One year ago today, we lost our dear friend Ned. (The “we” in this case includes the countless people Ned befriended during his too-short time on earth.)
I’m reposting my tribute to Ned from last October below. And adding a few more thoughts:
Be kind to everyone you meet, from the cashier at the supermarket on up, like Ned was.
Be caring, like Ned was. Ask others how they are doing.
Be faithful, like Ned was. A devoted husband, a proud parent, and a true-blue friend.
Be open to adventure, like Ned was.
If we could all be a bit more like Ned, the world would be a much better place. And to those of us who were lucky enough to know Ned, our part of the world IS a better place than it was before he came into our lives.
Photographs and Memories (from oct. 2023)
Back in my college days, if we needed someone to get swung around like a helicopter blade during a party, Ned was there.
If we needed someone to dress up like an elf, Ned was there.
Getting handcuffed to a loft? Ned was there.
Beer bongs? Ned was there.
For all of our Spring break adventures, Ned was there.
If we needed someone to man the grill, Ned was there.
At all those parties — in the dorm rooms, in the quad, and at the bars — Ned was there.
Whenever you needed a friend, Ned was there.
After college, when some folks from our gang got married, Ned was there.
At all the memorable moments over the past 40 years , Ned was there. Always.
Then, this past Monday, out of the blue, Ned was no longer there.
Suddenly — You were gone From all the lives You left your mark upon
Ned had a stroke back in May of 2020 – it caused all sorts of health complications. But his departure still came as a shock. Now he’s in another “there” and we’re still here.
Tried to believe But you know it’s no good This is something That just can’t be understood
Every one of us has a special place in our heart for the guy who was good-natured, sweet, kind, caring, smart, attentive, funny… and always up for a good time. Ned is still there. He always will be.
[Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. The man’s been keeping me down. – Ed.]
We did it!
We raised $1,400 for cancer research and care in Greater Cincinnati.
Sure, I was the one pedaling 24 miles in the Ride Cincinnati fundraiser. But I had lots of help.
[Actually I was out of town when the official event took place, but I did my ride the next day, and rode 25 miles, since my supporters went the extra mile for me.]
I had help from every single person who donated.
And my friends Phil and Suzie joined me on the 25-mile ride, which made it a heck of a lot easier and more enjoyable.
My inspiration and motivation was my friend John (a.k.a. “LJ”) who had a cancerous brain tumor removed back in May. Phil and Suzie have known John and his wife Patty since back in our college days, when Suzie and Patty were kicking butt as part of Xavier’s volleyball team.
We’re all connected. Not just John and Patty and Phil and Suzie and me and my donors… everyone has been impacted by cancer. Personally, or within their family, or within their social circle.
Just spokes on a big wheel – with love as the hub.
Despite the loud protests from my aching knees (damn you, Pickleball addiction!), I’ll be biking 24 miles in the Ride Cincinnati event in mid-September.
Ride Cincinnati is a grassroots bike tour that raises money for life-saving cancer research and care. Since 2007, Ride Cincinnati has raised over $6.6 million for vital cancer research at the University of Cincinnati’s Barrett Cancer Center.
I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d make a donation to support my efforts.
As you can see, at present, I’m woefully short of my fundraising goal. (Let’s hope I ride better than I raise money…)
Your hard-earned cash will be going to a great cause.
The Ride Cincinnati organizers have encouraged riders to share their “why” – their motivation for participating in the event. I think I covered most of my “why” in yesterday’s post about my dear friend LJ, who currently is battling brain cancer.
LJ is getting great care. Thanks to my neighbors Whit and Barb, he and his wife Patty were even able to consult with Dr. Bill Barrett, the medical director of the Barrett Cancer Center, about their treatment plan, and he said they were doing all the right things.
But not everyone has those connections. And overall, our fair city could use some help in achieving a National Cancer Institute designation, which would unlock millions more in research funding.
Currently, the Greater Cincinnati area lacks a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center. This prestigious designation signifies a center of excellence, offering patients throughout the tri-state access to the latest research and treatment options. Without one, many residents are forced to travel far from home for critical care. Ride Cincinnati is on a mission to change that.
My “why” also includes my mother-in-law Gloria, who passed from cancer last year… and my own mother, who died of leukemia 56 years ago. We’ve made great progress in the past half-century, but more work lies ahead.
Your donation is tax-deductible. But more importantly, if you donate to support me in Ride Cincinnati, we all win something much more precious than money. We win more days, weeks, months…. even years… with the ones we love who are battling cancer.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for your support. I’m going to make you proud in the ride.
I love live music, but I’m not really a stadium tour kinda guy. I’ve really only been to two stadium concerts in my life – the first was in 1986 (I think) at Cleveland’s old Municipal Stadium to see The Who on the first of their gazillion “farewell” tours. The second was two nights ago – Foo Fighters at the Reds stadium. The opening acts were Mammoth – the band led by Wolfie Van Halen, son of Eddie and Valerie Bertinelli – and the Pretenders, a band I adore.
