I posted this picture about 4 years ago, in the "Show Us Your Drunk Photo" thread.
We were drinking homebrew (Mike is holding a Grolsch bottle of some amber ale of mine, I think) and playing horseshoes and things. I realize it is an amazingly unflattering picture of me but that was about five minutes before one of my friends and I started flashing body parts and I am NOT posting those!
My buddy Mike had a couple of minor oral cancers removed over the years (a former chewing tobacco guy) but last summer he couldn't swallow and ended up being diagnosed with an aggressive throat cancer. After radiation, chemotherapy, a tracheotomy, and a feeding tube, they found a few weeks ago that it didn't work. Mike is starting hospice care soon.
I've been thinking alot about Mike lately and our fun and crazy drinking times. I'm thinking of the books he's written and I've enjoyed (except when I was worried I'd show up as a character) and of the way he loves fried crappies. His BBQ, KC style, is to die for. His garden produced the catawba grapes for many of my wines. He LOVED my homebrew and most especially my "Fat Sam". He told me I'd win the Sam Adams competition, because my beer was always better than Sam Adams- his favorite beer. I got him to happily drink hoppy beers over the last few years and even a few stouts.
He lives about two hours away from me, so I don't see him much. But I'm going to see him in a few weeks to say goodbye. Life is just too short. And I have great memories of him as my friend. But I'm very sad.
We were drinking homebrew (Mike is holding a Grolsch bottle of some amber ale of mine, I think) and playing horseshoes and things. I realize it is an amazingly unflattering picture of me but that was about five minutes before one of my friends and I started flashing body parts and I am NOT posting those!
My buddy Mike had a couple of minor oral cancers removed over the years (a former chewing tobacco guy) but last summer he couldn't swallow and ended up being diagnosed with an aggressive throat cancer. After radiation, chemotherapy, a tracheotomy, and a feeding tube, they found a few weeks ago that it didn't work. Mike is starting hospice care soon.
I've been thinking alot about Mike lately and our fun and crazy drinking times. I'm thinking of the books he's written and I've enjoyed (except when I was worried I'd show up as a character) and of the way he loves fried crappies. His BBQ, KC style, is to die for. His garden produced the catawba grapes for many of my wines. He LOVED my homebrew and most especially my "Fat Sam". He told me I'd win the Sam Adams competition, because my beer was always better than Sam Adams- his favorite beer. I got him to happily drink hoppy beers over the last few years and even a few stouts.
He lives about two hours away from me, so I don't see him much. But I'm going to see him in a few weeks to say goodbye. Life is just too short. And I have great memories of him as my friend. But I'm very sad.