Alright so I think like every hockey fan(especially leaf fans, which I am not), we were a bit hesitant and confused to see what Brian Burke, a man known for building his truculent team through the draft, giving away their 2010 and 2011 first-round draft selections as well as their 2010 second-round pick. This is coming right after TSN analyst Bob McKenzie reported, “This draft is really strong and great in depth” So you would think a team in the midst of rebuilding would keep their draft picks, especially their first round picks for the next two years. What made things worst was that the Maple Leafs dug themselves into a huge hole at the bottom of the NHL standings with a 1-7-1 record (3 points) with their first win coming on the road in Anaheim on October 26th. This was the worst start by a Leaf team ever, and currently sits in 14th place in the Eastern Conference (2nd last.) This gives Boston the team who gave up Kessel, an early Christmas present with a TOP 5 draft picks. To give the Leafs the benefit of the doubt, they did not have sniper Phil Kessel until mid- November, but that still does not allow them to have a 2-8-3 record at home. In Phil’s defense one person does not make a whole team and he is second in scoring on the Leafs, which says volumes, taking in the time he was absent. He was told he would not been able to score without playmakers Mark Savard and David Krejci in Boston, but seems to be doing fine as of now with ten goals in seventeen games!
Even if Phil Kessel scores 40-50 goals each season, which is one of the toughest things to do in the modern day NHL. He by himself cannot lead the Leafs to the Stanley Cup or even the playoffs. The Leafs still have holes to fill: on Defense, which was suppose to be the strongest component, goaltending is still an issue, with no real number one goalie, and up front the offense has not produced many goals. If you look at history, when the Leafs have given a top draft pick, the player that has been drafted with what could have been the Leafs selection has turned into a star player. This is not saying the Leafs would have drafted some of the same guys, but it would have prevented other teams from getting them, and imagine some of these players in the blue and white.
In what was arguably the worst trade the Leafs have ever made: Toronto trades a 1st Round Pick in 1991 to the New Jersey Devils for Tom Kurvers
The leafs finished 3rd last in the league and New Jersey Devils selected future Hall Of Fame and Captain Canada for the Olympics Scott Neidermyer. To make matters worst
22 players chosen in the first round that year, 17 have played in at least 575 NHL games as of August 2009. Of the other five, two of them still managed to play over 100 games (and one of them was traded for Markus Naslund). That’s a 77% chance that Toronto would have had received 575+ games from a first rounder, and an 86% chance of receiving 100+ games (which is more than they got out of Tom Kurvers).
The second trade goes down as the 2nd worst trade the Leafs ever made Toronto trades Kenny Jonsson, Sean Haggerty, Darby Hendrickson and a 1st Round Pick in 1997 (Roberto Luongo) to the New York Islanders for Wendel Clark, Mathieu Schneider and D.J. Smith. So another cornerstone piece for team Canada this Olympics, arguably the best goalie in the game Roberto Luongo.
The last trade the Leafs made in which they traded for a player that did not produce was when they received Aki Berg from the Los Angelas Kings for a Second Round Draft Pick in the 2001 draft. That player is 40-goal scorer and now Montreal Canadiens left winger Mike Cammalleri. The funny thing about that is that Mike Cammalleri was almost a Maple Leaf. Twice. The mere thought of the first time Cammalleri slipped through Leaf fingers makes the Richmond Hill native and former Bramalea Blues star - who grew up a Leaf fan - chuckle. "Aki Berg," Cammalleri said in an interview. The Leafs traded a second-round pick in 2001 to the Los Angeles Kings for Berg, a middling defenseman at best who people still can not figure out where he is currently playing. With the pick, the Kings chose Cammalleri, a 5-foot-9 centre that emerged as a point-a-game player.
"It said on the draft board, `L.A. from Toronto,'" Cammalleri recalled. "It was just the draft, so it's not like I was ever (Toronto) property, but obviously there was a lot that appealed to me about playing in Toronto."
