Go Celtics!

All I have to say is ... Go Celtics!

The Rest of the Story

Today I heard a Gordo story for the first time. He was talking basketball with my son, Ricky. They were talking about ... how they favor Memphis over the Clippers. Ricky just likes the team, but Dad pipes up and announces his reason ... that he was friends with their head coach ... Lionel Hollins.
OK ... can't wait to hear this one.
Back in 1988 ... Gordo lived in Phoenix, AZ. He worked for the "Bureau of Land Management" ... an agency for the federal government. He befriended a young black man who had just graduated from college. Through their many conversations ... dad asked him if he knew who Bessie Smith was. This young man did not. 
FYI ... Bessie Smith was "The Empress of the Blues". She was a black woman who was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s
So ...  dad gave him the tape to listen to. He took the tape home and young man's father heard him playing it and asked his son ... how he learned about Bessie. He tells his dad ... "some old white guy from work". His dad was so impressed that he wanted to meet him, so his son invited Gordo to a Phoenix's Sun's game. Great front row seats ... where the owners sit. What my dad didn't know ... was ... the young man's dad was Lionel Hollins and (at that time) the Sun's assistant coach.
Needless to say ... Dad attended many more games after that.
That explains why Gordo has a gazillion Phoenix Suns shirts.
Now... you and I know ... the rest of the story.

No. 34

Never doubt the power of ... 
A clean jersey ... washed with ... Cheer.
A screaming fan from Katy, TX ... Liz and the wonderful number ... 34. 

Needless to say ... Gordo is lovin life!

I Love This and NY

You all know my feelings about loving our elderly. My dear friend Dallas shared this today and it demands a read.
Thank you Dallas. This touched my heart.

From a NY cab driver. ..

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice..'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired.Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

"PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY
WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL
ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM
FEEL."

Cheer!

OK folks. I take full responsibility for Boston's loss on Sunday ... because "I " didn't wash Gordo's Celtic's jersey. So I have been told. I'm sure it had nothing to do with Rajon Rondo's benching for bumping the referee.
So I have washed dad's shirt for tonight's game. Even using "Cheer" detergent. 
Boston has a lot riding on my laundry skills ... as Rondo is benched tonight too!
"Cheer" for the Celtics!