed me to learn playing drums on the job). Several of us had performed little and some of us never played before, but we all enjoyed music so much that we took up sessions and began playing school benefits as Under Arrested (UA). During our first year we signed up to playing in front of 150+ crowds throwing caution to the wind. Somehow, we found the crowds were willing to look past our lack of tightness and perhaps liked the fact that we played songs that many wouldn’t expect; songs ranging from the 70’s to today. Over the years we’ve played at places like The Stardust, The Firestone, The Abbey, Will’s Pub and countless backyards, all in support of various benefits. Like any soul searching band we’ve worked through several bassists and band members, entered rehab, reentered society, reentered rehab, etc., etc., but true to this day we continue to play for the fun of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This serves us well as we wouldn’t expect anybody to pay for what we dish out. The band is made up of Dads in the Downtown Orlando community and known by many in the Jason Nation. The UA band members are Jack Walsh, Michael Herndon, Dr. Travis Van Dyke, Dave Canella and me- Joe B.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><strong><em>And now back to Jason</em></strong></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">…We all know that Jason appreciated all of what life had to offer and that certainly includes music. Jason could spatter off songs and artists as easily as he could quote and identify movies, sports facts, pop culture, historical facts and most any topical tidbit imaginable. Jason was always a great sounding board to us - offering up retro and fringe tunes for us to consider. <b>On January 9 at Johnny's Other Side, UA is honored to carry on the tradition of “One on the Bar” for our friend Jason, Jennifer and all of the Jason Nation.</b> Knowing Jason’s taste for music, I know he will be looking down, tilting a pint back and saying, <b>“<i><span style="background: yellow;">damn JB you guys haven’t improved much but that’s a hell of a set list</span></i><span style="background: yellow;">.”</span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-73907801807275192122015-05-28T00:01:00.000-04:002015-05-28T00:01:00.643-04:00"Here's to you Jason"... by guest blogger, Kelly Olinger<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u><strong>A guest post from friend, former coworker and former fellow triathlete, Kelly Olinger...</strong></u></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkPcJFzMSOjM5xP8aKeL_fUBVVW_yXIMkeLaty101npqt32ba5KQfcIB-UBMUrYxBjcvmdvG60K0-cUvL5h3qpOPqsvOMUhGB8m65byR3Ra6h73gxxnVzQ4rRimUkOhGxQrkV-dk0hls/s1600/Triathlon+Olinger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkPcJFzMSOjM5xP8aKeL_fUBVVW_yXIMkeLaty101npqt32ba5KQfcIB-UBMUrYxBjcvmdvG60K0-cUvL5h3qpOPqsvOMUhGB8m65byR3Ra6h73gxxnVzQ4rRimUkOhGxQrkV-dk0hls/s400/Triathlon+Olinger.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean Stanton, Kelly Olinger and Jason at the St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Pete</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hello Everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m Kelly Olinger, your guest blogger for Jason’s
birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may know me better as “<em><strong>That
guy who wears a kilt to the events</strong></em>”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
is an honor to be blogging to all of you on such a momentous occasion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have never blogged before (as you can
probably tell) and even this has required Jennifer’s intervention on my behalf
to get it posted.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jason and I met while working together at Marriott Vacation
Club in the mid-90’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you all know
from your own experience, it was very easy to get to know Jason and become fast
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we met at work, our
friendship soon extended outside the office to our joint effort to become
triathletes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course the tricky part was
that neither of us had <strong>ANY</strong> experience with proper swimming or cycling techniques.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of all the triathlon guides I read, <strong>NOT A
SINGLE ONE</strong> recommended the dog paddle as an effective technique to
compete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As such we were both thrown
into the deep end of the pool and taught ourselves how to swim properly, or at
least close enough to it that we could survive a quarter mile in the open
water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With time, the quarter mile grew
to a half mile, then a mile, and eventually for Jason - over two miles in his
Ironman competition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with all aspects
of his life, Jason pushed himself to be the best that he could be – as a Triathlete,
Father, Husband, Coworker, or Friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Morning swims were made more memorable with our
not-so-healthy post swim breakfast at Bob Evans where we discussed work, life,
and everything under the sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also
had great weekend rides through the hills of Clermont with John Rader, Sean
Stanton, Scott Benke and Paul Lopes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
we parted ways on the work front for a few years, it was great to work with
Jason again at Hilton Grand Vacations starting in late 2011.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At Hilton, as at Marriott, he was respected by
everyone he came into contact with for his intelligence, wit, friendship, and
courage to say what needed to be said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He continues to be missed by everyone at HGV and amongst all his friends
and family as you well know.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So from all of that, I now have had the chance to work with
Tony Terry and Jennifer to pull together one of Jason’s lifelong dreams – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Obscure Bar Tour</i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t think
of a better way to honor his memory or his Birthday than this!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the often-talked about pub crawl that
none of us ever quite had the time to organize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I remember going to an Orlando Magic game with Jason and passing “Hoops”
on Amelia Avenue and talking about the concept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m sure quite a few of you were given the vision as well, and on
this Saturday - May 30<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> - it will be brought to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know Jason will be looking down on it all
with a smile on his face, watching a dream of the past brought to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So whether you’re with us on the bus, or
sitting at home in your living room, be sure to raise a glass in honor of our
friend Jason on the evening of May 30th – I know I will!</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s to you Jason, and Happy Birthday!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kelly<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<h2>
</h2>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-36298309218470141752014-11-27T22:04:00.000-05:002014-11-27T22:04:39.225-05:00<span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">"Giving Thanks"...by Guest Blogger, Ted Rich</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><u>A guest post from friend, Ted Rich...</u></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is hard to believe, but another Thanksgiving holiday is
upon us. This is probably my favorite holiday of the year for many reasons,
including that it is celebrated by almost everyone in our country and doesn’t
involve the stress of gifts or forcing the kids into outfits they only wear
once a year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Most importantly this holiday is special because at its core</strong>
<strong>it is simply about taking a break from our hectic lives to gather with family and
friends, share a meal, and be thankful</strong>. And for those reading this who live in
America, have at least decent health, and have a few close relationships, that
puts you ahead of 99% of the rest of the world, and those things alone are
enough to celebrate on Thanksgiving. It seems like gratitude is becoming a lost
value in our society, but at least we still focus on it one day a year. It is
so important to our well-being that we should probably have a Thanksgiving Day
once a month, or even once a week!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We have so much to be grateful for in our household, but
this year the overwhelming feelings are that I am thankful just to be alive,
and I am thankful that I was blessed to know Jason Beaird for over 25 years. Jason
taught us so many things both with his words and with how he lived his life,
and so many of those lessons are encompassed in the spirit of Thanksgiving Day.