Phil Kessel has to be the best leaf player every game, because if he has not or becomes injury prone and the Leafs finish near the bottom of the standings the next two years. Hell might break loose in Leaf Nation, because they do not want to give another opportunity on a Roberto Luongo, Mike Cammalleri or Scott Neidermyer again. To Leaf fans running out to buy Phil Kessel jerseys, let us just remember he will not replace former Leaf great Mats Sundin but he will do his best, so be patient and if he starts to struggle, do not immediately run after him with pitchforks and knifes. There still in rebuilding mode, give it time, but at the same time, draft picks are what the game of hockey is about now-a-days. Take a look at teams like Pittsburgh who built through the draft (Crosby, Malkin and Fleury) or the Washington Capitals (Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin) or the Chicago Blackhawks ( Towes, Kane, Kieth.) All these nine players I mentioned are NHL all-stars and are the most marquee players on their respective team. So the question to ask to yourself Leaf fans, was it worth it?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Ace of Hearts
It was another of those days for John Larson. He had rolled out of bed, and said “fuck I do not want to be here right now”, and began pouring the vodka bottle beside his bed into a glass. This was a typical day for lead singer of Super Stone John Larson, drinking, smoking weed and hitting up the closest strip joint around. Things were not always this way. See John Larson was the best thing that could ever happen to the small city of Glen Willow. No one had ever become famous, let alone leave the city. He grew up in the worst of circumstances, had a father who abandoned him and a mother through the depression became a pill-popper. John was never really given a chance; he was a smart kid with great views, but never had the money to finish university. So he pursued what any other teenager would do, he went to Hollywood, to become famous. It did not long before he was deemed one of the best guitarist and vocalists of all time. Word got back to the small village that one of their sons had done something exceptional.
He was touring around the world, going to red carpet events, being interviewed by many journalists, and was flying high for six years with the band. His band, Super Stone was at its peek and was being compared to The Beatles. Until one day, drummer of the band and one of John’s best friend Ricky Star, overdosed on crack-cocaine, that things started to go down hill for him.
He had no more inspiration to play guitar, or sing, so the band broke up. He had lots of money that he spent it on booze, drugs and prostitutes. Things got heavy in
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Hollywood, his fans and the presses were all over his current drug and alcohol abuse. So his agent Mark Fisher told him
“Move somewhere, head home, because after Ricky’s overdose you have not been able to sing or play. Get away from all the paparazzi and bad news because you’re on the verge of throwing not only your career away but your life as well.”
So John headed back to his small town of Glen Willow, Ohio in hopes of restarting his life.
Glen Willow was a small town on the outskirts of Ohio, where the population barely reached four hundred people. It was a plain and boring city with nothing to do, and nothing to see. The McPherson family were never plain and boring, but when Lenny left his wife and kids, when Tyler whose sixteen now was only four, things started to change. It was a nice family of four; a single mother Rachel and her three kids: Phoebe twenty two, Mike eighteen and Tyler sixteen. Phoebe worked as a nurse at the only hospital in town, and Mike was twenty-two years old and was partying it up with all his friends. Tyler McPherson was your average sixteen your old teenager. He goes to high school, and gets stressed with homework as well as girls, like any other teenager. Tyler barely knew his father, but has a very close bond with his mother Rachel. His mother was his best friend, but being a single mom, she had to work two jobs to barely put food on the table, and had very little time for Tyler, especially with the economical crisis going on. The McPherson’s could not afford expensive toys, so Tyler would let his mind dominate his thoughts, thinking of ideas of the world that most sixteen your old kids do not really think about. When it was time for dinner, he was like most teenagers, he would hear
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“Tyler it is time for dinner, come inside.” But there was something on this day that Tyler heard that changed the rest of his life.
Tyler went to see Dr. Schwartz the family doctor, for his annual checkup, but this was no ordinary check-up. Dr. Schwartz saw that something was wrong with Tyler’s heart. He ran many tests, and found out that his heart was too big for his chest, and that he needed an emergency heart transplant. When his mother heard the news, she looked at Tyler, and began to weep; Tyler had never seen his mom weep and new the severity of this illness, and started to weep with her.
