I waited to after Mothers Day to post this blog, I really didn’t feel right posting it since it (Mothers Day) is supposed to be focused on celebrating our mothers.
This day also has another meaning from me. On Mothers Day 2006 I lost one of my best friends and I wanted to take sometime to remember him. He was a great guy and a catalyst for change in my life. What many of you know is that I had quit high school at the end of my sophomore year, but what is not well know is that I went back and why.I had met Steven through another friend and instantly we were at odds we each other. We competed over everything, girls, girls, sports, and everything in between. There was however a pivotal moment in our relationship and that was on a warm summer day while we were all hanging out at a mutual friends home. Somehow we got into a heated testosterone filled debate about who was the faster sprinter. At the time Steven and I didn’t know each other real well and probably were both equally cocky SOB’s.
We decided to meet over at Fuller Track in Newburyport two weeks later and settle our little difference with a wager of fifty dollars. We both went into our own intense training cycles. I went to Salisbury Beach conducting sand sprints three times a day and a plethora of other drills used by professional athletes during this two week period. If there was one thing we were serious about it was training. At the end of the two weeks we met on a Saturday morning just after sun up. Our mutual friend Chris would signal the start of this 100m race and with that history was made…
Oh ‘ I guess you need to know who won, well that was me of course.
So how did this change my life? It was what Steven said to me after the race. He said “Dude, you have all this ability why are you wasting it”. He pointed out that after spending a few months with me he could not figure out why I was letting life get the best of me. He said “If I were you I’d swallow my pride go and back to school.” This coming from a parent or even an aunt or uncle would have not have had even a fraction of an impact as it did coming from a friend who I respected and who I had just met on the field of battle so to speak. So because of what Steven said that day throwing that "pebble into the water" metaphorically speaking and the discussions on the topic we had for several weeks after I went back to school the following year.
I completed my junior and senior year together taking double math and english and to my mothers amazement made the honor roll as well. I entered the US Army just a few weeks after graduation and the rest is history. (or a subject for another blog)
I’m thankful that before Steven left us that I did get a chance during one of our Mt. Washington climbs to tell him how much he affected my life. I will always miss my friend, he was truly a fellow warrior in many of life’s battles.
During his memorial service I presented his mom with a picture of him standing at the base of Tuckerman’s Ravine. I knelt down next to her and said “This is a picture from one of the last times I spent with Steven.” I told her he touched a lot of lives including mine and that I loved him too. That would be the last time I mourned for Steven, yes I still get choked up when I think about him, and that’s because I loved my friend and miss those great times we had. His brother a US Army Major at the time gave a very touching eulogy and during it he explained why he placed a copy of the novel “Charlie Mike” in his casket with him. Even though his brother explained why he did this I’m sure many there could not relate to why he did this, but I could because I not only had read the book, but had also been a soldier.
Let me try to share this with you since you took the time to read this far. To sum it up "Charlie Mike" is a novel by Leonard B. Scott that speaks to the camaraderie of brothers-in-arms. For many of us (soldiers) past and present sometimes it comes down to fighting for the guy to your left and right. We know in combat and in life sometimes we lose the ones to our left and right, but we have to pick up and "Charlie Mike" (continue the mission) because the rest depend on us. One of my past commanders LTC Lloyd Mills who himself was shot and killed during a live fire exercise used to say let the dying go and we will honor them, but we will focus on the living that is what is important and that is what the fallen would want us to do.
Some of us hear God speak and I believe in my heart that God was speaking to me through Steven.
For those of you who have your faith shaken by what life throws at you I say "Charlie Mike" and pray that the Almighty keep that devil off your back.
This day also has another meaning from me. On Mothers Day 2006 I lost one of my best friends and I wanted to take sometime to remember him. He was a great guy and a catalyst for change in my life. What many of you know is that I had quit high school at the end of my sophomore year, but what is not well know is that I went back and why.I had met Steven through another friend and instantly we were at odds we each other. We competed over everything, girls, girls, sports, and everything in between. There was however a pivotal moment in our relationship and that was on a warm summer day while we were all hanging out at a mutual friends home. Somehow we got into a heated testosterone filled debate about who was the faster sprinter. At the time Steven and I didn’t know each other real well and probably were both equally cocky SOB’s.
We decided to meet over at Fuller Track in Newburyport two weeks later and settle our little difference with a wager of fifty dollars. We both went into our own intense training cycles. I went to Salisbury Beach conducting sand sprints three times a day and a plethora of other drills used by professional athletes during this two week period. If there was one thing we were serious about it was training. At the end of the two weeks we met on a Saturday morning just after sun up. Our mutual friend Chris would signal the start of this 100m race and with that history was made…
Oh ‘ I guess you need to know who won, well that was me of course.
So how did this change my life? It was what Steven said to me after the race. He said “Dude, you have all this ability why are you wasting it”. He pointed out that after spending a few months with me he could not figure out why I was letting life get the best of me. He said “If I were you I’d swallow my pride go and back to school.” This coming from a parent or even an aunt or uncle would have not have had even a fraction of an impact as it did coming from a friend who I respected and who I had just met on the field of battle so to speak. So because of what Steven said that day throwing that "pebble into the water" metaphorically speaking and the discussions on the topic we had for several weeks after I went back to school the following year.
I completed my junior and senior year together taking double math and english and to my mothers amazement made the honor roll as well. I entered the US Army just a few weeks after graduation and the rest is history. (or a subject for another blog)
I’m thankful that before Steven left us that I did get a chance during one of our Mt. Washington climbs to tell him how much he affected my life. I will always miss my friend, he was truly a fellow warrior in many of life’s battles.
During his memorial service I presented his mom with a picture of him standing at the base of Tuckerman’s Ravine. I knelt down next to her and said “This is a picture from one of the last times I spent with Steven.” I told her he touched a lot of lives including mine and that I loved him too. That would be the last time I mourned for Steven, yes I still get choked up when I think about him, and that’s because I loved my friend and miss those great times we had. His brother a US Army Major at the time gave a very touching eulogy and during it he explained why he placed a copy of the novel “Charlie Mike” in his casket with him. Even though his brother explained why he did this I’m sure many there could not relate to why he did this, but I could because I not only had read the book, but had also been a soldier.
Let me try to share this with you since you took the time to read this far. To sum it up "Charlie Mike" is a novel by Leonard B. Scott that speaks to the camaraderie of brothers-in-arms. For many of us (soldiers) past and present sometimes it comes down to fighting for the guy to your left and right. We know in combat and in life sometimes we lose the ones to our left and right, but we have to pick up and "Charlie Mike" (continue the mission) because the rest depend on us. One of my past commanders LTC Lloyd Mills who himself was shot and killed during a live fire exercise used to say let the dying go and we will honor them, but we will focus on the living that is what is important and that is what the fallen would want us to do.
Some of us hear God speak and I believe in my heart that God was speaking to me through Steven.
For those of you who have your faith shaken by what life throws at you I say "Charlie Mike" and pray that the Almighty keep that devil off your back.
Great post. I remember him in school but never knew him.
ReplyDeleteIm glad that he came into your life and helped you become or move towards the man you are today. Im sure he is looking down and is so proud of you--and as you should be of yourself.
Erica