If he could speak to us this Thanksgiving, he would probably suggest to us a
few key areas for us to keep in mind when pondering gratitude during the
holiday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jason would tell us how incredibly short our time is here on
Earth, and to be thankful for each and every day that we have. He would tell us
to treat each day as a gift and to dream, build, explore and take on new
challenges and risks. He would tell us to be grateful that we live in a country
that allows us the freedom and opportunity to pursue life on our own terms, and
to never give up in those pursuits.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jason would remind us to be thankful to live in a place
where you can practice your faith and values of choice. He was a man of faith
and would tell us that Heaven is for real, but also that whatever your beliefs
are, be true to them knowing that none of us is guaranteed to be here tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Most importantly, Jason would tell us to be grateful for the
close relationships in our lives, and to love and cherish them each and every
day. He was so intentional about making sure those he cared about knew it, and
that is something each of us should be practicing not just on Thanksgiving, but
every day.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Notice that none of the above concepts reference material
possessions, fame, fortune or any of the typical drivers of ‘success and
happiness’ promoted by today’s society. No, Jason would tell us with great
certainty now that those things do not matter, and that it is the simple and
important things in our lives on which we should focus during the Thanksgiving
holiday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This Thanksgiving, take some extra time to think about the
life of Jason Beaird and the lessons he taught us both during his life and with
his passing. Talk with your friends and family about the simple but powerful
ideals that Jason held dear and how those should be the focus of Thanksgiving
instead of the three F’s (food, football and Friday) that our society hold up
high.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In our house, we will be giving thanks for having known
Jason and having learned so much from him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy Thanksgiving to all! Ted Rich</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">PS. If you have never read the original Thanksgiving Proclamation from President George Washington, which created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States, it is included below:</span><br />
<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Thanksgiving Proclamation <o:p></o:p></u></span></i></b><br />
<u></u><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><strong><u>Issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congress, on October 3, 1789</u></strong></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></i></span><br />
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></i></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:” <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favor, able interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. <o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Given under my hand at the City of New Yo</i>rk the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Go. Washington<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>(Photo below is of Jason and Ted in 1997 just after we (Jason and I) purchased our house. Ted helped us paint, remove baseboards, replace the kitchen, etc. prior to us moving into the house. We had many dinners together on these folding chairs on the "to be replaced with hardwood" cork floors in our now kid hangout room.)</strong></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-15312634037074750912014-10-27T10:25:00.003-04:002014-10-28T22:33:02.086-04:00A shared sense of humor...<u><strong>A guest post from friend, Tony Terry</strong> (who also put "One on the Bar" for Jason at his annual Oktoberfest party this month - see photo below)...</u><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>"What can I say about Jason that hasn’t already been said
about Afghanistan?"<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For those of you unfamiliar with David Chapelle’s Show,
this was one of the favorite quotes that Jason and I used to share freely
between each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was stolen from
the “The Player-Haters Ball” skit where I believe it was Silky Johnson who
commented on the suit Buck Nasty (a rival “Hater”) wore to the Ball:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Buck Nasty, what can I say about that suit,
that hasn’t already been said about Afghanistan? It looks bombed out and
depleted!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, we took every
opportunity to twist the words to our own advantage and have a little fun at each
other’s expense (and at the expense of many others whether they knew it or not).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I think the first time I used the
Afghanistan quote, it was Jason who actually pointed out (in character as well)
that it was indeed a conversation between Silky Johnson and Buck Nasty at the
Player Hater’s Ball that originated the joke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His attention to obscure, yet funny facts such as that was unprecedented
and I remember thinking “how can he remember that”!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, I could write about what a great father Jason was, or
what a great husband, employee or pillar of the community he was as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And all that would be true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><em><u>But what Jason was to me (and to many of us)
was a great friend with an even greater appreciation for humor.</u></em><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><u> </u> </span>Looking back, I asked myself why he was such
a great friend, and why we seemed to hit it off from the first time we met, and
I keep landing on the same thing – we seemed to have a shared sense of
humor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed that every movie I’ve
seen, Jason had seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time each of
us threw out a movie quote appropriate to the topic of conversation, the other
would get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We always picked up on the
same lines whether in a movie or in day to day conversations as being
hilarious, and always used those to make fun of everyday occurrences in our
lives or in the news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it
seemed like we were the only ones who got it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I remember one time when we were in a meeting with a couple high level
people in the company, and while the main conversation was going on, I threw
out a little side comment to Jason that was so vague (and inappropriate, I’m
sure) that I was sure he wouldn’t get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Funny enough, Jason actually spit out his drink and had to leave the
meeting because he was laughing so hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And I’m not going to even go into some of the acronyms we came up with
for certain groups inside and outside of the Company...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But that's why all the memories of him are so positive
and why he was so impressive in his struggle with cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He always applied that sense of humor to
everything and somehow that made it all seem not as bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No topic was off limits between us - everything
was fair game and sometimes it did get brutal (but yet, still funny).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I went back through some emails, and
really couldn’t find much to share with the group that was not an inside joke
or just flat-out inappropriate for such a large audience</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I have to say that I did enjoy looking
and ended up laughing out loud at several of the volleys we had back and forth!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So even today, when I see a rerun of Chapelle’s show, if
Caddyshack or Anchorman comes on, if I get into a funny conversation at the
barbershop, if any 1980’s rap music comes on the radio, or if someone in
general says something whacky in a meeting, I really wish Jason was around to
share a laugh with about it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><em>As I
mentioned in the eulogy at his funeral, the world is just not quite as funny
without Jason in it.</em> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-29077904923938010192014-09-11T13:21:00.000-04:002014-09-11T13:22:04.933-04:00"That Guy Made Me Laugh"...by Guest Blogger, Mat Tyndall<u>A guest post from friend, Mat Tyndall...</u><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I got to know Jason well a few years ago when I coached
Aaron on several football and basketball teams. We also had the pleasure of
coaching together, along with Joe Bramuchi,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>the legendary 2010 Delaney Park Little League Rookie Red Sox team –
leading them in an undefeated campaign that year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeing as how we both were Gators and had
been at UF in roughly the same date range (I was leaving when he was arriving)
and that we both enjoyed sarcastic, smart ass humor we hit it off quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Jason loved football season so we were always talking about
Gator/College Football, Gator Hoops, fatherhood and some of the absurdities of
life. More than anything though - <u><strong>that guy made me laugh!</strong></u> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We both always got a juvenile chuckle when walking into the
JCC in Maitland for a hoops game and seeing the bagel place in the lobby. (I
think of Jason every time I go there now.) We enjoyed laughing at people who
drank Mic Ultra with a straw (Bramuchi) and overzealous FSU fans (Barati).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jason got Dave Morrissey to help me coach
basketball and soon we had organized a monthly "Coaches Meeting"
(Beaird/Tyndall/Bramuchi/Morrissey) at a local watering hole to discuss our
list of talking points - all things kids, sports, college football - and basically
harass each other for various transgressions. (Related to the "Coaches Meetings" - Check out the One on the Bar pint glasses available on the <a href="http://www.jasonbeairdgolf.myevent.com/" target="_blank">Golf Website</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">There was always a reason he/I could dig at one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One time he found particular joy in bashing
me over an oversized hat I had purchased to keep my face out of the sun during
outdoor practices. His favorites happened when the team I was coaching
lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never heard the end of those. We
bombarded each other via email and text. The harassment even occurred in drive
by form as my house was on the path for his return for work. I would try to hit
him with tennis balls certain days I knew he was coming and if I didn’t he
would honk loudly and repeatedly as he drove by and/or pull in the driveway and
honk until attacked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">While writing this I searched my email for “hgvc.com”
(Jason’s email address) and read a few things that still are making me laugh.
