RIP Don

I met Don Thomson in 1993. He was the marketing/sales rep for Karhu USA (Canadien, JOFA, KOHO), specifically promoting and selling their new line of roller hockey products. This included KOHO Ultimate player sticks and the JOFA ISD roller hockey puck. I managed a skating rink in Orange, California and toward the end of my tenure there, ran the roller hockey program.

Don came to visit one day and talk to me about the product. We not only talked product, but talked quite a bit about the business. Don was the reason I wanted to become a sales rep in the hockey business, which I finally did do from 1996-2008.

At 20 years (1993-2013), Don was the longest friendship I had in the hockey industry, and despite being a jokester, he was a great and professional guy.

In September 2004, I resigned from TPS Hockey. A few days after my resignation, Don called to tell me that TPS had phoned him to fill my position and asked if it was OK with me if he take it. He didn't have to call or ask, as we all have to do what's right for our families in order to put food on the table, however, it was nice touch that he did call.

So many memories over the past 20 years and you just had to love the guy! He wasn't afraid to tell you how he felt or what he thought of a particular person, and him calling you a "douchebag" was that term of endearment that you were in his inner circle.

We'd gotten together many times for dinner, beers, stayed at each other's houses while we were on the road. It was nice to just hang out, watch TV, talk shit, drink beers, grab a bite, and laugh.

Over the past two years we hadn't kept in touch as much as we probably would've liked, however, it was nice to speak to him this past Friday. I could tell he was in a good place and despite his promise to me that he'd phone me back, he didn't.

I take solace in that Don finally got back to being in a good place with his life, and despite the ugly way that he passed and the fact that his passing is a tough pill to swallow, he is in a better place showing everyone how to party and throw back beers.

I'll forever miss my friend, but he has left me with a lifetime of laughs and memories.

Toughest Day of My Life

It's one thing for your 10 month old son to get his "shots", and yet another thing to watch three women try and hold him down in order to get an IV in.

And then to see the nurse's hand shake while she tries to get the IV needle in...

Words can't describe.

The Sad Reality About Technology

Email.  Text messaging.  Facebook.  Twitter.  Pinterest.  Instagram.  Just to name a few.  Who knows what's next...

Social networking, in its many forms, is a great way to get a ton of info out there.  But at what expense?

It's pretty amazing how far technology has brought us in such a short period of time.  And at that same time, look at what it has taken away from us.

It has taken away our personalities from conversations.  Ever have to clarify what you said in an email because it came across as "too strong"?

It has taken away the personal touch that we once had with each other.

It has become a convenience tool for us to swype or type on our phones instead of doing what we used to do, reach out and touch someone by way of the phone call.

Not very long ago, friends would get together to tell each other of fantastic things going on in their lives.  Now, a post on Facebook does that, and the close friendships that people once had erode into being just one more person or name on Facebook, or Twitter, or an entry in a Contacts folder on ones phone.

Would you send your parents or close friends an email or a text message to tell them you were engaged?  Would you disregard them and have them find out the news on Facebook or Twitter?  And how would you feel if you were on the flip side?

I guess sometimes we're so entrenched in our own lives that we just can't see beyond the technology that is so close to our finger tips.

And that's the sad reality of technology.  We've become so dependent upon it, that we can't see the negative effects it has brought to our lives...