Poor Cutler has now proven that he has been “blessed” with the incredibly slow twitch muscles that go with the Fricke genetics. Below is a quick clip of his incredible foot speed while beating out an infield hit.
Monthly Archives: June 2012
Hole In One
I took Mason to the driving range yesterday, for the first time, and he absolutely loved it. Between the time that we left until he went to bed he asked me at least seven times when we were going back. Putting another mark in the win column for my brainwashing him into enjoying the same sports as me. Below is a video of his mad skilz where he puts one in the hole (large hole) while showing off with no shoes and looking back at me before continuing with his swing. Perhaps we have the next Phil or Mike Weir* of the tour.
*Editorial note: I included Mike Weir because he is a lefty, won a Masters, and I am immature and think it is funny to say his first and last name together.
Grandpa Socks
Thinking is next step is to ditch the cleats an go with sandals. Perhaps change his last name to Peterson and start mowing the lawn in the dark using flashlights for headlights on the lawn mower. That last part is an internal joke to my family.
Cancer Sucks
I’ve said this before, but it seems like every week I hear of another person diagnosed with cancer whether it be a friend, acquaintance, or someone who knows someone it still sucks to hear. Sunday morning I woke up and checked my phone and found that one of my closest friends from several years ago had accepted a long ago sent friend request on Facebook. I excitedly logged on to see what was up with Glen only to find that he had his own CaringBridge site. I knew Glen when I lived in St. Louis after college and then we became very close when he moved to Dallas a few years after I did. Below is an excerpt from his caringbridge site:
“Glen has not been feeling well since early April, with various pains in the chest, back and stomach area, progressing to tingling and loss of sensation down the legs. It came to a head on Sat June 1st, when he couldn’t walk. A CT scan and MRI revealed a tumor on his spine, innumerable nodules on his lungs, and another mass on his rib. They operated the next day and removed the tumor from the spine.
Pathology has indicated it’s angiosarcoma. This is a very rare and aggressive form of cancer. The term angiosarcoma, when broken down is Angio (blood or lymph vessel) and Sarcoma (flesh, or connective tissue cancer). In other words, the lining of the blood vessels (endothelial cells) become malignant. In angiosarcoma, the endothelial cells grow uncontrollably and create more blood vessels until a tumor comprised of blood vessels has formed. This cancer is particularly aggressive because it has a high rate of metastasis.”
Glen has a beautiful family consisting of a lovely wife that I was fortunate enough to be drinking next to Glen when they met and three lovely little girls. I would ask that you please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers as well as Jared who is in Houston starting his seven weeks of radiation.
Here is Glen’s site if you’d like to read about his story and follow his progress to beating this horrible disease.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/glendelrosario
Mason Doing His Best Uncle Rico
The reference is probably lost on anyone that is not a fan of Napoleon Dynamite, but here is a video of Mason working on his footwork as a quarterback and trying to throw the ball over the mountain. I’m sure we will be contacted soon by many division one colleges to discuss a letter of intent. They don’t want to take a chance letting him get away at this young age.
Grandma Fricke Shoutout
With providing all of the updates on Grandma Lewis and her health, I realized I have seldom mentioned Grandma Fricke, or as known to the kids, Grandma Boo. I don’t get to provide too many updates on her because she is in such good health and going strong at the young age of 90. She’s a technical genius with her computer creating cards for all of us for every special event and continues to amaze me with her never losing any of her facilities. Here’s my shoutout to Grandma Boo!
Sixty Something Going On 14
While we were home, mom showed us that she is still very young at heart and wanting to be one of the girls with Jordan’s group of friends. Apparently they do a lot of modeling shows for each other?
One Of My Prouder Moments
While visiting Melanie’s mom over the weekend, Melanie and I were granted a pass to go out for the night. Upon our return, when checking on the boys in bed, Melanie called for me to come in there where she pointed out that Mason had fallen asleep with his baseball glove…with his hand still in it…and the ball in the glove. Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture for fear of waking either of them, but I walked away with a huge smile on my face and in my heart. One down, one to go on winning them over to one of the greatest sports around.
Visiting With Grandma Lewis
We took a trip home over Memorial Weekend for my nephew’s, Cody, high school graduation and my niece’s, Jordan, 8th grade graduation. More on the trip to come, but while we were there we were able to visit with Grandma Lewis and she has continued to amaze all with her recovery from her ankle and knee surgery. If you all recall, a few months ago it was assumed that she was not going to recover. She has since started to eat enough to maintain and seems to be in reasonably good health. She has some good days mixed with bad days, fortunately for our visit it was a good day as she even remembered who I was. I was very proud of my boys as they were extremely sweet and loving with her which help put a smile on her face.
Another Three Months Passes By…
Every three months we make the tough trip for Cutler’s quarterly check up with the oncologist. It’s no longer a fear of the test results that make it so tough, but more the natural reaction my body has as it reacts to the memory of our first couple trips there. Aside from my issues, Cutler’s results were normal as usual and he handled giving blood like a champ. As he usually gets his finger poked in an effort to take blood he offered it up as soon as the lab tech entered the room, unfortunately this test required more blood and so he had to give it via the needle to the vein. He gave it an initial cry when he was stuck, but quickly recovered and was excited to get the blue wrap on his arm. So all in all, it was a good trip with great results and it is always good to see the doctors and staff and of course Cutler’s best friend…the great big bear in the lobby.
Team Fricke 