Various emails nominating me as “coach of the year” with a sarcastic list of
why I should win:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: blue;"><em>"When
are nominations due for slacker "Coach of the Year" award?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
think Tyndall is a lock. Anyone can continually blow off practice (as he is
once again doing tonight), but Mat has taken it to another level this season by
missing multiple games. Although the Slacker Selection Committee prefers that
hunting trips or company-paid boondoggles are the reasons that coaches miss
games, Mat is still coming on strong with excuses like "Jacko's other
hoops team, that I don't even coach, had a game at the same time."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the Slacker Selection Committee will
take notice of this extraordinary lack of commitment to the kids."</em></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once, I was coaching Aaron on a hoops team in winter 2013
and we had not won a game. Our team got off to a quick 4-0 lead in the final
game only to lose and go 0-8 for the season. When I got in the car to drive
home and turned on my phone I received a text from Jason. He had taken a
picture of the scoreboard at the beginning of the game when we were winning
“4-0” and sent it to me saying “we hadn’t ever been in the lead this year so I
thought you might want to save this”! I still have this pic and it still makes me
laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">There’s a lot to write about when it comes to Jason. I don’t
need to tell anyone reading this how funny he was or what a good father or
person he was. I would be preaching to the choir. He once told me after I knew
he had an illness that it had made him take things like work less seriously and
find more time for the little things in life. He still seemed to work pretty
hard to me but he also was always available to his friends and family at a moment’s
notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's hard to believe he is
gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Out of habit I still can't help
but glance hard every time I see a Silver 4runner SUV go down my street.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-9849220432402343022014-05-27T18:01:00.001-04:002014-05-27T18:01:08.368-04:00"Happy Birthday Jason" by guest blogger, Mark Cooper<u>A guest post from friend, Mark Cooper...</u><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So every May 27<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> at 11:59:59 PM, it was possible
for Jason to wish me a happy birthday and for me to wish him the same just one
second later. We were born within a day of each other and thus often
celebrated our birthdays together. Some of you may recall we had monthly
Beer Oriented Strategic Sessions (BOSS) nights. A particularly memorable
(or maybe not so memorable) one was on our 40<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. It started at
Red Light Red Light (the original location, because we were hip) and for some
reason I don’t recall where it ended. So this year, on Tuesday the 27<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>,
I<span style="color: black;"> plan to grab </span>a stool at Red Light Red Light
and at the stroke of midnight I’ll raise a glass to my birthday buddy on our 44<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>.
If he was still around we could catch up on some good BOSS night topics and it
might go something like this: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>First, let’s get the bad news out of the way. Your
Gators didn’t do so hot in football this year; we can call it a rebuilding
year. I won’t dwell on who won the national championship. The good
news is that your Red Sox won the World Series. Miami won the NBA finals
and the Seahawks (yes) beat Denver in the Superbowl. Florida <span style="color: black;">also made it to the NCAA Final Four this year </span>but lost to
the eventual champs UConn.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>The other good news is that neither Shannon nor Jenn have
started dating. I was able to keep the suitors at bay (for now), although
Jenn did dance with a handsome young gentleman in cotillion class. I
tried my best to help Aaron tie his tie for cotillion, but who wears ties anymore.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<em>
</em><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>You’ll be happy to know (I think) that Bell’s Two Hearted Ale is
getting more popular; some places even have it on draft. I have been lax
in continuing to research great beer spots in town, I’ll try harder this
year. You’ll also be happy to know that Vampire Weekend had the top Album
of the year on Pitchfork, outplacing Kanye West, Daft Punk and critics’ darling
Arcade Fire.<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>This village of fathers did our best to fill in where we
could. Some of us drove the kids to school, some of us took them camping,
some of us coached Aaron, some of us coached Shannon. Along the way we
tried to treat them the same as all the other kids, but out of the corner of
our eyes we watched to see if sadness was creeping in.<span style="color: black;">
They’ve both been troopers and they’ve both had good years.</span></em></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em> </em></span></o:p></div>
<em>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">We
honored your memory with your family and friends at a blowout St. Paddy’s Day
party and raised some funds along the way. Our work carried on, we mowed
our lawns, we went to church, we tried out new restaurants, we blew out candles
and sang new songs in the car on the way to school. In some ways losing
you made us appreciate it all more, but we missed you along the way.
Sometimes it was a grey feeling in the background, but sometimes it was
sharper, because we forgot that you were only with us in spirit, and we thought
of something we wanted to tell you.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">So tonight, I raise a glass to you...</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-21841598574990923422014-04-01T16:20:00.001-04:002014-04-01T16:20:50.155-04:00"One Year Ago" by guest blogger, Jamie Barati<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>A guest post from friend, Jamie Barati....</u></strong></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">525,600. That is the number of minutes in
a year (o.k., I admit, I'm a fan of the Broadway show RENT, where that
comes from). But think about that - 525,600 minutes. That is
a lot of time in what is one turn of the calendar. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whether you think about it as a year ago, or 12-months
ago, or 365-days ago, or 525,600 minutes ago.....we gauge a lot of things by
that turn of the calendar. For some things, a year seems so long
ago. For other things, we remember what happened a year ago as if it
happened yesterday. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">March 14 sure did get here fast, and this is a day
that will stay with me and ring in my head for the rest of my life. That
is the day - that day that is now one year in the past - that I lost my friend
Jason Beaird. I can remember where I was - what I was doing -
who called me with the devastating news - the pain in my heart that I felt -
the tears and emotion that came pouring out of me. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While I still get a bit emotional thinking about that
day even now.....time has allowed a bit of healing to occur. I can still
hear Jason whenever I hear the phrase, "Come on man!" I am
sorry that I could not give Jason grief about the FSU National Championship
Football Season, as that would have been fun. I still get a huge
smile on my face when I look at photos with Jason and our Delaney Park Little
League teams that we coached TOGETHER......we had a pretty good little team
that Spring of 2012 was so much fun to coach with Jason. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Healing is important. We won't ever forget
Jason, but I believe that Jason would have wanted us to continue living our
lives and live them to the fullest. I believe that he would want us to
still celebrate all those little achievements and big achievements....and to learn
from those areas where maybe we didn't do so well. But in any
event...keep moving forward. We won’t forget about Jason or his love of
life and his fighting spirit. Those are things that will allow us to keep
