When I started this blog last July I stated how I wanted the site to help UK fans and others with travel plans while attending games(mostly related to UK) and other big events. While that was the intial intention of the site, in reality, my periodic writing was serving as a distraction from my dad's failing health issues.
Dad was diagnosed with ALS in August of 2016. For the next several months, despite the diagnosis, he lived his life as he usually would have and , unless you were a close friend or family, you would likely not have noticed that the ALS was weakening him. Things began to change in late summer of last year as the ALS began to deteriorate the muscles in Dad's legs (it started in his arms) and he began to walk much slower and had difficulty getting in and out of a seated position. Dad never complained about his condition even when he reached the stage in late February where he had difficulty breathing and knew of his eventual fate.
My dad passed away on March 31 of this year, the Saturday of the Final Four. I will forever believe that he would've held on through that weekend if his Wildcats would have made the Final Four. I mentioned in my very first post how I attributed my UK fandom to my dad. The memorial service for my dad had speakers, all of whom referenced a UK connection. His former UK roommate spoke of their early days in Louisville and their time at UK together. He was followed by a fellow College of Engineering graduate who would later partner with Dad to have a longtime Civil Engineering firm in Northern Kentucky. Both men were great speakers and shared some great stories.
My favorite speaker that day was my dad's youngest brother my Uncle Rob. Rob said that growing up in Louisville he figured there was about a 50 percent chance of being a U of L fan. Dad took his to see UK play Notre Dame in Freeedom Hall when Cotton Nash(Dad's favorite) was playing. Rob said he was a UK fan from that day forward and added "if it wasn't for that game I might have been a Louisville fan..imagine the embarrassment he saved me." My favorite line of the day.
Until now, I have not added anything to the blog since February. Maybe my heart wasn't in it, or perhaps I was mentally exhausted. Whatever the reason, Fathers Day weekend seemed like a good time to resurrect the site and move forward, just as Dad continued to move forward until his final days. Fathers Day stings a little bit this year and maybe that will lessen over time. Future Fathers Days will likely be more about me being a dad myself, than a grieving son (The best gift I ever gave Dad,by far, was his grandson). For now, and especially this weekend, I find myself always thinking of Dad. Thanks for reading.
