Mission Accomplished

It's been a process.
It started with a dream, and through the kindness of the most amazing woman I have ever met it became a possibility. It was a project, and through the crushing adversity of a family member it became a mission. It was a hobby, and through the dedication and inspiration of some incredible men and women it became a new way of life.
I'll be the first to admit I had my moments of doubt... but it was all worth it. Whether is was the sparkle of hope in a sick child's eyes, the support and encouragement of my friends, the soothing words of my ever loving (and ever patient) girlfriend, or the cold, dark, glossy glare of the Dark Lord- the fire never went out.

When this is your boss, you don't get lazy.

Thanks are in order.

A HUGE thanks to Timothy Boyle for all of his help (and putting me up... and putting up with me... and all the laughs and Muppet xmas carols) and also "Mom" and "Dad" for all their hospitality. I am in your debt, and I won't forget the kindness and patience you have shown me in the last few months. You guys are the best. Also thanks to Troy Gentry, who was instrumental not only in the construction of my armor but in integrating me into the group, as well as Paul Button and Rick Russo and family. You guys made my first experiences with the legion positive and memorable... and hilarious.

Thanks to my family and friends, who have supported me all along and my bosses and co-workers for putting up with my time off requests and constant ranting about plastic weld and ABS.

Thanks to the incredible Whitney Hayes for all the patience, all the encouragement, and all the love. You've made my dreams come true, in every way imaginable.

Thanks to my Dad, for fighting hard and being there to get the call. 

I'm In. I did it. And it's all thanks to all of you.

Hail to the Empire

TK-66613

Troop For The Cure

Thanksgiving

It's been a tough few weeks for a retail veteran like myself, busy with preparing for the coming sales onslaught that is the weekend after thanksgiving and frankly the entire month of December. It's been a struggle (more so than it already is) to balance my many duties and priorities between work, the troop, family, and friends. Add to this the difficult situation of my fathers illness and you've got a level of stress that only a Jedi could survive without force choking someone to death.


I've tried to make a concious effort this holiday season to keep at the forefront of my mind what really matters to me: taking the time to see and care for my father. Advancing the Troop for the cure cause. Showing my friends and family just how much I appreciate them. So to keep true to that I've prepared a list of things I am thankful for.

I am thankful to the ever helpful and ever vigilant troops of the 501st, who have given my life new purpose this year. You have shown me the power of the human spirit and moved me beyond words. I am especially thankful to Tim Boyle and Troy Gentry for their limitless patience and diligence in helping me build my armor. I barely know you guys but you have accepted me and treated me only as true friends would.

I am thankful for my co-workers, the most talented group of misfits I have had the pleasure of working with. Whether its making burgers or hocking t-shirts, you see it on the front lines every day, and without your humor, support, and co-miseration I could not do what I do.

I am thankful for my wonderful girlfriend Whitney. She sees it all. She is the one who has to pick up what's left when I am spent, physically and emotionally. She is the one that has to watch me go out the door tired and sick and come home destroyed. She is the one who brings me back from the edge,  who makes me laugh when the world seems like a hopeless place. She is the light of my life and without her none of this would be possible. I love you Whitney.

Lastly I am thankful for my family. For my Mom's tireless efforts to keep the ship afloat. For my brother for being there for them when I can't and backing them up the whole way. And for my dad for hanging in there for all of us.

-TFTC

Hairy Situation

My Dad has always been jealous of my hair.

He's probably laughing while reading this. But it's true. He has always commented on how I had my Great-Grandfathers hair, dark, wavy, and incredibly thick. He's also always mentioned that my Great Granddad also died with a full head of hair, which might seem inconsequential to some people. People who have a full head of hair.

Laugh it up, fuzzball.

 Now my Dad's not spear bald. He's thinning on top. He wears it well. I think it gives him an air of wisdom and experience. But I'm sure it has not escaped him that my hair hasn't even hinted at starting to thin out. He's also brought up on more than one occasion that I seem to be mocking him with my hair. You see, I wear my hair in a Mohawk, where as he's thinning on top. He's joked a few times that I cut it that way just to prove I have hair where he doesn't. 

Well, at least I think he was joking.

My hair has been a center of focus since my high school days, when I used to wear it in gigantic conical liberty spikes.  I had it pretty well down to a science, making sure all the spikes were set at certain angles and whipping it up with a cocktail of hairgel (for hardness) and hairspray (for hold). It was a lot of fun, but extremely high maintenance. In my college days I opted for a more permanent, less maintenance hairstyle and lost the sides. The result was a Cliff Burton / Mike Patton style long Mohawk that I usually wore down and as long as I could grow it. It was extremely handy for my metal band Empyrean, and I had a good time whipping it around, wetting it down with water and soaking the front row, doing windmills, and occasionally getting it caught in guitar tuning knobs or swallowing it and having to pull it out of my throat while singing.