moving forward. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-11584839289348085672013-04-06T16:44:00.001-04:002013-04-06T16:44:15.809-04:00"I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7<div class="MsoPlainText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I’m sure you all know by now, our quick-witted blogger and my husband, Jason Beaird, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>passed away on March 14, 2013.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His cancer had been worsening as of late, but his passing was quick and unexpected. He fought hard to the very end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are all heartbroken, but know that he is now in a better place. His passing was peaceful, surrounded by those he loved most.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A loving tribute was held on March 19 at Degusipe Funeral Home, followed by a beautiful Funeral Mass on March 20 at St. James Catholic Cathedral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jason touched many lives in the too-short time he was with us and both services were overflowing with attendees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We thank all of those who were able to attend and those who sent blessings from afar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the request of many of Jason's friends, we have set up a Memorial Fund to support many of the passions that Jason held near and dear to his heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The website for this Memorial Fund is:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.youcaring.com/other/jason-beaird-memorial-fund/50059"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">http://www.youcaring.com/other/jason-beaird-memorial-fund/50059</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> and we have collected over $3,000 to date. Thank you so much for your generosity. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Please know how much all of your prayers, support, and love mean to us. We feel blessed to have so many wonderful people supporting us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Please remember to spend time with your family and count your blessings daily. </span>Love – Jennifer, Aaron and Shannon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The following was obituary was posted on the Degusipe Funeral Home website at </span><a href="http://www.degusipefuneralhome.com/obituaries/Jason-Beaird/#/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.degusipefuneralhome.com/obituaries/Jason-Beaird/#/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> : <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #3c2727; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Jason Daniel Beaird, age 42 of Orlando, Florida, passed away after a courageous fight against cancer on Thursday, March 14, 2013, in Orlando, Florida. Jason was born on May 28, 1970, in Lakewood, New Jersey.<br /><br />Jason is survived by his wife, Jennifer; two children, Aaron, 10, and Shannon, 7; mother and stepfather, Jeanne and Rich Terio of New Port Richey; father and stepmother, Jim R. Beaird and Kathy Vawter-Beaird of Palm Harbor; paternal grandmother, Avril Beaird of Palm Harbor; brothers, Jim P. Beaird of Orlando, Rick W. Terio of Bushnell, Matthew Vawter of Denver, Colorado, and Andrew Vawter-Beaird of Clearwater; and sisters, Holly Saia of Lutz, and Jean Neumann of Houston, Texas. He was predeceased by his brother, Patrick Vawter-Beaird of Palm Harbor. Jason is also survived by a large, loving extended family that includes many aunts, uncles, cousins and godchildren.<br /><br />Jason grew up in Pinellas County. Upon graduation from Clearwater High School in 1988 he attended the University of Florida where he played baseball for the Gators and was selected for the All SEC Academic Team. At UF, Jason met many people who would become life-long friends, as well as his future wife, Jennifer Lynne Brown of Tampa. Jason attained his Master’s in Accounting in 1993 and, after graduation, moved to Orlando and began working for KPMG as a Certified Public Accountant. On December 9, 1995, Jason and Jennifer married at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tampa, Florida. Jason progressed in his professional career and in 1997 he began working at Marriott Vacation Club International (currently, Marriott Vacations Worldwide (MVW)) as a financial analyst. He worked at MVW for ten years, seven of which he was joined by his brother, Jim. Jason finished his career by joining Hilton Grand Vacations in 2008 as Vice President of Strategic Planning and Analysis. He enjoyed working there and was known to check emails, edit presentations, review legal documents, etc. even from his hospital bed.<br /><br />In 2002, Jason and Jennifer welcomed their first child, son Aaron Joseph, and shortly thereafter, accepted an expatriate assignment with MVW in Cork, Ireland. They spent a wonderful two years in Ireland - traveling around Europe and Asia and made many special memories with the numerous friends and families who visited them. One of Jason's fondest memories was watching the Tour de France in a small village in Provence and running into a former University of Florida Gator baseball player. It was just after returning to Orlando, in 2005, that their family was completed with the birth of their daughter, Shannon Elizabeth.<br /><br />From childhood on, Jason had always been an avid athlete and he continued to enjoy competition through the sport and social clubs in Orlando, work softball teams and even some time in an adult baseball league. In addition, he began training and competing in triathlons, the culmination of which was his completion of an Ironman Triathlon in November 1999. His passion for triathlons was lit and he continued competing in them even after diagnosed with cancer. In fact his diagnosis, this helped fuel his passion and he began competing in triathlons to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation - earning multiple fundraising awards. <br /><br />Baseball continued to be another passion of Jason's and he began coaching Aaron's baseball teams at Delaney Park Little League (DPLL). He coached at DPLL from 2008 forward - encompassing numerous Rookies and Minor League teams, winning the Minor Division Championship with the Dodgers in 2012. Jason carried his coaching expertise into St. James Cathedral School and helped coach Aaron's Catholic Youth League (CYL) football and basketball teams - winning the CYL 3rd grade basketball championship and the 4th grade football championship. Some of his most cherished friends were fellow coaches and teammate parents. <br /><br />As a part of Gator Nation, the Beaird family attended many University of Florida Gator football games - both at home games in Gainesville and on the road. Many fun memories were made during road trips to Tennessee, Kentucky, Jacksonville and, of course, New Orleans - one highlight was attending the Gators First National Championship. The Beaird family also attended Gator baseball games and Jason relived fond baseball memories with many of his teammates by participating in the Gator Baseball Alumni vs. Current Team baseball games.<br /><br />Jason has been a lifelong Catholic and a parishioner of St. James Catholic Cathedral since moving to Orlando in 1993. His family are regular attendees at the 9AM Sunday Mass and both children attend St. James Cathedral School. The family has developed many close relationships through the Cathedral and the School and have continued to receive many blessings and support from this wonderful community. </span></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-14194219629960932942013-01-19T17:53:00.001-05:002013-01-19T17:53:49.678-05:00Back in "The Joint"In private, we all do things we'd never do publicly. I won't judge, but I know some of you (OK, maybe it's just me) like to sing Depeche Mode while knocking out household chores. Passing out was something else I liked to do privately. Even though my previous passing out episodes were serious enough to have landed me in the hospital, at least I had been spared the embarrassment of anyone else seeing it happen. It had either happened at night when everyone was sleeping or during the day when I was the only one home. Like singing along to bad 80's synthesizer music, I felt better knowing that nobody else had seen me in my moment of weakness. That all changed this week. <br />
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I'm lucky enough to work with a fantastic team of smart and dedicated people who had sacrificed time with their families to put in 60+ hour weeks to finish off an urgent project. On Monday, we went to lunch at a nice restaurant to celebrate the finish of that project and to catch our breath. As we got up from our table to head back to the office, my head started to evaporate and a slow, but unavoidable, journey towards the floor began. Clearly, passing out in public was my destiny and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Luckily, my colleagues managed to grab hold of me and steer me to a chair before I hit the ground completely. As my vision regained focus, I found myself face to face with a confused and concerned restaurant manager. This guy was more than a little anxious. He was used to comping an appetizer or desert if someone's soup was too cold...he was not ready for someone who needed CPR on top of table 5. That said, I was feeling pretty clever when my first newly-coherent words were "it must have been something I ate". The manager missed the humor.<br />
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And thus, the dynamic had completely changed. Not only had I now passed out publicly...I had completely bypassed my family and passed out in front of work friends/colleagues. As I told them, I must be one hell of a leader because I just took team building to a whole new level.<br />
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So, as it turns out that we're not completely past my low blood pressure problems...my BP was 60 over 40 when I got to the doctor's office later in the afternoon. Not only do those numbers represent Lane Kiffin's IQ over the SAT score of his average player; they also represented my ticket back to Florida Hospital.<br />