“Mom, it’s going to be okay,” Tyler said as he tried to wipe the tears off his mother eyes.
“I know, but we are very poor to afford such a procedure,” Replied Rachel. “Dr. Schwartz I have known you since Mike was a little boy. Can we even afford this?”
The doctor shook his head sympathetically, “Rach, that’s now the worst of it, these things cost tens of thousands and they are politics involved.”
“Politics?”
“Unfortunately yes, see the politics that take action are that Tyler will be placed on a long-term wait list for a new heart. It will take many months at the soonest. I am so sorry to say this but Tyler only has a short time to live, and there is very little chance. I will do my best, you have my word on that.” Said Dr. Schwartz wiping off the tears from his face, as he walks out of the room.
The drive home from the doctors was quiet.
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“ Mom, there is nothing we can do but enjoy whatever time we have left together, I don’t want our last bit of time to be quiet. I want to experience life, I want to do things” Tyler said anxiously
Rachel blew her nose and took a deep breath, “Your right Ty, I always tell you to look at the glass half full rather then half empty, so what would you like to do?”
“Well, I heard John Larson’s moved back to Glen Willow a couple months ago.”
“John Larson from Super Stone? I don’t know Tyler that does not seem to be the best of ideas. Plus how do you plan on reaching him, you can not just go to his house expecting him to let you in”
“I know, but what about the Make-A-Wish foundation, they can’t refuse me and John’s a good guy, he’s my favourite rocker of all time.”
“I will think about it, get Phoebe and Mike and let us have a nice, peaceful dinner,”
Tyler went into the house, while his mother stayed in the car. Praying to God as she cried profusely, in hopes of a miracle. The family sat around the dinner table silently after Tyler and Rachel addressed the issue. Everyone was at a loss for words, thinking to themselves what they had or hadn’t done with Tyler; and what he meant to them. Phoebe and Mike cleaned the table, allowing Tyler leave to his room
“Mom I can’t believe Tyler is dying”
“ I know Phoebe, I still can not believe it either. Dr. Schwartz said there is some stupid politics involved that Tyler is on the bottom of a list for a new heart, and he thinks
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Tyler might not live long enough for a transplant. What is even weirder is that, when I asked Tyler what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to spend time with John Larson.”
“Mom, that is Tyler’s favourite person in the world. He is the reason why Tyler is interested in guitar and bought that piece of junk last year. He also has many posters of his band in his room. Let him spend time with John Larson. I mean who are we to stop him? He’s the one who is dying. Look into the Make-A-Wish foundation, I’m sure they will take him.”
Only two days after they made the phone call, Tyler had been scheduled to go to John Larson’s house and spend a day with him.
* * * * *
Mark Fisher stormed in with a brand new black suit, and blackberry in hand and sees John lying in his bed, reeking of alcohol and marijuana.
“ John this kid is very sick, try not to be wasted like every other time, this is especially different. Make-A-Wish foundation called about some kid who is in his last days of dying, if the press could see you, being all humanitarian and such and caring for this kid, they will get off your back and you can get back on you feet.”
“ I don’t really care Mark and as my agent, you should know that I do not ever plan to do anything anymore but drink and do drugs. See in my life I was never happy, never had a family, but I am free, and relaxed what more can a man want.”
“ What more can a man want? I will tell you, I have a wife and kids who I abandoned a month ago to help my top client get out of his slump, and a month later you have not changed one bit. They are my family, they are the reason I wake up in the
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morning look myself in the mirror, and know that I did something with my life. As your agent and as your friend I am saying do it for the kid. If you want to stay here for the rest of your life fine so be it, but this kid has a very short time to live so I went ahead and already planned it so that you can spend all day with him tomorrow.”
“ Why would you do that?” as he takes another large gulp from his Vodka bottle
“ All you have to do is spend a day with the kid. Play a little guitar and that is it.” “ Fine but only one day”
Tyler finds out that he is going to spend the whole day with John that he cannot sleep. The next morning Rachel drove Tyler to John’s house.
