So Casey Laughman has decided to tap me to do the five day things Im grateful for challenge (Challenge? Everyones kinda vague on that one). From what I understand of the rules (or at least how Im making the rules), I must post 3 things Im grateful for each day for 5 days, but then I get to tag someone else to take the challenge. Now, Im sure everyone heres seen at least a half dozen variants of this thing, and people always go for copout answers like my parents, my job, my significant other (LOL). But we all know me, and we all know Im not going to go the easy route here. So lets go through the list of the things that, in some overly tangential way, brought us to the Newyear we all know and lov...er...can generally stand. 1) The Illinois Federation of Teachers Now I know there are people on my feed who have strong feelings about unionization on both sides of the issue (including teachers unions for at least a few of you), but hear me out. One of the key things that kept me upright, at least through high school and college, was a drug called Thalidomide. Billy Joel references aside, the thing you have to realize about Thalidomide is that (as of the last time I was taking it), cost upwards of $10,000/month without insurance. Now, as a high school student, I didnt have any insurance of my own, so I needed the insurance of my mother. My mother got her insurance via the Waukegan School District (go Bulldogs!), which was guaranteed via, you guessed it, the IFT. Without the union, its probable that she wouldnt have said insurance, which means I wouldnt have the Thalidomide I needed to be not dead. And a Not Dead Newyear is a happy Newyear (generally). 2) Sammy Sosa While Im up here on my soapbox, I might as well bring up the Steroid Era in the MLB. Lets bring you back to when I was first getting sick: the summer of 1998. The Jordan Era had just ended for the Bulls, and it would be at least another half-decade until the Blackhawks would be relevant again. Also, Cade McNown. So for a sports hungry Chicago boy, who better to look to than hometown hero Sammy Sosa. I would be spending my days stuck in my hospital room, within view of the lights at Wrigley (Childrens Memorial for you out of towners), watching Sammy Sosa in his race against Mark McGuire trying to break the home run record. The Cubs gave me something to look forward to during my first darkest days. This is why, every year, when the talking heads begin discussing the Baseball Hall of Fame, and whether alleged steroid users should be let in, I think to myself about the summer of 98, and unequivocally believe they should. Its a Hall of FAME after all, not a Hall of Clean but Baseless Stats. (As a note, if it ever comes to pass that I have more clout as a person, and was given the opportunity to do so for a major publication, I would totally write an article elaborating the above point). 3) Nintendo Now, baseball can only get you so far when youre a kid and stuck in a hospital. Fortunately for me, there was one thing that kept me walking while I was there: scouting out where the Starlight system was on the floor. For those who dont know, the Starlight Childrens Foundation was a charity that donated toys and games to sick children, including the hospitalized. Think of it like a precursor to Childs Play, except without the webcomic backing. One of the things they donated to the hospital was a Nintendo 64, complete with 3 games (Mario Kart, Wave Rave 64, and Super Mario 64). I would play the shit out of that system, every day I could, for the 1 hour I was allotted. Even beyond my hospital stay, Nintendo kept crossing my path: my first system was an old NES that was most likely a fire hazard. Once I was out of the hospital, my parents got me a gameboy and a copy of Pokemon Blue (which I played the shit out of, up to the point we had pixel loss on the right side of the screen). My 3DS managed to keep me sane on many of my business trips (but were saving those stories for later this week). Hell, if it wasnt for Pokemon, I probably wouldnt have meandered over to MtG later in life. Suffice to say, I am a Nintendo fanboy. And I am not overly ashamed. Now, that said, its about time to tag someone else. Kurt Szempruch managed to dodge my last challenge, so Im going to tag him again. YOURE NOT SNEAKING PAST THIS ONE. Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 01:59:22 +0000
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