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I was admitted on Monday and had some fun experiences along the way. I spent the first night in a cubicle in the Emergency Room with what seemed to be a gang member right outside the curtain that served as my doorway. He was brought in by police and paramedics. For several hours, he alternated between demanding pain meds and jumping off his gurney to try to escape...only to be dragged back by the cops and paramedics. Good times. I was then moved to a "holding pen" in the Central Transition Unit (CTU) and had the good fortune to land a neighbor with two things on his mind...watching old movies at volume 11 on a scale of 10 and demanding Percocet every 30 minutes on the dot. The best thing about my little cubby hole in the CTU was the toilet hidden within the sink cabinet. I actually had to open the cabinet doors and pull the toilet out to use it. <br />
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I finally made it to a real room at about midnight on Tuesday...or 32 hours after my journey started. We quickly learned that my gallbladder was in poor shape and had produced a ton of "sludge" (the doctor's medical term) that was likely contributing to my low blood pressure. Despite some risks because of my compromised immune system, we decided the best course of action was to surgically remove the gallbladder. That procedure took up most of Wednesday and went well. It turns out the sludge was worse than thought so everyone was happy that we got that bad boy out of me.<br />
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After spending Thursday under observation and watching my blood pressure results improve, I was released from the hospital on Friday. As always, it was great to get back home to see the kids, the dog and my own bed. There's nothing better than scraping off the hospital funk and escaping the staff who want to wake me up at 4am to take blood. <br />
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Thanks to my Dad & Kathy who came to Orlando to help while I was "on the inside" and of course thanks to Jen who was right there with me every step of the way.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-76437881265121562462013-01-06T02:33:00.000-05:002013-01-06T02:33:17.907-05:00Happy HolidaysI hope you and your families had a wonderful Christmas. The Beaird family loves us some Christmas and this year we continued a number of our traditions: watching a live performance of Dickens' "The Christmas Carol"; attending the Candlelight Processional at EPCOT (this year our narrator was Gary Sinise...Lieutenant Dan!!); driving around looking at Christmas lights; watching the movie "Christmas Vacation" on Christmas Eve (while drinking Pa's loaded eggnog); and of course the St. James Christmas Eve children's mass (Shannon had a choir solo this year).<br />
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The best Christmas gift of all was spending time with all of the family and friends who came through our house. We are truly blessed to have so many grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws and out-laws who live close enough to visit.<br />
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Things are going pretty well on the medical front although I continue to battle low blood pressure. The good news is that there have been no more fainting episodes, but I do get tired and light-headed quite often. The bad news is that the doctor won't let me drive. It's like being 14-years old again and waiting for Mom to take me everywhere. Not much fun...but even less fun for my <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">chauffeur</span>, Jen. The "no driving" rule sometimes extends to a "no a lot of walking" rule and I used a wheelchair at EPCOT when we saw the Candlelight Processional (Aaron did a great job pushing me). <br />
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Perhaps the weirdest impact of the low blood pressure is the seriously swollen ankles and feet I get because there isn't enough pressure to fight gravity and my blood pools down low. There are times when I can't wear shoes because my fat little sausage feet have swollen up so big. If this was a fairy tale, deep in the dark woods a hungry wolf would be drooling over the visions of my ankles in his mind's eye.<br />
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Now that the calendar has turned to 2013 and we're in college football bowl season and NFL playoff season, I've noticed a few things:<br />
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- Why does ESPN need 40 different NFL analysts? If they only had to pay 10 people, would there be fewer commercials and would my cable bill be cheaper?<br />
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- What's with the trend of football players with long dreadlocks? I don't like it because I can't read the names on the back of their jerseys which means I can't fool Aaron into thinking I know who all these players are.<br />
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- Why did the Gators decide not to show up against Louisville? I'm glad we were watching the game at a great party (thanks Tyndalls!)...it made the sting of an embarrasing performance hurt less. Good thing we're a basketball school!<br />
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- Who's going to win...'Bama or Notre Dame? It's hard to root against the SEC, but I have a number of Notre Dame friends and wouldn't mind seeing Darth Saban come up short...it should be a great game.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-54893029070829585262012-12-11T11:02:00.000-05:002012-12-11T11:02:27.138-05:00Was It The Eggnog That Made Me Faint?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It has been awhile since my last post and some interesting stuff has transpired since then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the past month or so, I started the questionable practice of randomly fainting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It happened three times and two of the falls involved me banging my face on something hard (like a granite countertop) on the way down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My face started to resemble one of the guys on the TV show “Cops” who decides that resisting arrest would be a good idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What was I talking about? Oh yeah, last week, things progressed to the point where I could only walk a few yards at a time without feeling light-headed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A trip to the doctor (in a wheelchair…how humiliating!) revealed that my blood pressure was dropping dramatically every time I went from sitting to standing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since blood pressure issues are often heart-related, and since my issues were pretty severe, my doctor was rightly very concerned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So…I got to do my favorite thing…get admitted back to the hospital!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing says Happy Holidays like getting awakened every four hours for vital signs!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was only “on the inside” for four days, but it was an eventful stay filled with tons of tests trying to figure out what was causing my issues. Here’s a tidbit to drop in upcoming holiday party conversations… you can get an MRI at 2:30 am…and don’t even need a open gunshot wound to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all the testing, the good news is that my heart checked out fine and the culprit appears to be my adrenal glands which, among other things, secrete hormones that help regulate blood pressure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thought is that my chemo regimen has damaged the glands’ ability to produce these hormones and therefore my blood pressure has suffered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, I’m now out of the hospital taking some pills to replace the things that the adrenal glands should be producing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m feeling better, and certainly glad to be out of the hospital, but am still moving a bit slow and hope to be back to my old self (whoever that is) soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other news…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">- Remember the famous “wax on, wax off” line from the classic 80’s movie “The Karate Kid”?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the Beaird house, our line is “cast on, cast off”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Shannon had her cast successfully removed (and thankfully now with no trace that her arm was ever broken in the first place), another family member got a new cast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our puppy, Kona, broke a leg while rough-housing with the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See photo below…at least it’s a festive holiday cast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">- It was nice to see the Gators pick up a win against the Seminoles on the football field (and an even more impressive win on the basketball court…not that I’m rubbing it in…OK, maybe a little bit).