Passing On Football

Sunday January 5th, 2014 – Island Lake, IL

I’m still floored by the news of my roommate’s health, but unfortunately I have to keep living my own life. Not to be selfish, but this throws a complete change of plans into everything, and I am still fuzzy on what I’ll need to do. According to what I’m hearing from Sheri’s friend Debra, Sheri is going to be in the hospital for at least a couple of weeks. That’s never a pleasant thought.

I don’t know about strokes or what to expect, but I do know that football player Teddy Bruschi suffered a major one but is back working as a TV analyst and appears to have made a comeback. Pro wrestler Bret “The Hitman” Hart also had one, and he has since wrestled again. I hope those are positive signs for Sheri, and she will be able to get most if not all of her quality of life back.

This just stinks so badly on so many levels. Not that I would wish something as horrific as this on anybody, but especially not Sheri. She is as harmless and sweet as anyone I know, and would not harm a flea. She’s a dented can herself, and all she wanted was to have fun. Is that so bad?

The house was eerily silent all day, as nobody was in it but me. Sheri had another room rented to a woman named Tracy, but she just moved out before the end of December. Actually, Sheri let her live rent free because she’d just survived breast cancer surgery and needed a place to recover.

That’s the kind of person Sheri is, and that’s why I’m so saddened by this sour turn of events. I just don’t understand how these things happen to good people, while unscrupulous weasels seem to slide through life problem free. It doesn’t add up, and if there’s a lesson to be learned I for one am failing to see it. It leaves a very sour taste in my mouth, and I’m trying hard to stay positive.

I shut everything else out of my mind and went to work all day. I was invited to several parties to watch my beloved Green Bay Packers playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, but I was not in a mood to watch football – even the Packers. I didn’t need the stress of three hours with a possibility of them losing at the last second – which they eventually did. I’m glad I didn’t see it.

Even if they had won, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it much today. My heart wasn’t in it, and my mind was thinking off much deeper things. I normally love football, but today it seemed boring, trivial and far far away. I was thinking of more spiritual things, and that’s what matters.

How can I give more of myself as a human being, and really make a difference in somebody’s life or lives? That’s all that has any meaning whatsoever, and all I aspire to for as long as I am on this cosmic plane. It may sound corny or sappy, but why would I lie? Football doesn’t come close to scratching this itch, and never will. It’s a fun diversion on occasion, but not where real life is.

What Sheri is going through in that hospital has to be sheer torture. Depending on how clearly she is able to think, it has to be scary beyond words to think of what she may have to face. I can remember when I had my own hospital scare and thought I was going to lose my genitals. That’s a hilarious comedy bit, but it wasn’t funny to think there was a chance of it actually happening.

What can I do to serve my fellow humankind more? I see more than ever how important it is to bring laughter and smiles to as many people as possible. People like Sheri could really use it.

Normally I’d have to watch a playoff game when my beloved Green Bay Packers were playing. Today I didn’t, and I didn’t miss it. There are far deeper things in life than football. Really.

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Unplanned Sadness

Saturday January 4th, 2014 – Normal, IL/Island Lake, IL

I had a strong feeling before 2014 started that it would be a year full of dramatic changes. What I wrongly assumed is that they’d all be as positive as the vibe I’ve been in of late. That vibe took a serious hit as I received word my roommate Sheri suffered a major stroke on New Year’s Eve.

I got a text message out of the blue from Sheri’s friend Debra as I was driving home, and I had to pull the car over so I could make sure I was understanding what it said. I couldn’t believe what I was reading, but I don’t think Debra would make something like that up. She and Sheri go way back, but I’ve only met her a couple of times. There’s no reason for her to play any jokes on me.

Apparently, some friends had tried to call and text Sheri to wish her a Happy New Year but got no response. That’s not like Sheri, and they eventually got worried and went to see if she was ok. From what I’m hearing that’s when they found her unconscious on the floor and called for help.

I wouldn’t have expected this scenario in a million years. Sheri is a few years younger than me, and I’ve known her at least twenty years. She was a waitress and bartender at the Zanies Comedy Club in Vernon Hills, IL, and was even the manager for a brief time. It was down to her and one other person and the other person got it, but she still worked there on and off for years after that.

The staff at that particular Zanies was and is one of the closest knit workplace groups I’ve ever seen anywhere. Those people were more like family to me than my blood family the last twenty years, and there’s something very comforting about that. I love those people, and they love me.

The last three living situations I’ve had were all with former Zanies employees who had houses and rented me a room. The first two lasted three years each, and that’s pretty rare. I can’t say that I’d live at Sheri’s that long, mainly because it’s out in the sticks and difficult to get into the city.

Sheri inherited some money several years ago, and decided to buy a house. She asked me what I thought, and I told her it was her money and she should do what she wanted. It wouldn’t be my choice, but that’s not the issue in question. She decided she wanted it, so that’s what she chose.

Over the time she owned it she got and lost a couple of jobs and had a few roommates move in and out, and she always told me I’d have a place there because she knew I would pay her rent on time and not trash the place – which was true. I told her the location didn’t fit my needs but I was still thankful for her generosity. Sheri was always a giving person, to the point of getting used.

That happens with giving souls, as I’m one too. There are always those few scumbags that ruin it, and that’s just how it is. I would never abuse Sheri or anyone else’s kindness, and she knew it. When I needed a place to crash at least temporarily in December, I knew Sheri would let me stay until I decided what to do. I knew she could use the rent for Christmas, so it worked out ideally.

I had no idea how long I would stay, but my plans were to not make it long. Now, I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I have no idea how long she’ll be hospitalized, or how bad the damage is from her stroke. Hopefully, she’ll make a full recovery. Whatever she would need from me I will gladly do. If I have to leave, I’ll do that too. It’s all about her needs, but what a shock this all is.

I couldn’t be any sadder after hearing what happened to a friend I’ve known for twenty years. Life can be SO unfair.