The sequel.

I'm not going to be so vain as to ask if you've missed me, but I am going to ask you to help my achieve my dreams.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, which means that it's time for Have A Skate With Bob: The Sequel.

In memory of my best friend and someone who understood me, I will be donating $1 per save, $10 per win and $25 for each shutout I earn in league play this December, and would love to have you skate with me...

New: 10/9 A $10 contribution now will be made for each Chicago Blackhawks' win in November.

Please click on the link to the right to donate.

Thanks!
Bob

Gene Upshaw, RIP

Don't know a lot about the man, but I do know that PC cut his life short.

It's time to do something about this disease.

RIP, Gene

An interesting thing happened on the way to the rink....

Somewhere between 53 and 55, I decided to stay away from the Miller Lite and concentrate on hockey. It didn't exactly help in the playoffs, as we were defeated 4-1 last Sunday, but all of a sudden, I'm finding more and more requests to sub than I have ever had before.

Down 20 pounds, I've suddenly discovered flexibility and am playing some of the best goal of my life...

It should be an interesting season-it opens on Sept 7th at 7:30.

Fighting for kennel supremacy

Tonight at Pepsi, 7:30pm





Jun 15, Red Rockets 5, Dog River 3.

Should be a good game. I enjoy playing against these guys and am anticipating another good game.

I don't like Mondays....

This is my buddy Ziggy, dressed to kill for dinner!

Let's see... I have two elbows that are blue (made the saves)!, a hole in my screen door because someone let the hyper dog out and then fell asleep, get in a peeing match with the hockey league's commissioner and bought the second volume in a Cisco course when I need the rookie volume....

And that's just for starters.

When a manufacturer says "do not install a screen saver on these servers" they should add "because some expert engineer will not expect it, react like there's not one on this server, and blow up your voice mail system."

Thursday night, a first here. LIVE BLOGGING A SERVER REBUILD! If that doesn't get page hits, nothing will!

EDIT: Just before going to bed, I get a phone call: "Daddy, the oil light is flickering".
Here's to Tuesday!

Random thoughts....

This is Jeff Smith, his son Jake, and me at a hockey camp this past spring.

Jeff and I played goal for the last day scrimmage, and it was a blast! The kids played hard and ran their mouths throughout..

Jeff plays for the Possums and we get him Sunday at 3:15; hopefully with a better result than last!

Here is Jeff and me in Chicago last March. We were at a game where the Blackhawks were celebrating Tony Esposito. The gentleman between us is Rocky Wirtz, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks. I'm not sure what I thought of the pink shirt, but I think he agreed with the message, as cancer took his father last fall. We spent about 15 minutes discussing the state of the Hawks; their ARE good times ahead.


Last, but not least, here's two of my biggest fans, and the loves of my life, Rachel and Sarah. We might not always understand each other, but we love each other, and that's what it is all about.... This is from a poster for Have A Skate, 1-watch for the sequel this November.

Sweating the Small Sh*t

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play" was something Randy would say to students to remind them not to focus on little issues while ignoring the big ones.....

We expected Becky to live until Christmas, 1999. She left this world on November 14, 1999. I remember Sarah's reaction when I said we had to say goodbye, now. She said "I thought Mom would live to Christmas".

Compared to that, EVERYTHING else I will face in this life is small shit; I will never face anything quite that hard in my life...

Think about it.....

have a good weekend.

Not sure this will work for everyone.

"Brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough... They're there to stop the other people" -rp

I'm not sure referring to your wife as a brick wall is the best thing, but it obviously worked. In Ch. 16, Randy talks about meeting and falling in love with Jai. A heartwarming chapter, where he proves that true love will not be denied, as the Moodies sing in "I Know You're Out There Somewhere".

From there, he takes us to the wedding day and evening, and well... I can relate to this guy. It would have been fun to share some time with him, although Jai might have disagreed on that night..

In the third and last chapter for today, we learn that not everything can or needs to be fixed in "The Day Jai Managed to Achieve the One-Driver, Two Car Collision" Their reactions, separately, and together are pretty neat.

The more I read this book, the more I wish I'd known him. The thoughts he shares, his zest for life, just his aura is incredible. I'm learning not only about him, but also about myself.

Have a good evening.
peace.

Who's gonna be first?

If you're reading this, you're probably part of my family, or someone that shares something in common with me that we both wish we didn't..

Trying something new can often bring your inner Eeyore, but there's no reason to be afraid....


Hopefully, this becomes a place where we can get together and share hopes and fears and help each other through this game of life, but I cannot do it alone-who's gonna release their Tigger and take the leap?

Eeyore... Tigger..... 'Roo!

Randy talks about being a Tigger or an Eeyore but there's another Disney character that I relate to.

'roo.

In 1975, I broke my ankle playing hockey, and the lady I was dating at the time wrote the following ditty on my cast.
"roses are red,
violets are blue,
you sure ****** this time,
bobberroo"

It condensed into 'roo and stuck. An innocent character full of peace and love, wanting good for the world he lives in..

Just like me.

The Legend of 35

This is Tony Esposito, Hall of Fame goaltender for the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks are my favorite team, so therefore, I must wear 35 to honor him, right?

Nope, he made my number famous.

Anyway, as a kid, goalies wore 1 or 30. I wanted to stand out, so I wore 35 two years before Tony O did...

As usual in this game called life, things happen and we don't always understand why- that's true here as well.

and now the story behind 35.

My younger sister Cindy was born with one kidney. In 1969, she became one of the first kidney transplant patients in America, and we were given 4 more years with her until she passed away on 10.25.73.