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A one-loss season and a trip to the Sugar Bowl (mmm…New Orleans food), a great year after a disappointing one last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">- Thanks to everyone for all the help over the past several weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grandparents have come over to offer driving services (I’m not allowed behind the wheel) and have helped get the house decorated for Christmas, my brother took Aaron on a weekend-long Boy Scout camping trip, people have brought by all kinds of delicious food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your help and support is truly appreciated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are truly blessed to have such great family and friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">- The biggest thanks go to my lovely wife who is truly the glue that holds our family together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know how she juggles my issues, kids and their school/extra-curricular schedules, a dog with a broken leg, and the holiday season all at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We celebrated our 17<sup>th</sup> anniversary over the weekend…it’s amazing how fast the time passes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jen, I owe you a nice anniversary dinner once my diet expands beyond soup and mashed potatoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season with your family and friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Make sure you take time away from work, email and other distractions to truly enjoy this great time of year. </span>Thanks again for all of your support, encouragement and prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-69110067253128046502012-11-18T08:05:00.001-05:002012-11-18T08:05:35.909-05:00ThankfulIt has been a few weeks since my last blog post. The delay is party attributable to a lack of interesting new things to write about and partly because my energy level has been a bit low. On Friday, I finished up another chemo cycle...and the two "on" weeks of the cycle no doubt sapped some of eagerness to blog. As always, I'm looking forward to my upcoming "off" week. There's even more to look forward to than ususal since this off week coincides with Thanksgiving week. Speaking of Thanksgiving, there are lots of things for which to to be thankful:<br />
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<ul>
<li>I'm thankful that my Mom and Rich came over last week while Jen and Aaron went to Boston for a school field trip. I was able to take care of a blood transfusion and some heavy chemo while Shannon received some great love and attention from her granparents.</li>
<li>I'm thankful that I got to take a day off with Shannon while Jen and Aaron were in Boston. We enjoyed our Daddy/Daugther day. We watched Hotel Transylvania and spent some great one-on-one time together.</li>
<li>Jen and Aaron got to see snow on their Boston trip. The Florida kids had a blast with a huge snowball fight in the hotel parking lot and even made some snow angels! See photo below.</li>
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<li>Shannon's cast is scheduled to come off on Tuesday. Just in time to get both arms back in action at the Thanskgiving dinner table!</li>
<li>Speaking of Thanksgiving dinner...I can't wait for turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and, of course, some cream corn. Jen's family loves to give me grief about my fondness the mushy yellow good stuff, but I don't care. There is no shame in carrying on the tradition of the Texas side of my family. </li>
<li>Nobody should be more thankful than the Gators for only having one loss. We have zero offense, yet still manage to win games. I think Florida State will hang our second loss on us this coming Saturday, but we're still having a great season when you consider all the crazy twists and turns in the college football season lately.</li>
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Of course, I'm most thankful for my family, friends and all of the prayers and support that I get. I hope each of you has much for which to be thankful and I hope all of you have a great Thansgiving week.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-35607254028009700682012-10-28T20:50:00.000-04:002012-10-28T20:50:41.493-04:00Another Cycle DoneThis week marked the last two chemo treatments of another cycle...the fourth cycle on my current treatment regimen. I'm looking forward to my rest week this coming week. After my consultation in Boston last week, it looks like we're going to try to another four cycles of basically the same chemo regimen. We'll be using all the same drugs, we'll just be slightly tweaking the method and timing via which some of the drugs are delivered. Keep your fingers crossed that all the numbers keep moving in the right direction.<br />
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In other news:<br />
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- I'm not the only Beaird who spent time at Florida Hospital recently. Shannon broke her second major bone...this time her humerus (upper arm) after falling from a parade float that was parked after a parade that she marched in with her brother and his Cub Scout troop. She underwent surgery and had three pins placed in her arm. See below for a post-surgery photo. She'll wear a soft cast for 3 weeks and then will have the pins removed and will wear a hard cast for 2 more weeks. She's only 7, but has now broken the biggest bone in her leg and the biggest bone in her arm...when she goes, she goes big!<br />
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- I had a minor procedure done this past Thursday and had the same anesthesiologist that put Shannon under for her arm surgery. Have we reached Medallion status at Florida Hospital yet? When do those frequent flier miles start kicking in? Can a brother get an upgrade?<br />
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- Lady luck finally caught up with the Gators. After winning the turnover battle all year, the Gators coughed up the ball 6 times and still only narrowly lost to the hated Georgia Bulldogs. Jen made the trip up to Jacksonville and had a good time tailgating up the St. John's River with her brother and friends on her brother's boat. Although the loss hurt, if you would have told me at the beginning of the season that we'd by 7-1 at this point, I'd have taken the money and run.<br />
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- In better football news, Aaron's team won the championship in their flag football league. Aaron played a great game at quarterback in the championship game and also made some outstanding plays on defense (not that I'm biased or anything). It was a fun season with great coaches and a great group of teammates.<br />
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- Looks like our friends to the North may get a little taste of a hurricane. Hopefully Sandy is not too powerful when she makes landfall. I hope all of my relatives in Massachusetts avoid any storm damage...maybe some good wind and rain will blow away memories of the season the Red Sox just had.<br />
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Until next time...thanks to all for your prayers and good wishes. Be sure to enjoy time with your family and friends!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-25964636317853577022012-10-24T10:31:00.000-04:002012-10-24T10:31:46.325-04:00Real AutumnAs part of my treatment, every six months or so, I see a doctor at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Dr. Richardson is a renowned myeloma expert who is up to date on all the latest research and treatment options. We view Dr. Rischardson as our "offensive coordinator" and we work with him to develop the game plan for treatment and then we execute that game plan in Orlando. Jen and I just got back to Orlando after visiting with Dr. Richardson in Boston on Tuesday. We talked about some minor tweaks to my current treatment plan and also talked about bigger next steps if/when they are needed. <br />
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The best part about being in Boston was the weather. Living in Florida, it's easy to forget that there are four seasons in the year. It's not like the palm trees change color in Autumn. So, it was a refreshing change to walk around the city in mid-60 degree weather and see the trees in various shades of yellow, orange and red. We enjoyed our taste of "real Autumn", but also are happy to know we won't have to deal with "real Winter" and the snow, ice and freezing weather that are just around the corner for New England.<br />
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In this week's non-medical news:<br />
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- Our house could host Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights. Jen loves Halloween and, once again, has our house decorated to the hilt. Aaron and Shannon are scared to venture out on our front porch at night because of all the scary sights and sounds that have been rigged up. I'm sure we'll scare our fair share of trick or treaters next week.<br />
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- People "up North" love to wear pro football jerseys. It doesn't matter if your male or female, apparently a football jersey is a fashion statement. On the flight to Boston, we saw plenty of Tom Brady, Wes Welker, and Rob Gronkowski wannabes. After we landed, we went to a bar near our hotel to watch the Patriots game and half the patrons were decked out in jerseys. It was fun, but different, to be in an atmosphere where the NFL is king and nobody pays attention to college football.<br />
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- Speaking of college football, the Gators have their 3rd huge game in a row this weekend...taking on Georgia in "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" in Jacksonville. We had a bit of luck last weekend when South Carolina decided to turn the ball over multiple times. That said, our defense looks great and hopefully our offense has enough to beat the Bulldogs.<br />
