"That Guy Made Me Laugh"...by Guest Blogger, Mat Tyndall

A guest post from friend, Mat Tyndall...

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,  the legendary 2010 Delaney Park Little League Rookie Red Sox team – leading them in an undefeated campaign that year.  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. 

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 - that guy made me laugh!

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).   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 Golf Website)

There was always a reason he/I could dig at one another.  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.  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.

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:

"When are nominations due for slacker "Coach of the Year" award?   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."  I think the Slacker Selection Committee will take notice of this extraordinary lack of commitment to the kids."

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.

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.  It's hard to believe he is gone.  Out of habit I still can't help but glance hard every time I see a Silver 4runner SUV go down my street.

 

 

"Happy Birthday Jason" by guest blogger, Mark Cooper

A guest post from friend, Mark Cooper...

So every May 27^th 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^th.  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^th, I plan to grab 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^th.  If he was still around we could catch up on some good BOSS night topics and it might go something like this: 

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 also made it to the NCAA Final Four this year but lost to the eventual champs UConn.

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.

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.

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.  They’ve both been troopers and they’ve both had good years.

 

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.

So tonight, I raise a glass to you...

"One Year Ago" by guest blogger, Jamie Barati

A guest post from friend, Jamie Barati....

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

"I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7

As I’m sure you all know by now, our quick-witted blogger and my husband, Jason Beaird,  passed away on March 14, 2013.   His cancer had been worsening as of late, but his passing was quick and unexpected. He fought hard to the very end.  We are all heartbroken, but know that he is now in a better place. His passing was peaceful, surrounded by those he loved most.

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.   Jason touched many lives in the too-short time he was with us and both services were overflowing with attendees.  We thank all of those who were able to attend and those who sent blessings from afar.

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.  The website for this Memorial Fund is:  http://www.youcaring.com/other/jason-beaird-memorial-fund/50059  and we have collected over $3,000 to date.  Thank you so much for your generosity. 

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.   Please remember to spend time with your family and count your blessings daily.  Love – Jennifer, Aaron and Shannon

The following was obituary was posted on the Degusipe Funeral Home website at http://www.degusipefuneralhome.com/obituaries/Jason-Beaird/#/ :

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Back 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. 

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

Happy Holidays

I 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).

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.

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 chauffeur, 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). 

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.

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:

-  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?

-  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.

-  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!

- 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.

Was It The Eggnog That Made Me Faint?

It has been awhile since my last post and some interesting stuff has transpired since then.  Over the past month or so, I started the questionable practice of randomly fainting.  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.  My face started to resemble one of the guys on the TV show “Cops” who decides that resisting arrest would be a good idea.

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.   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.  Since blood pressure issues are often heart-related, and since my issues were pretty severe, my doctor was rightly very concerned.  So…I got to do my favorite thing…get admitted back to the hospital!  Nothing says Happy Holidays like getting awakened every four hours for vital signs!

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.  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.  The thought is that my chemo regimen has damaged the glands’ ability to produce these hormones and therefore my blood pressure has suffered. 

So, I’m now out of the hospital taking some pills to replace the things that the adrenal glands should be producing.  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.  In other news…

-  Remember the famous “wax on, wax off” line from the classic 80’s movie “The Karate Kid”?”  In the Beaird house, our line is “cast on, cast off”.  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.  Our puppy, Kona, broke a leg while rough-housing with the kids.  See photo below…at least it’s a festive holiday cast.

-  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).  A one-loss season and a trip to the Sugar Bowl (mmm…New Orleans food), a great year after a disappointing one last year.

-  Thanks to everyone for all the help over the past several weeks.  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.  Your help and support is truly appreciated.  We are truly blessed to have such great family and friends.

-  The biggest thanks go to my lovely wife who is truly the glue that holds our family together.  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.  We celebrated our 17^th anniversary over the weekend…it’s amazing how fast the time passes.  Jen, I owe you a nice anniversary dinner once my diet expands beyond soup and mashed potatoes.

I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season with your family and friends.  Make sure you take time away from work, email and other distractions to truly enjoy this great time of year. Thanks again for all of your support, encouragement and prayers.