Editor’s note: Below is a slightly modified version of an email I sent out yesterday afternoon. Posting here in case any of my loyal readers (all three of them) weren’t on the distro list for the email… or in case anyone else stumbles across this post and decides to donate.
Writing is usually my happy place, but this is one I absolutely hate writing.
I hate it because I am asking you to donate to my Ride Cincinnati efforts when gas and grocery prices are taking a much bigger bite out of your wallet. Granted, raising funds for cancer research, education and care is a noble cause. But that’s of little solace when there’s “too much month at the end of the money” as the old country song goes.
I hate it because the reason behind the email is cancer, and cancer is pure evil. It has taken away people I love, and people you love. And other friends and family members are battling it right now.
And I dread it because it’s yet another painful reminder that my friend “LJ” is no longer with us. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in May of 2024. He fought the good fight. No one was braver. No one had a better attitude. But still, we lost him in November of last year.
I hate writing this, but I know in my heart I’ll wind up loving the outcome.
Because of your generosity – even in tough times.
Because it helps. Every damn dollar makes a difference.
Through our partnership with the Cincinnati Cancer Foundation (CCF), Ride Cincinnati fundraising supports local hospitals, nonprofits and community programs that are making a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families.
And because it reminds me that life is beautiful, even when it’s way too short.
24 days from now, I’ll have had as many spins around this globe as LJ got (Lord willin’).
38 days from now, I’m going to spin my bike wheels for 30 miles (knees willin’), to pay tribute to LJ, and keep his memory alive, and to help other folks who are bravely battling cancer with his same strength and grace. What goes around, comes around.
Give if you can. No worries if you can’t. I still love you, and appreciate you.
Thanks!
LJ on the left, with his wife Patty, and our friends Sheila and Art, on a sunset cruise in Florida last fall. We knew it would probably be LJ’s last trip to the beach, a place he loved very much.
My wife’s cousin Kelly recently retired from teaching.
(That’s Kelly on the left, when she and Mrs. Dubbatrubba had a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off-style adventure recently.)
She spent 30+ years at Catholic grade schools in the D.C. area.
Over those three-plus decades, thousands of kids crossed paths with her. In the classroom. In the lunchroom. In the hallways. At the school plays, and the sporting events. At Sunday Mass too.
The lessons those kids learned from her didn’t always come from a textbook.
She taught them kindness, by showing up with a smile on her face, even on the tough days.
With her sense of humor, she taught them that learning can be fun.
By being attentive, she let them know they mattered.
By demanding their best effort, she inspired them.
Those lessons don’t stop when the kids move on. They carry them with them, wherever they go, for the rest of their lives.
Kelly’s out of the classroom, but her lessons are still going strong. What an amazing legacy!
“Tell me you have a golden retriever without telling me you have a golden retriever.”
Bibo is our official greeter at home. Doesn’t matter if you’ve been gone two weeks or two minutes. He’s always happy to see you. Or to meet you if you’re a stranger. Unfailingly friendly. Loving.
Earlier this month, Mrs. Dubbatrubba, our son Peter and I went out west, along with some friends.
Five of the six folks in the photo above had run the Grand Teton half-marathon the day prior to this hike. Three of the people in the photo went on to run the Yellowstone half-marathon a week later. I’ll give you three guesses as to which of folks above was the sluggard who did neither race.
(And yes, I know the background of the picture looks like an Olan Mills studio backdrop – but it’s legit!)
Grand Teton National Park for three days.
A day trip to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve…
… including a hike through a cave.
Shoshone Falls.
Mesa Falls.
Three days in Yellowstone National Park.
We hiked all over God’s green earth out there (and God’s scorched earth too!) and it was glorious! I’d never been to that area of the country before, and loved every bit of it. (It helped that it was warm – don’t know that I’d love the snow.)
Ken Burns has a documentary called The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. And he’s right. Thank goodness that back in the day, the powers that be decided to preserve these gorgeous areas and make them “for the people” in perpetuity. (Nowadays the powers that be would probably try to put up hotels and golf courses.)