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That's it for now. Until next time, I hope everyone enjoys some time with family & friends<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-52242992778091528322012-10-14T16:54:00.001-04:002012-10-14T16:54:42.572-04:00You Gotta Love Rest Weeks!It was nice to have a rest week this week. Nobody jabbing me for chemo, no blood or platelet transfusions, it was almost...normal. I only had one check-in appointment with my oncologist, an appointment with an ENT doctor, and a bone marrow biopsy. A very light medical week for me! During the bone marrow biopsy, they removed a sample of bone marrow from my pelvis and measured the amount of myeloma cells inside. We can compare the results to my last bone marrow biopsy to see if the myeloma cells are increasing or decreasing (hopefully, it's the latter). We decided to do this procedure ahead of my visit to Boston the week of Oct 22nd where I'll be checking in with my doctor at Dana Farber hospital. He is my "offensive coordinator" and Jen and I set up the game plan of my treatment with him and then execute that treatment plan in Orlando.<br />
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In a couple of non-medical notes:<br />
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- Due to a comment received last week, I updated the photo at the top of the blog.<br />
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- It was great to see my cousin Nicole, who was down from Massachussets, and her family at my brother's house yesterday. They got a bit of a taste of Saturday in the South during college football season as the Gator game was on throughout our visit.<br />
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- The Gators played their typical close game against Vanderbilt, but squeaked out another (somewhat ugly) victory. A fired up South Carolina team will be coming to The Swamp this coming weekend after losing to LSU. I hope we don't let our new #3 ranking (AP Poll) or the fact that ESPN's Game Day will be broadcasting from Gainesville, get to our heads. We're definitely over-rated at #3, but we can beat the Gamecocks if we play well.<br />
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- A huge shout out to my friend Craig Powers who completed the legendary Ironman Hawaii triathlon yesterday. Not only did he swim 2.4 miles, then bike 112 miles, and then finish his day off by running a full 26.2 mile marathon...he did it all while battling 30-40 mile winds and heat & humidity on the Big Island of Hawaii. Not bad for a Buckeye! While racing, Craig wore the logo of the Multiple Myeloman Research Foundation and raised awareness for the fight to cure myeloma. CP...you da man!!<br />
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- See photo below for a pretty sweet bike that Craig saw a fellow competitor riding in Hawaii. In a word...classy!<br />
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I hope everyone has a great week with their family and friends...more to come next week.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-37434863648581364852012-10-07T20:13:00.000-04:002012-10-07T20:13:04.514-04:00Another Good WeekGood news...another fairly uneventful medical week passed. I did have to get a blood transfusion on Friday night (unfortunately, the hospital is not a great place for happy hour), but I made it through the first two weeks of another chemo cycle and am looking forward to a week of rest. I still feel a little worn down, so I have a sneaking suspicion that I may need to get some additional platelets this week. We'll see what's to come.<br />
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A special shout out to Barbara Barati who provided one of the units of blood that I received in my transfusion. Even though I have a feeling it was Garnet-colored Seminole blood, it still helped a ton. If anyone else in the Orlando area wants to donate blood directly for my benefit, you can contact Jennifer at 407.361.9288 or <a href="mailto:jbeaird@cfl.rr.com">jbeaird@cfl.rr.com</a> and she can give you the details.<br />
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In this week's non-medical news:<br />
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- My cousin Nicole and her family will be in town from Massachusetts and I'm looking forward to spending some time with them this weekend.<br />
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- The Gators notched their first big win in a few years as they took down LSU at The Swamp on Saturday. Great to see them off to an undefeated start although I fear they're now over-rated at #4 in the AP poll.<br />
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- Even though I don't root against FSU until the play UF...I wasn't sad to see them go down to The Wolfpack.<br />
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- I wonder how many more people would watch the baseball playoffs if they happened before football season started. Do we really want to watch baseball in the snow in Detroit?<br />
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- Happy early birthday to Nana (aka Sue Brown) who celebrates another year on Tue the 9th.<br />
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- Shannon made her debut in the St. James children's choir at 9:00 Mass this morning. She had a great time...see photo.<br />
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That's it for this week. Have a great week and thanks for all the continued prayers and support.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-79228991463647277532012-10-01T21:58:00.000-04:002012-10-01T21:58:39.485-04:00Weekly UpdateIt definitely feels good to keep typing "Weekly Update" as the header for each blog post. Although boring, I much prefer it to "Back in the Hospital" or "Oh Sh*t".<br />
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Last week was the first week of a new chemo cycle. Week one is the tougher of the two weeks of each cycle's treatment because day 4 falls in week one (not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I get chemo on Day 1, Day 4, Day 8 and Day 11 of each 21-day cycle). Day 4 is the one day each cycle that I get my heaviest chemo drug, Doxil (aka Doxorubicin). I'm usually pretty wiped out the day I get Doxil and the following day. Kinda funny that the medicine itself is a non-threatening pink color and seems relatively harmless as it flows out of the IV bag. Perhaps they tint it pink on purpose because its original purpose was to fight ovarian cancer and it was only later discovered to be effective against multiple myeloma. These are the kinds of things you think about when you're bored in the chemo room. ANYWAY...I'm looking forward to knocking out my last 2 treatments of the cycle this week and getting to a rest week next week.<br />
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Meanwhile, in more entertaining news:<br />
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- The Beaird family had a great time at Universal last week. Harry Potter World was a lot of fun...we drank butter beer (I like to call it cream soda on steroids...and that's a good thing) and bought magic wands. We also really enjoyed Jurassic Park...especially Shannon who attempted to set a record for most rides in one day on the Pteranodon Flyers. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and that allowed us to get into the park an hour ahead of the regular crowd...a strategy that worked very well for us. It also worked well for Universal as we decided to upgrade to annual passes. How do the theme parks continue to make us spend money?!?! I'm convinced they pump medium-grade narcotics into the air to disorient us while making us happy and freeing us of our inhibitions. Pixie dust my rump...it's a gaseous form of cocaine!<br />
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- Speaking of the Hard Rock hotel, it just so happened that there was a concert held in the hotel lobby on Thursday night while we were there. Wait for it....Bret Michaels (former lead singer of Poison). Yes, ladies, he's still flashig those dreamy blue eyes (or contact lenses). We popped in for some of the sound check and even a small bit of the concert...it was pretty cool. However, it was unbelievable how many 50+ year old women AND MEN!! there were with huge teased hair and tight 80's jeans. Who are these people? Where are they when the sun is shining? Do they have jobs? Who told them it was acceptable to be seen in public that way? It was bad enough in the 80's when my high school peers all dressed that way...I certainly don't need to see people with wrinkles looking like that.<br />
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- Kona, our new puppy, continues to provide us with much joy. That said, if anyone has access to a pill that magically housebreaks puppies, I'm willing to pay a large sum of money. Name your price.<br />
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- Big day in Gainesville this coming Saturday...LSU comes to town at 3:30. I think all reasonable Gator fans (some would say that there are no reasonable Gator fans...I'm looking at you Barati family) are more optimistic about this year's team than last year's team. Count me in that group and count me as someone who thinks we have a good chance to beat LSU this year. It will come down to the trenches though. Our offensive line needs to let our running game succeed and give our young QB time to throw. Our defensive line needs to make sure LSU's offense gets neither of those things.<br />
