RIP Chris

What you're reading right now is my 5th or 6th attempt at figuring out what to write. My friend Chris recently passed away at the age of 46. Chris and I grew up together in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, and I probably haven't seen him in over 25 years. While I believe that we played baseball and participated in Cub Scouts together, we were definitely on the same "Under 10" championship-winning soccer team. (More on this momentarily.) We also starred in high school musicals together though he was a much better performer than me. (More on this momentarily too.)

There are certainly a lot of negatives about social media, however, one of the positives is that it can bring people back together. Chris and I reconnected on Facebook and on Twitter many years after graduating from high school. We mostly simply liked each other's posts, but we were supportive of each other's blogs. While Chris' The Moldy Cheese blog was short lived and long erased from the internet, it really showed his sense of humor. When I wrote about finding our soccer championship trophy, Chris wrote that he still had his trophy too. He also shared a very sweet message after my dad, who was our soccer coach, passed away.

Back in 2017, there was a show on ABC hosted by Kristen Bell called Encore! The show reunited classmates to perform their high school musicals. Chris organized us online and submitted an application to the show. Although we weren't selected, it was fun getting together virtually with everyone again. Plus, Chris starting this resulted in videos of our Lil' Abner show getting posted on YouTube.

Chris had health problems for some time, but at least online, he maintained his sense of humor. He was one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and he will definitely be missed.

Chris' obituary is available here.

Random Ramblings & Links

* Someone I've known for over 39 years, who is just like a brother to me, is growing an awesome mustache for Movember. Please support him!

* I've been taking fish oil pills for over a decade to help my cholesterol and recently bought a bottle containing 400 pills. It's somewhat amazing to think that since I take one pill per day, I'll probably have to buy a new bottle at the beginning of 2019.

* Why do I have significantly more gray hair in my right sideburn than my left sideburn? Shouldn't it be about the same?

* James Santelli, a news producer for KDKA in Pittsburgh, created a tournament bracket including times and locations for an American Invitational Tournament, also known as, the Soccer NIT. The idea is that teams that didn't qualify for the 2018 World Cup, like the US, Italy, Chile, and Ireland, would play a separate soccer tournament. James also brilliantly made the schedule so that there would be no overlap between the World Cup and American Invitational Tournament matches. I hope this happens!

* I wrote a letter to the editor to my local community newspaper based on last week's blog post about Jerry Falwell, Jr. I'm definitely approaching old man territory.

* I don't understand how my two older kids can sleep just fine with no blankets or covers while I need a top sheet, comforter, and a blanket or two to keep my feet warm or else I don't sleep well.

* Not cool, Dole bananas, not cool. Why are the peels opening?

* Kristen Bell is helping create (and hosting?) a TV series where former high school classmates will perform their high school musical one more time. My Facebook messages were blowing up (is that term still used?) yesterday with friends and classmates wanting to enter. I know that the world has been waiting 25 years for me to revise my role as Government Man in Lil' Abner, so let's do this Kristen Bell!

* Finally, two Pittsburgh related things.

1. If you live in Pittsburgh's Eastern suburbs, please support the non-profit Lost and Found Pharmacy. Shannon and her husband Sean (who I've met) do really good work and were recently featured in the Post-Gazette.

2. It seems too early to think about, but if you're in Pittsburgh or want to give a Pittsburgh-related gift, check out Heidi's 2017 Holiday Shopping Guide.