“It’s a big house” she exclaimed
“Yeah I know can I go, please I do not want to waste anytime with John”
“Umm.. Okay have fun just remember he might not be the same John Larson you think he is.”
By this time Tyler was half way to the door with his guitar in his hand that he barely heard what his mother said to him. Tyler rings the doorbell and a man five feet six inches, with short black hair, an earring in his ear and nose, wearing jeans and a silky white robe, opened the door.
“You must be Tyler, come in” John said in his dark scruffy voice
They go to the kitchen table, where John offers him a bite to eat; Tyler refuses politely and is still in complete shock.
“What the hell is wrong with you kid? Stop staring at me”
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“ I… I’m sorry, see your John Larson and…. Well I have posters of you in my room and every Super Stone album and I have even been trying to learn some of you songs.”
He plays a few chords but sounds nothing like any of the songs he was trying to play.
“That is great kid, so how long you here for. Like another hour or so” John said in a sarcastic voice
“ No, Mr. Larson I am here for the whole day if that is okay with you”
“ Not really I was planning on going to Happy People in like an hour or so”
“That is a strip joint though”
“Yeah it is, so are we done here”
“ You know what I will call my mom and leave this is not what I expected at all, I will just leave.” And storms away and begins to cry.
Rachel comes to pick Tyler up and sees he is already outside of the house on the front step crying. She gets out of her car and tells Tyler to wait in the car, while she goes inside.
“ Oh are you my five o clock?” John replies with a big grin
“ OH MY GOSH, HOW DARE YOU. I am the mother of that sixteen your old kid who is crying in the car. Do you even know what you mean to that kid, and the fact that he is dying in the next few days or weeks, what kind of monster are you” screaming at the top of her lungs, as she storms away leaving John by himself thinking of what he had done. A few days passed and Tyler was not getting better, he was turning paler each
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day and was beginning to lose weight. One night during dinner the doorbell ring and Rachel went to answer it.
“How dare you,” echoed from the door to the kitchen, there was a brief conversation before the door shut and John Larson appeared from it with Rachel behind him.
“ Would it be alright if I talked to Tyler alone” he said in a very sad and nervous tone
“ No” Tyler exclaimed
“Tyler I am so sorry, I am just not in the right frame of mind, and… well I was an ass hole and I am sorry can I please talk to you, I would really like to spend time with you.”
“Okay” and the only people left in the room were John and Tyler
“ Tyler I want to show you something” John goes out of the room for a second and shows him a guitar signed, “ This is for you, I feel really bad, so this is my black and white Stratocaster that I used in..”
“ In Central Park it was my favourite of your concerts! But for me, why? I am dying I can not use it for so long.” said Tyler in astonishment of the beautiful guitar.
“ I know but I want you to take it as an apology from me to you, and I want to show you how to play some of my songs”
Over the next two weeks Tyler and John’s friendship grew. John came to Tyler’s house each day and spent the whole day playing guitar, going for food, showing him cool pictures and artifacts in his house. Still Tyler was getting sicker by the day and was only
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mere hours from his heart giving up and dying. One night John took Tyler to his favourite place as a kid, a small section on the beach.
“ When my father left me and my mom was all up in the drugs, I would come here and listen to the sounds of the ocean they would calm me down”
“They are quite peaceful” Tyler said playing his guitar better then before
“ You are getting better at it, your timing and rhythm have truly picked up”
“ I have had a good teacher”
“ Can I ask you something personal?”
“ Sure anything”
“What is it like feeling death approaching? I mean some people like my mother died instantly of a heart-attack, but you have known this day has been coming for a while now, and I mean… well I thought about killing myself never could, but what do you feel right now.”
“ I mean it’s actually not hard. I never knew my dad, and I was never close with either Phoebe or Mike, my best friend was my mom, but she worked two jobs and had no time for me. I just wished I knew more.”
“ Knew more, about what Tyler?”