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If you managed to stay awake long enough to make it this far, thanks for reading. Thanks also for the continued prayers and support...it is very much felt and appreciated. Let's hope next week's blog post has the same boring title.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-12181219656727902952012-09-23T22:04:00.000-04:002012-09-23T22:04:16.373-04:00Weekly UpdateIt was a good week away from chemo. My counts held up pretty well and I didn't need any transfusions of whole blood. I only had to get 1 bag of platelets (down from 2 bags last week). All in all, I can't complain. Chemo starts up again this wek with infusions on Tuesday and Friday.<br />
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In non-medical news, there were a few highlights:<br />
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- Our dog search has ended successfully. See photo below of Kona, our two-and-a-half-month old golden retriever mix that we adopted from a local rescue organization. She is a sweetie and we're not sure what else besides golden she has in her to make her a "mix". I guess time will tell. We'll be glad when she's housebroken.<br />
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- Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes for my stepmother, Kathy. She is now back home after her knee surgery and doing well.<br />
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- The Gators are 4-0 with a bye week before taking on LSU at The Swamp. We'll see what the Gators are made of on Oct 6. Meanwhile, FSU looks like they might be the real deal this year.<br />
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Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. A special thanks to everyone who brought us food. There are some amazing cooks in our circle of friends and we really enjoyed all the variety of great meals.<br />
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I'll have more to report next week including a recap of our visit to the Wizarding World of Harry Pottter at Universal Studios.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-4101427650681915782012-09-15T20:09:00.001-04:002012-09-15T20:09:38.456-04:00Weekly UpdateAnother week and another week outside of the hospital...yippee!! I finished up my chemo cyle yesterday and am looking forward to an upcoming rest week with no chemo. I had to get a couple of bags of platelets during the week, but didn't need to get any blood transfused. My counts are still pretty low, so I may need to get some more blood during the off week...we'll see how things progress. All in all...good news on the medical front.<br />
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In this week's other headlines:<br />
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- A big shout out to my relatives in Massachussetts who participated in the Race for Research in support of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. See the photo of the members of the Fortney, Tambascio, Duplessis, Walker and Burns clans who braved rainy weather and raised over $1,600 for Myeloma reseach. Thanks to you all!!<br />
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- My Dad's household is attempting to set a knee surgery world record. My Dad had both his knees replaced this summer and his wife, Kathy, went under the knife on Thursday. Our thoughts and prayers are with Kathy as she begins recovery and rehab.<br />
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- Speaking of world records, I'm writing this at halftime of the Florida vs Tennessee football game as the Gators attempt to set a new record for pass interference penalties.<br />
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- The Beairds are officially in the market for a dog. We've spent a lot of time searching Orlando-area rescue organizations, SPCA, etc for a nice lab mix or retriever mix (or something similar), but have come up empty so far. If you know of a nice dog looking for a good home...let us know.<br />
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Thanks again to everyone for all your support and prayers. Enjoy your time with family and friends.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-55981962533834572562012-09-06T14:36:00.000-04:002012-09-06T14:36:20.856-04:00A Couple of UpdatesIt has been a week since I last posted, and although there are no monumental events to share, I thought I would give everyone a recap of some things that have happened over the last 7 days.<br />
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On the medical front, on Tuesday, I started another cycle of chemo. This means that I'll visit the docotor's office four times over 14 days for infusions of several different drugs. I'll then go for 7 days with no treatment and that will conclude the 21-day cycle of treatment. The next 21-day cycle will start at the end of my 7-day rest period. My blood counts are still pretty low, so I got a blood transfusion yesterday (2 bags of whole blood and 1 bag of platelets) to boost those levels back up (don't forget to donate blood and platelets if you can...people actually use them!). This pattern of chemo followed by transfusion might continue for awhile until the chemo takes hold and knocks back the myeloma far enough to allow my counts to rise. The photo below shows me at the end of a bag of blood...you can see that the bag on the rack looks pink instead of red as it gets to the end.<br />
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Now that the boring stuff is out of the way, here are some other things that happened this past week:</div>
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My smart, beautiful and all-around awesome wife celebrated a birthday. You'll have to ask her how old she is...I'm not dumb enough to spill that information.</div>
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The Gators (once again) looked shaky in their season opener against Bowling Green. This Saturday they travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M. They'll have to play a lot better to win this week.</div>
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I shaved off my beard. It seems like a shame since it took 3 weeks to grow it out, but the novelty had worn off. No way was I going to take the time and effort to keep it trimmed. Plus, it was getting harder and harder to get any kisses from Jen and Shannon. For the record, Aaron was the only who noticed that I had shaved.</div>
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That's it for now. As always, thanks to everyone for your prayers, your visits, your gifts, your food and all of your support (thanks Uncle Jim for helping out during the transfusion). I can't tell you how much easier it is to deal with all of this with such a great group of family and friends. I feel extremely blessed to be so lucky.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-65851931551835392012-08-30T22:30:00.001-04:002012-08-30T22:30:34.365-04:00Best Time of the Year!I don't have anything new to report on the medical front (no news is good news!). Next week should be more active as my chemotheray will resume on Tuesday.<br />
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So, let's talk about college football instead. I love the start of college football season. I love it even more when I get to watch opening night from my own couch instead of a hospital bed. It will be fun to watch my Gators kick off the season on Saturday against the mighty Falcons of Bowling Green State University. The last few years haven't been kind to the UF football program, but, despite what many experts are saying, I think we're in for a good season in 2012. <br />
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Win or lose, it will be fun to watch. Plus, it's now a lot easier for me to remember that football is just a game and not a matter of national security. I'm pretty sure that the world will continue to spin on its axis whether or not the Gators win or lose each week.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2119867393300092797.post-41931027143524047492012-08-25T13:29:00.001-04:002012-08-25T13:29:51.652-04:00Out of Hospital!Most people like to end their summers with a stay at a nice beach resort. This year, I broke tradition and opted for a stay at a luxurious hospital instead. As much fun as it was to be constantly poked, prodded and awakened at all hours of the night, I'm happy to report that my hospital vacation ended last night after a 3-week visit.<br />
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As nice as it is to be home with my family and sleeping in my own bed, I still have a lot of medical "fun" ahead of me. I'll continue to spend a lot of time at the hospital getting my blood tested, getting chemotherapy and continuing to beat back the cancer.<br />
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I'll continue to use the blog to keep folks up to speed on my progress. Thanks again to all those who stopped by the hospital, phoned, texted, sent cards, said prayers, delivered meals and otherwise helped me and my family. While in the hospital, I had a lot of contemplation time and one thing that became clear is that it's much easier to attack a problem when you know there is a great support system behind you and your family. We are truly blessed to have such great family and friends.<br />
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