It’s such a treat to be out in nature.
Nature does quiet the mind. And it’s a salve for the soul too!
Friday night: Seeing my son Gabriel’s band The Collies play at a bar in Mt. Lookout.
Saturday during the day: working on a basement clean-up project.
Saturday night: Maggie Rose/Molly Tuttle concert in Lexington, KY with Gabriel. (MP Gannon rules!)
Sunday morning: kayaking with my friend Matt. His wife passed away back in February. Friday would’ve been her 50th birthday. I’m making an concerted effort to catch up with him on a regular basis. (I also organized a happy hour with some of our old co-workers a few weeks back.)
Sunday night: Built to Spill/Wussy concert at Ludlow Garage, with Gabriel and my daughter Leah. (First concert that we’ve gone to together!)
I’m not retired (yet!) but when the topic comes up in casual conversation (as it often does for people in my age bracket), some folks interrogate me with variations on these questions:
“But what will you do all day when you’re retired?” and
“Aren’t you afraid of getting bored?”
My answer to #1 is “more of the above” – more concerts, more time with my family (hmm, I probably should reverse the order of those two…), more home projects, more kayaking (and yes, more pickleball), more travel, more time with friends, more reading, more writing, more podcasting, and more of whatever the heck I want to do. (And yes, probably more naps.)
And my answer to #2 is an emphatic NO! I have waay too many interests for that to happen.
Right now I’m working for the weekend. I am starting to look forward to a permanent weekend. Especially if they’re like this past one!
On Saturday, I drove down to Lexington, KY with my oldest kid Gabriel to see an outdoor show at The Burl. (Great place to see a show, btw.)
It was a co-headlining tour, Maggie Rose and Molly Tuttle. I’d just seen Molly Tuttle a few weeks prior. And yes, I’ve been known to double down on artists I enjoy seeing. (Looking at you, Gladie.) But the real reason for the road trip was the guitarist for Maggie Rose’s band. MP Gannon. The dude’s an amazing guitar player.
And he has a fantastic, soulful voice to boot.
And I’d say that even if he weren’t my first cousin once removed.
But he IS my first cousin once removed, and that makes it even cooler! (I know him better as Michael Patrick.)
This doesn’t exactly qualify as a news bulletin, but I love music. And seeing my cousin’s kid up on stage, in front of a rapt audience, doing his thing… goosebumps the entire time! (I can only imagine how my cousin Patty and her husband Paul feel when they see their son on stage.)
In her set, Maggie performed a cover of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” — a ballad made famous by Bonnie Raitt*. If you’re gonna do that classic (or any Bonnie Raitt song, really), you’d better have the voice to back it up.
And Maggie does, in spades.
*that song was co-written by former Cincinnati Bengal defensive tackle Mike Reid, a two-time Pro Bowler whose songwriting career has far eclipsed his gridiron greatness.
Maggie recorded a duet version of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” song with Vince Gill. Which means MP has some pretty big shoes to fill in concert. TBH, I prefer his voice to Vince’s. And I’m not just saying that because he’s my first cousin once removed. (But, as previously established, he IS!)
Speaking o’ big shoes to fill, for Molly Tuttle’s encore, Maggie Rose and MP joined Molly’s band for rousing renditions of “She’s a Rainbow” by the Rolling Stones and “Up on Cripple Creek” by The Band. MP sang a verse of the latter – meaning he was channeling Levon Helm… merely my favorite member of one of my favorite bands. (Because Levon, the only non-Canadian member of The Band, was from my old stomping grounds of Arkansas.)
MP is based in Nashville. And as the Lovin’ Spoonful famously told us in their song “Nashville Cats”:
Well, there’s thirteen hundred and fifty two Guitar pickers in Nashville And they can pick more notes than the number of ants On a Tennessee ant hill
To snag a gig as a touring “guitar picker” is a big hill to climb. To become an integral part of Maggie Rose’s band in just a year with them is a testament to his talent, and his dedication to the craft.
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