“ About the world, life, being a rock star and the glitter and glam that came with it, I mean it only seems like a person like me with no life what so ever would have a heart
problem, and not be able to get if fixed because were too poor, and I have an AB Rh negative, the rarest blood type, where only 0.8 percent of people in the world have, so it
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made my options go from slim to none. I mean what was it like being on the road, partying all the time meeting girls”
“Tyler it was nothing special at all, I mean yeah it had its moment but I wish I had a family, a wife and kids. I was deprived of it as a kid and I guess I was never able to rebound and start a family of my own; I just got into music, which got me into drugs. But I am impressed I was never as mature or philosophical as you are at sixteen” John picks up a rock and throws it into the ocean
“You also were not dying at sixteen, I just have a completely changed my view on life”
They sat on the beach for another hour before John took him home, where he said goodbye for his final time as he was offered a segment on the Barbara Walters show and had to fly to Los Angeles the next day. He walked Tyler to the door said his goodbyes, hugged him and when Rachel opened the door, Tyler went directly to his room.
“Thank you so much, it means the world for him to spend time with you”
“ Mrs. McPherson, Tyler is an unbelievable kid”
“ I know thank you again”
“Wait I want to give you something” as he grabbed a bunch of papers from his car and handed it to Rachel
“What is this?”
“ It’s a legal document that allows Tyler to get my heart I had my lawyer and agent fix it up, see Tyler and I both have AB Rh negative and well I have no family and so much money that I will pay for the whole procedure myself.”
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Rachel in complete astonishment started to tear up “ I cannot take this I mean”
“Mrs. McPherson I already booked it at the same time that Tyler was going to go in the hospital at ten-thirty, I have planned the transplant to happen then.”
Rachel broke into tears and gave John a huge hug and kiss “ Thank you so much… I mean I just do not know what to say but you’re an angel, I do not understand why your doing this though.”
“I got a few lucky breaks and made it big, but I had my life I had my fun, I am not going to get married, I am not the marrying type a guy, the first day I met Tyler and the things you said really touched me and well, he is me but better, wiser and I want him to live a life, he deserves it”.
“ God Bless You” Rachel says while John is driving off into the distance.
The next day at two-thirty the transplant was completed, John’s heart had been placed into Tyler. Tyler looked up and saw his mother, brother and sister all smiling with tears rolling down each of their eyes.
“ What are you guys doing in heaven, I thought I was dead mom?”
“ Last night when you came back John offered to be your donor for your heart transplant and to pay for it all, and well his heart is in you now.”
John died but his heart and life lived on as the transplant motivated Tyler to become a rocker like him. Ten years later he made it big and went on to become better then John could be, with people referring his playing style in comparison to John’s. People were saying that it was so similar that it was like they were they same soul. He named what was to be the largest record selling album of all time “ Rebirth” in memory of John.
He was touring around the world, going to red carpet events, being interviewed by many journalists, and was flying high for six years with the band. His band, Super Stone was at its peek and was being compared to The Beatles. Until one day, drummer of the band and one of John’s best friend Ricky Star, overdosed on crack-cocaine, that things started to go down hill for him.
He had no more inspiration to play guitar, or sing, so the band broke up. He had lots of money that he spent it on booze, drugs and prostitutes. Things got heavy in
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Hollywood, his fans and the presses were all over his current drug and alcohol abuse. So his agent Mark Fisher told him
“Move somewhere, head home, because after Ricky’s overdose you have not been able to sing or play. Get away from all the paparazzi and bad news because you’re on the verge of throwing not only your career away but your life as well.”
So John headed back to his small town of Glen Willow, Ohio in hopes of restarting his life.