Becky Klem was one of the few people in this world who truly understood (and put up with) me. She blessed me with two wonderful daughters. Her birthday is 7.28.55

Speaking of those two daughters, Rach's birthday is 4.13 and Sarah's 2.16. Combine those numbers and see what you get.

Yep, when I pull on a sweater to play, I am honoring these women who are very important to me. You also know the secret of the CBRS on the back of my mask.

The elephant in the room and possessions

So, at lunch, I pick up the book, to read a few chapters. Randy talks about the lecture and the stuffed animals he had brought on stage, how he had fun with his niece and nephew to the point of pouring a Coke in the back seat of his new car, and then you come to the elephant in the room yourself...

A few months ago, on my oldest daughter's 21st birthday, little sister was driving home from a friend's house and wrapped my beloved Red Ranger around a tree. At 3 am. I calmed her down, explaining that possessions could be fixed/replaced but the important thing was that she was OK. Seeing how it was big sis' 21st, well, let's just say that talking to the Police (and I do NOT mean the band) was an out body experience...

The truck was repaired, but the most important thing is that Sarah was not afraid to drive it again...

The book is going along smoothly talking about the girl who got the biggest stuffed animal, and there it is, in front of you.

The elephant. Chapter 12. We all know what is coming, but nothing prepares you for it.

The initial diagnosis. The first round of treatment, and the optimism of a follow up visit.

The optimism that soon turns to determination.

I hope and pray you all never have to hear these words, but if you do, I will be there if you want to talk.

"We are going to give you a drug that will improve the quality and quantity of your life".

I heard them for the first time in August of 1999. They still haunt me to this day, I'm pretty sure they always will....

That's the day when I found out how short and precious life is.

So do me a favor today. If there's someone who's special to you, someone you love, tell them how you feel.

Tomorrow might just be too late.

peace.

The first chapters of The Last Lecture.

Thanks to Mother Nature and Dish Network, I ran into a brick wall about 9 this evening.. There was a show I wanted to see, but thanks to the before mentioned duo, there was a blank screen on the TV...

So, I wondered what people did in the old days and picked up a book.

There were a few things that I learned.. "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." "Dream. Not just any dreams, but SPECIFIC dreams" and the two types of head fakes, real and the one that teaches you something."

I've seen the first and the last. Summer hockey is a fun time, filled with vacations and short benches. I'm 54 years old, and it's hot under all that stuff, but I am still playing the greatest game in the world. So what if I give up a bad goal? I had to tell my kids that it was time to say goodbye to Mom; is a bad goal REALLY going to bother me? If you're one of my teammates reading this, yes, otherwise, nope... Last Sunday was one of those games. We were shorthanded against the first place team and lost 7-1, but I played, and I played well in defeat. Not only did I play well, but I had fun because I was playing the greatest game in the world.

I was the recipient of a head fake from my commander in the Air Force back in the 70's. With a cast on my freshly broken ankle, he came by for a chat. An hour later, I was thanking him for caring about me so. About 10 minutes after that, I realized that I had thanked him for chewing me out.

Now, for dreams.... A lady I met today has shared a pretty neat dream with me, but she's wondering if it will work... I sent her a note telling her the story of "Have a Skate" and how it started by looking for a roll of purple hockey tape, and blossomed into something far beyond my wildest dreams, and said go for it. You see, success isn't always about raising 10K for charity; the result is the same if you and 9 others each raise 1K, isn't it? There are very few things in this world as wonderful as doing something you love with or for someone you love and seeing someone else benefit from it...

Dream. BIG. And then, don't be afraid to share your dream. You just might meet someone who can or will help it come true.

Have a great day! It's Pond Hockey tonight at Pepsi for me =)

Mask!

I often get asked two questions when someone finds out I play hockey:

1. Do you have all your teeth? Yes, but a few are store bought.

2. Why would someone want to have people shoot pucks at them? May I remind you that they're not shooting AT me, but trying to avoid me, and I throw myself at those biscuits of rubber?

Anyway, here's the new mask, made by Hackva in Ontario, Canada. When I put it on, the bars melt away. The sightlines are incredible, and it's a tank. Gabe asked if he could jazz up the logo a bit, and here's the final result.


What I'm proudest of is the backplate, showing my commitment to eradicating pancreatic cancer from this world.


I don't get paid for this, so I'm doing it for the goalies out there. Protect your head. Both of them.

Les Habitants et Dr. Randy Pausch

In the locker room of the Montreal Canadiens is this passage above pictures of great players in their past.

"to you from failing hands we throw the torch be yours to hold it high"

Dr. Randy Pausch lived with pancreatic cancer. It took his life last Friday. While fighting the cancer, he taped a lecture that gained worldwide fame and wrote a book that I am just getting into. He was also an activist for pc research.

In his passing from this physical plane, he has become an inspiration to me.

Randy, I accept the torch you passed to me. With the support of many others, I will strive to carry it higher and higher.

Please tell Becky happy birthday for us and let her know we miss her so....

Who I am.

I'm Bob, single parent of two wonderful daughters, a fantastic son, and a grandfather to Abby.

I'm also a telecom engineer who lost his soulmate and best friend to pancreatic cancer in 1999.

Now, maybe you see why I do this for fun.


Yeah, I try to get hit with as many hockey pucks as I can three times a week.

Usually, you'll find me behind these guys, the Red Rockets of Overland Park, KS


but sometimes, I'm up at Line Creek or even in Topeka...

Anyway, I play hockey for fun and to raise funds for PanCAN.

I won my first championship last spring, so together, we can beat pc, but only if you'll help.