Michael

Michael was named after a childhood best friend. He was probably the first best friend I ever had. It was this Michael that taught me about the need to fight. I first knew him when I was in grade school and I lost touch of him. He came back to my house to see me when I was in High school. I t was as if he never left.

My son Michal has a lot of this fighting spirit. His middle name "Alan" brings back a lot of memories about how I wrestled Cindy's brother Alan. I could most often be seen over Alan's head as we both laughed. When I was fortunate enough to get him down his weight filled me up wonderment. I wondered why I did it in the first place.

Michael was always into books. When he was as young as seven he would tell me over and over that he wanted to read one more page. I waited and waited and waited. It seemed like that one page lasted for all eternity. Michael could be very stubborn. When he put his mind to something it was best to get out of his way. He was rather husky in build and in his own way he was forever fighting. I wonder if Michael ever figured out what or who he was fighting for.

My memories with Michael were enhanced by his plunge into the world of tennis. It almost seemed like it came out of the blue. When he was a freshman in high school he wanted to be on the tennis team. I went to as many matches as I could. It was fun to see him develop. I can remember in the beginning stages just encouraging to get it over the net and get one point. He accomplished more than just getting a point. I will never forget one match in which this big goliath of a kid was whacking the ball towards my little boy (my thoughts only). His coach just smiled at me when I expressed my concern. Toward the end of his tennis career he teamed up with a childhood friend to take down a top double's team. It was fun for all to watch except the Shawnee Mission Team that lost.

As a musician, Michael was forever the Cello man. He was very good at it and won awards for his play. I felt a lot of pride at seeing him ply his trade. His love for airplanes seemed to no know bounds and he was forever playing computer games. It made me feel crazy as a dad trying to show him there was another world out there. One of the games he liked most was Sim City. He is currently working as a budget Analyst for the City. I love him for his compassionate kindness. He tries to be there for all persons that are in his circle of care. He is quite the cook also. Just ask his wife and kids. One of his favorite means is macaroni, tomato sauce with spices, which was my favorite thing to cook with them in growing up years.

Favorite stories with Michael: There are many stories. It was entertaining to see Michael grow into a man as he courted his one and only true love. He wanted to get it right and I celebrate that he did get it right and his two beautiful kids radiate this truth.
My favorite story was Michael getting locked into the mud in a backyard garden when he was three or four years old. The poor guy looked to be trying to chase after a turtle. I can also recall is love for playing in the water and fixing a plastic riding car. And the legos...........