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David Holder
(202) 270-3174
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Feeling Better
My physical condition is getting better, allowing me to participate in life a little. I had an old friend over, went to Eli's parent-teacher conference, and even went with Liza to a clothing store. While I loved seeing my old friend and her daughter, and I wept for joy that Eli's in such a nice school during this hard time, I just can't muster much emotion for the clothing store outing. I guess I did get a good laugh when I joined Liza in her fitting room and felt like a guilty but happy 13 year old. Otherwise, I was hoping the circumstances would trump my normal aversion to clothing stores, but no. I guess I should be thankful that my chemo perspective hasn't dulled all my corners.
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8 comments:
too funny about clothing store...that goes for antique store, jewlery store, and shoe store too...in fact this is not good for your treatment and karma, although Liza was with you, which trumps it with way positive vibes from being with her doing somewhat normal things.
plow on my man, plow on...which now relates to shopping too.
Sloc
ditto...i hate shopping but i have always had that dressing room fantasy too...anyway i know you both will love this story! You can see the pics at laxpower.com.
I had an interesting lacrosse-related experience today and have a story to share with someone/anyone...and since my wife didn't find any entertainment in the story (in fact, she is a wee bit upset over it), I thought I would share it with those who might appreciate it. It is a bit long so I apologize in advance.
I was returning some items to a store today to get the deposit money put back on our credit card. The guy at the store said that due to a new store policy he could only give me cash and could not credit the card back. So, he handed me $140 cash and I was on my way (after stopping at the next register to buy a $10 mega-millions ticket. A guy can dream!).
In the adjacent storefront there is a local sports memorabilia store which does a fairly good business, especially in the summer when the Ravens hold their training camp in town at McDaniel College. In the last 10-15 years I have been in the store only once or twice. I am not a big memorabilia person and always found the items too pricey for my budget. For some reason I decided to go inside today to see if they had a Ravens trailer-hitch cover for my SUV.
To my surprise the store seemed a bit crowded given my first glance down the first aisle. In the very front display I found a plastic Ravens trailer-hitch cover for $11.99. Perfect. Then I looked up from the display and down aisle #2 and found a long line of people waiting in line for one of the store's autograph signings; usually one of the local Baltimore sports legends, a current Raven or current Oriole.
I noticed that many of the people in line were wearing Cleveland Browns jackets or holding Browns helmets to get signed. I thought to myself...oooh, I can't wait to go back there and give Jamal Lewis a piece of my mind...watching him tap-dance in the Ravens backfield the last few years and then watching him pound the football for the Browns this year like the Jamal of old left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I walked to the back of the store trying to figure out why Jamal would even think about returning to B-more (and knowing I would never say a word to him other than to ask if I could see his Super Bowl ring; his arms are larger than my legs and he did spend some time in prison after all).
I looked up and through the back door of the store limped a building of a man. As my view cleared, to my surprise I was standing directly in front of NFL and US Lacrosse Hall-of-Famer Jim Brown.
Immediately I thought to myself, "Wow, pretty cool. There is the best lacrosse player to have ever played the game in little old Westminster, MD." I wondered how many of these guys in line even knew about his lacrosse career. I then began thinking about getting in line to get his autograph; I had a bucket of lacrosse balls in the truck. I then thought of the authentic Wes Patterson wooden stick my wife gave me for my birthday a few years ago. How cool would it be to have an authentic lacrosse stick signed by Jim Brown? There can't be too many of those out there. So, I went to the counter and asked if he would sign a wooden lacrosse stick and how much it would be. They thought it was a cool idea and gave me the large flat print/mini helmet price of $120.00. I would normally never pay even half of that for an autograph from anyone, but this was Jim Brown, arguably the most dominant lacrosse player of all time in addition to that little NFL thing he did on the side. And, I had just unexpectedly been handed $140 in cash moments earlier that was just burning a hole in my pocket.
I quickly left and went back to my house to retrieve my stick and digital camera. I threw (more like jammed) on my National Championship ring from college (which hasn't been worn even 10 times...and for the record, my fingers are a bit plumper than when I was 21...go figure) and I quickly mumbled my plans to my wife who was still scowling and yelling at me as I ran out the door and hopped in my truck.
When I returned to the store, the line was down from the original 50 or so to just a few. As soon as Jim Brown saw the stick, his face lit up and he reached out for it with both hands. He grabbed the stick and commented on the quality of the stick and how he rarely saw "these" anymore. He then asked if I had a ball; I had just grabbed one as I left the truck, thinking of getting it signed. He put it in the stick and said, "Let's see if I still got it." He cradled a few times and threw the ball back to me. I threw it back, he caught it, cradled, and spun the stick a few times and threw a few stick fakes.
By this time a small crowd had gathered at the back of the store, including the store employees. He asked me about my playing and coaching career and asked about the Championship ring (glad I wedged it on). He then talked of his playing career at Syracuse and told a story about going undefeated his senior year at 'Cuse only to have the media give the championship to Hopkins. He then went on to share getting his redemption in the North/South game when he scored "a bunch of goals on those Hopkins guys."
I had my picture taken with him and shook his hand. I then thanked him and was on my way. As I walked away he said, "Man, I still love that game. Thank you!" I responded, "No, thank you; it was an honor."
I proudly walked out and returned home with my newest treasure and a very cool story to tell. In the end, I had waivered on whether or not to spend the $120 on an autograph and couldn't be happier that I did. I already have the stick on display in my home office and an afternoon meeting I will not soon forget. I had the opportunity to play catch and spend five or so minutes with a legend. The autograph was $120; the experience: priceless.
OK, Dave, you ARE feeling better! Hilarious about the clothing store ... my husband and three boys have the exact same aversion! :)
Thanks for the chuckle!
XO
CMF
David, your commentary on shopping only rivals a remark you made to me when once we went to the Quimper store in VA. I had built this up. Told you it was special to see all this folk art like china ware. After being in the quaint shop for less than two minutes, you said,
"Are you serious about this place? I've got to get out of here. It is like being in a mausoleum."
You had given me a fresh point of view alright. Some things remain constant.
xoxo, Mom
I actually thought Fronk was telling a personal experience he had with Jim Brown... then the storyteller said he put on his National Championship Ring and realized it was't him or any of us past members of the "Blue Ice" squad or the travel team.
Glad to hear you are feeling better and are out and about. Keep positive -youre an inspiration to all of us.
NoNo
Mr. Fronk -- send me that picture--seems it might need to be the center piece of Mr. Holder's collage.
desshess@comcast.net
:-) Sally
Dave,
John and I are thinking about you and regularly reading your blog. We are amazed at your ability to maintain such positive enegery. You are an inspiration.
Nancy Lipson and John Gaensbauer
Got a chuckle over your comments on shopping with Liza and your Mom's story about you at the Quimper store, and loved MF's great story about what he did with his $120. Thanks for the entertainment tonight!! But more importantly, I hope you're feeling better and better!! love, Dana
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