Each Day is a Gift

Each day is a gift…this is something a dear family friend said. Her name was Marcia Ann Rapp Lutz and for more than forty years she was a friend to my parents and to our entire family…someone I have known my entire life. She had a quick wit, a keen sense of humor and an infectious smile and laugh. I couldn’t help but smile every time I saw her because she was just such a genuinely sweet soul. And sharing a funny story with her was always worth the reward at the end…her reaction…her laughter…priceless.

Unless you knew Marcia was sick, I doubt you’d ever guess anything was wrong with her. I never heard her complain in the seven years she battled cancer. She shared her worries and concerns with my mom and I’m sure with her family and close friends, but normally she was asking about others and trying to help others. A bittersweet memory I have of her is from about three years ago, when my grandmother had died and Marcia had come to pay her respects. When she approached my dad she simply said “aww Danny, you’re mom passed away. I’m so sorry.” Now here’s my Dad (64 years old at the time) and she calls him “Danny” and in that moment she sounded like a comforting mother and it was such a gentle expression of love and sorrow for my grandmother’s passing and for what my Dad was going through that it just broke my heart.

I have so many emotions today. Today is the day we say a final goodbye to Marcia, and I couldn’t be there…and I feel awful for not being there. Even though I know my parents passed along my condolences it’s just not the same. So I wanted to share with all of you just a little bit of who she was. She was a wife, a mother, an aunt, a sister and a friend, but she was so much more than just those titles…she was grace and charm and fun and joy. She loved life and lived it to the fullest until her body wouldn’t allow her to do everything she wanted and needed to do. I can only hope there is a life beyond this one and that Marcia is there watching over us all and waiting to share a joke and a smile if we ever meet again.

Her full obituary can be viewed at http://www.reinselfuneralhome.com.

You, Me and Pascal Dupuis

How many people can say they met a professional hockey player this weekend? We can! We were fortunate enough to get to go to a meet and greet with the Pittsburgh Penguin’s Winger, Pascal Dupuis. He came across as a very gracious and humble guy. He spoke to us about his kids (one of whom is the same age as Jacob and also in the second grade). In general he was a likeable, regular guy, which was a nice surprise.













Johnathan’s first question was, “hey! Where are your hockey clothes?” Nice. Thanks, kid. Haha! Pascal laughed it off and told him he only wears those when he’s playing hockey. He was very engaging with the boys, which I really appreciated.














Pascal gives Johnathan a quick jab in the shoulder. Johnathan is NOT having it. HAHA!

















Johnathan is getting ticked. Watch out, Pascal! He hits like an Islander! ;-)
















Finally, all the "boys" are playing nice and I get a good shot.


He also signed my shirt (SEE!)











and my calendar (WOO HOO!).


And posed for enough pictures to make any stalker (er, fan) happy. I had to leave before he requested a P.F.A. ;-) Nah, it really was a thrill to get to meet one of the players for our favorite team. LET’S GO PENS!!!

Rudy

A friend of mine who lived and worked in the New York City area during the September 11th attack had this to say about the then-mayor Rudy Giuliani, and in many ways she summed up my feelings about him, and also taught me things I did not know about him. In general I find him to be a likable person, and so I wanted to share her thoughts and perspective on this man with all of you. Also, I just enjoy the hell out of reading most anything my friend writes. I'll leave this entry anonymous because I'm not sure if she really wants to be known for what she posts on her blog, but I would like to point out this is not my work, but I do share her feelings:

Rudy Giuliani.

Yeah, he’s been milking it for ten years, and everyone’s tired of hearing about it, including New Yorkers. But listen: Rudy Giuliani was a fucking hero. During a time when everything was uncertain and leadership was severely lacking at the national level, Rudy stepped in and behaved in a truly courageous and admirable way. He was a true leader, and I haven’t really seen many of them in politics in my lifetime, before or since.

He was also supremely, painfully human. He attended hundreds of funerals, spent days on end at Ground Zero, comforted strangers, cried in public. He was clearly exhausted and so obviously sad, sad in the way everyone was, and that, maybe more than anything else, made him relate-able, lovable, and trustworthy.

It was a relief to surrender to his leadership and be able to trust that he was taking care of us as best as anyone possibly could. Do I wish he’d STFU about 9/11 every single time he opens his mouth? Sure. But truth be told, there are times–lots of them–when I feel uncontrollably compelled to run my mouth about 9/11 non-stop, even in completely incongruous situations, so, you know. I get it. And I’ll forever feel good, safe, grateful just by looking at him, which is… well… well done, Mayor.