Glen Willow was a small town on the outskirts of Ohio, where the population barely reached four hundred people. It was a plain and boring city with nothing to do, and nothing to see. The McPherson family were never plain and boring, but when Lenny left his wife and kids, when Tyler whose sixteen now was only four, things started to change. It was a nice family of four; a single mother Rachel and her three kids: Phoebe twenty two, Mike eighteen and Tyler sixteen. Phoebe worked as a nurse at the only hospital in town, and Mike was twenty-two years old and was partying it up with all his friends. Tyler McPherson was your average sixteen your old teenager. He goes to high school, and gets stressed with homework as well as girls, like any other teenager. Tyler barely knew his father, but has a very close bond with his mother Rachel. His mother was his best friend, but being a single mom, she had to work two jobs to barely put food on the table, and had very little time for Tyler, especially with the economical crisis going on. The McPherson’s could not afford expensive toys, so Tyler would let his mind dominate his thoughts, thinking of ideas of the world that most sixteen your old kids do not really think about. When it was time for dinner, he was like most teenagers, he would hear
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“Tyler it is time for dinner, come inside.” But there was something on this day that Tyler heard that changed the rest of his life.
Tyler went to see Dr. Schwartz the family doctor, for his annual checkup, but this was no ordinary check-up. Dr. Schwartz saw that something was wrong with Tyler’s heart. He ran many tests, and found out that his heart was too big for his chest, and that he needed an emergency heart transplant. When his mother heard the news, she looked at Tyler, and began to weep; Tyler had never seen his mom weep and new the severity of this illness, and started to weep with her.
“Mom, it’s going to be okay,” Tyler said as he tried to wipe the tears off his mother eyes.
“I know, but we are very poor to afford such a procedure,” Replied Rachel. “Dr. Schwartz I have known you since Mike was a little boy. Can we even afford this?”
The doctor shook his head sympathetically, “Rach, that’s now the worst of it, these things cost tens of thousands and they are politics involved.”
“Politics?”
“Unfortunately yes, see the politics that take action are that Tyler will be placed on a long-term wait list for a new heart. It will take many months at the soonest. I am so sorry to say this but Tyler only has a short time to live, and there is very little chance. I will do my best, you have my word on that.” Said Dr. Schwartz wiping off the tears from his face, as he walks out of the room.
The drive home from the doctors was quiet.
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“ Mom, there is nothing we can do but enjoy whatever time we have left together, I don’t want our last bit of time to be quiet. I want to experience life, I want to do things” Tyler said anxiously
Rachel blew her nose and took a deep breath, “Your right Ty, I always tell you to look at the glass half full rather then half empty, so what would you like to do?”
“Well, I heard John Larson’s moved back to Glen Willow a couple months ago.”
“John Larson from Super Stone? I don’t know Tyler that does not seem to be the best of ideas. Plus how do you plan on reaching him, you can not just go to his house expecting him to let you in”
“I know, but what about the Make-A-Wish foundation, they can’t refuse me and John’s a good guy, he’s my favourite rocker of all time.”
“I will think about it, get Phoebe and Mike and let us have a nice, peaceful dinner,”
Tyler went into the house, while his mother stayed in the car. Praying to God as she cried profusely, in hopes of a miracle. The family sat around the dinner table silently after Tyler and Rachel addressed the issue. Everyone was at a loss for words, thinking to themselves what they had or hadn’t done with Tyler; and what he meant to them. Phoebe and Mike cleaned the table, allowing Tyler leave to his room
“Mom I can’t believe Tyler is dying”
“ I know Phoebe, I still can not believe it either. Dr. Schwartz said there is some stupid politics involved that Tyler is on the bottom of a list for a new heart, and he thinks
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Tyler might not live long enough for a transplant. What is even weirder is that, when I asked Tyler what he wanted to do. He said he wanted to spend time with John Larson.”
“Mom, that is Tyler’s favourite person in the world. He is the reason why Tyler is interested in guitar and bought that piece of junk last year. He also has many posters of his band in his room. Let him spend time with John Larson. I mean who are we to stop him? He’s the one who is dying. Look into the Make-A-Wish foundation, I’m sure they will take him.”
Only two days after they made the phone call, Tyler had been scheduled to go to John Larson’s house and spend a day with him.
* * * * *
Mark Fisher stormed in with a brand new black suit, and blackberry in hand and sees John lying in his bed, reeking of alcohol and marijuana.