I wasn’t planning to attend – the ticket prices for those big shows are waaay too high to suit me. I’d rather spend $200 on eight $25 club shows. But my friend Paul had an extra ticket. And I’d always wanted to see the Foo Fighters live. How could I refuse?
Photo credit: Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer
I’m really glad I went. I see what all the Foo fuss is about. Dave Grohl is incredibly energetic and charismatic, his band mates are extremely talented, and they put on a heck of a show. Their song catalog is perfect for stadiums too – a lot of singalong anthems. I don’t know how Grohl is able to scream his way through two-and-a-half-hour shows on a regular basis. My vocal cords would be shredded into sawdust.
Photo credit: Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer
I have some high-fidelity noise-reducing earplugs (as a regular concert goer, I highly recommend them – here’s my brand) but didn’t bring them because I didn’t think I’d need them in an open-air stadium. I was wrong. It was LOUD.
The Foos hit the stage at 8 p.m. and wrapped up their main set at around 10:15, then came back for an encore. As my friend Paul said, “Now there’s a guy (Dave Grohl) who loves his job!”
Photo credit: Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer
It was really cool to see a show like that where 38,000 fans were singing along. But after the sun set, I found it hard to keep my eyes from straying from the band on stage to the giant TV screens to the left and right of the stage. It’s hard to not look… but then you’re essentially watching a show on TV vs. seeing a concert.
Net-net: I loved it and I’m really glad I got a chance to see them live. But I think I’ll go back to my club shows. Stadiums are cool, but I’m a “small ball” music dude at heart.
My buddy Rob does PR for the Hamilton Joes — “Ohio’s Premier College Summer Baseball Team.”
He likes to have a bit of fun with the press releases. His most recent one is a prime example:
It’s smart. “I’ll take ‘Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution’ for $200 please, Ken.” (BTW, today I learned that Button Gwinnett has the first signature in the upper left corner of the Declaration of Independence.)
The press release is funny. Especially the line about “crumpet-nibbling fancy-boys.”
And it gets your attention. Which is exactly the point. Rob could’ve played it straight and just mentioned the game and the fireworks. But adding a bit of flair and frivolity makes the release a heck of a lot more interesting.
It’s a kids’ game, for crying out loud.
Oh, that’s right, there’s no crying in baseball. But laughing is always allowed.
This past weekend, Mrs. Dubbatrubba and I took a trip that was short in duration but long on connections.
We drove to Saint Louis Friday afternoon and met up with my high school friend John “Frez” Fresneda and his wife Kim.
John and I made up more than 10% of our graduating class at Sacred Heart HS in Morrilton, Arkansas (2 of 19) but it’d been many moons since we caught up in person. And our spouses had never met. But at our high school reunion seven years ago, we talked about meeting in “the Lou” for a Reds-Cardinals game (he’s a huge Cards fan). This year, we finally made it happen. And I’m so glad we did. John and Kim couldn’t be nicer, and we had a great time exploring the city a bit. (For the record, the Reds won the game we attended!)
On Saturday morning, I caught up with Alicia, who was a Miami University student co-op waaaay back in the early 90s when I worked at 97X radio in Oxford, OH. I hadn’t seen Alicia since our mutual friend Joe’s wedding 20+ years ago. (She and Joe co-hosted a show on the student radio station called “Night on Disco Mountain.”) She’s now the GM of the NBC TV station in St. Louis (her hometown). I wish I could say that her radio station mentors (my morning show partner “Rictile” and I) taught her everything she needed to succeed in media, but the reality is we probably taught her everything NOT to do!
Despite the fact that she’s now a captain of industry, Alicia carved out some time to meet us at a coffee shop. Because in addition to being a captain of industry, she’s also one of the nicest folks you could ever meet.
On Sunday morning, after we parted ways with Frez and Kim, we had brunch with Mrs. Dubbatrubba’s niece, Libby (our goddaughter) who works as a nurse in St. Louis. We’ve spent a lot of time with “Libbo” over the years, mostly on shared summer vacations as she and her siblings and our kids were growing up. It’s great to hear more about her life now that she’s “adulting.”
[Yes, we put Libby in charge of taking the selfie – she’s a pro.]
Since our route back to Cincinnati would take us through Louisville, I texted my college friend Walter early last week to see if we could pop in on Sunday afternoon. Walter and I text quite a bit and talk on the phone occasionally, but despite the fact that Louisville is a mere 90 miles from Cincinnati, somehow it’d been seven years since we saw each other in person. And despite the fact that Wally is a movie star (he was one of the kids in the cab in Stripes) he and his wife Blakey welcomed us into their home on Sunday afternoon.
Here’s Wally’s scene in Stripes:
It’s a lot easier to say “we should get together” than to actually do it. But honestly, it just took a few texts to set up a wonderful weekend of rekindling connections.
Go through your list of contacts. Who can you carve out some time for? Give ’em a text or a call. Make it happen. You’ll be so glad you did.
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