Epic. Metal. Hair.

It's a common side effect of chemotherapy to experience hair loss  and well, today was the day Dad got his head shaved. He would probably never admit it but I know he's been dreading it. So today I leveled the playing field for him and did the deed. 

My magical metal mohawk of mayhem is going in the mail and headed to Locks For Love, so it can be sewn into a wig for children undergoing chemotherapy treatments just like my Dad. I hope he can take comfort in the fact that some kids day just got a little bit more comfortable, and it's all because of him. 

If you would like to donate hair to Locks of Love, you can follow this link for instructions and to find out more about what they do: http://www.locksoflove.org/donate.html

-TFTC

Ups and Downs

This was a strange week.

My Dad entered the Hospital on Monday and got his high-dosage chemo treatment, followed on Wednesday by his stem cell transplant. Out of an abundance of caution due to illness in my vicinity and his diminished immune system, I couldn't see him this week until I finally got a chance to visit on Thursday when I was sure I was not sick.
Tuesday night was a bad night for him, as he was struggling with nausea from the intense chemotherapy. I texted him some words of encouragement and thanked him for going through all of this, because I know he's primarily doing it for us. This was his response:

"Thank you for your kind words. You, Mom, and Mike have certainly enriched my life far beyond anything I could have imagined. The kindness, love, and concern you have given me are a great source of strength. I am very proud that she and I have raised two young men who are very intelligent and talented. But I am most proud that we helped instill love, compassion, and strength in you that make you the men you've become. Always remember that when things look hopeless that you are blessed with the intellect, strength  and support to overcome and actually grow wiser. I love you, Dad."

If only this conversation had gone so well.

I finally got to see my Dad on Thursday, the day after his new birthday (to see what I'm talking about read my post "Happy Birthday Dad") and he seemed to be doing well, despite his continued nausea. His moral was very high and he was comfortable. We talked for about an hour and I updated him on what was going on in my life and he did the same. It was good so see him doing well. I gave him a bumper sticker for the link to this blog and headed home. Before I got there he called me to thank me for everything I had done.

I explained to him that this was really all of his doing- that the will to do what it takes to make the world better, even just a little bit, was a value he had instilled in me, a value he had exemplified throughout his life as my father and my role model. That all of this was being done so that he could know that if and when he left this world we would still be here, doing good in his name. And then I reminded him that his life wasn't over yet, and I looked forward to spending the rest of it making him proud.


Dad's condition seems to be holding strong, mine however has not. I am prone to nasal and throat infections, especially around the holidays, and for those of you not in the retail profession, yes we are in the holidays.
This is especially disheartening as it means there is no way I can see my father until I have completely recovered.It doesn't however preclude me from doing other things, so I chose to spend my Saturday working on the armor. I got up early (at my girlfriends insistence) and got down to cutting and welding. In the middle of this process I was interrupted by Kelly, my Mom's next door neighbor, with the terrible news that her Husband had passed in the night.

Richard Lilly was a good man, husband and father, who has been struggling with cancer almost as long as I have known him. Before Troop For The Cure ever existed my brother Michael and I had leveraged our fan base from our band Empyrean to help us locate O- blood donors to help him with a much needed transfusion, and this event was one of the stepping stones that has directed me down this path.We are all very saddened to see him go.

On a plus side for the day, I completed my armor enough to make a surprise visit to the Birthday Party for Victor Shea, son of my good friends Melanie and Steven Shea. Steven's father also passed away a few years back from cancer, and his efforts in raising money for the cause have also been inspirational to me to do this project. Steven has been a good friend and very supportive through all this with helpful insight and generous donation, and It made me happy do be able to do something special for him in return.

Plus his Kid is frigging adorable.

I think one of the most beautiful things about the 501st is it's ability to inspire people. It touches me at my most innocent of places, reaches back into the simplest, happy times in my life, and tells me to do better- to be better than I am and make the world a better place, through volunteerism, through charity, and one smile at a time. Those smiles become very important for people who are stricken with these illnesses, and for the people around them as well, because happiness even at is simplest is infectious and distracting. After all, what is the point of all this work to prolong life if you don't get those simple moments of enjoyment out of it?

-TFTC
TK- 75%