“ John this kid is very sick, try not to be wasted like every other time, this is especially different. Make-A-Wish foundation called about some kid who is in his last days of dying, if the press could see you, being all humanitarian and such and caring for this kid, they will get off your back and you can get back on you feet.”
“ I don’t really care Mark and as my agent, you should know that I do not ever plan to do anything anymore but drink and do drugs. See in my life I was never happy, never had a family, but I am free, and relaxed what more can a man want.”
“ What more can a man want? I will tell you, I have a wife and kids who I abandoned a month ago to help my top client get out of his slump, and a month later you have not changed one bit. They are my family, they are the reason I wake up in the
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morning look myself in the mirror, and know that I did something with my life. As your agent and as your friend I am saying do it for the kid. If you want to stay here for the rest of your life fine so be it, but this kid has a very short time to live so I went ahead and already planned it so that you can spend all day with him tomorrow.”
“ Why would you do that?” as he takes another large gulp from his Vodka bottle
“ All you have to do is spend a day with the kid. Play a little guitar and that is it.” “ Fine but only one day”
Tyler finds out that he is going to spend the whole day with John that he cannot sleep. The next morning Rachel drove Tyler to John’s house.
“It’s a big house” she exclaimed
“Yeah I know can I go, please I do not want to waste anytime with John”
“Umm.. Okay have fun just remember he might not be the same John Larson you think he is.”
By this time Tyler was half way to the door with his guitar in his hand that he barely heard what his mother said to him. Tyler rings the doorbell and a man five feet six inches, with short black hair, an earring in his ear and nose, wearing jeans and a silky white robe, opened the door.
“You must be Tyler, come in” John said in his dark scruffy voice
They go to the kitchen table, where John offers him a bite to eat; Tyler refuses politely and is still in complete shock.
“What the hell is wrong with you kid? Stop staring at me”
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“ I… I’m sorry, see your John Larson and…. Well I have posters of you in my room and every Super Stone album and I have even been trying to learn some of you songs.”
He plays a few chords but sounds nothing like any of the songs he was trying to play.
“That is great kid, so how long you here for. Like another hour or so” John said in a sarcastic voice
“ No, Mr. Larson I am here for the whole day if that is okay with you”
“ Not really I was planning on going to Happy People in like an hour or so”
“That is a strip joint though”
“Yeah it is, so are we done here”
“ You know what I will call my mom and leave this is not what I expected at all, I will just leave.” And storms away and begins to cry.
Rachel comes to pick Tyler up and sees he is already outside of the house on the front step crying. She gets out of her car and tells Tyler to wait in the car, while she goes inside.
“ Oh are you my five o clock?” John replies with a big grin
“ OH MY GOSH, HOW DARE YOU. I am the mother of that sixteen your old kid who is crying in the car. Do you even know what you mean to that kid, and the fact that he is dying in the next few days or weeks, what kind of monster are you” screaming at the top of her lungs, as she storms away leaving John by himself thinking of what he had done. A few days passed and Tyler was not getting better, he was turning paler each
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day and was beginning to lose weight. One night during dinner the doorbell ring and Rachel went to answer it.
“How dare you,” echoed from the door to the kitchen, there was a brief conversation before the door shut and John Larson appeared from it with Rachel behind him.
“ Would it be alright if I talked to Tyler alone” he said in a very sad and nervous tone
“ No” Tyler exclaimed
“Tyler I am so sorry, I am just not in the right frame of mind, and… well I was an ass hole and I am sorry can I please talk to you, I would really like to spend time with you.”
“Okay” and the only people left in the room were John and Tyler
“ Tyler I want to show you something” John goes out of the room for a second and shows him a guitar signed, “ This is for you, I feel really bad, so this is my black and white Stratocaster that I used in..”
“ In Central Park it was my favourite of your concerts! But for me, why? I am dying I can not use it for so long.” said Tyler in astonishment of the beautiful guitar.
“ I know but I want you to take it as an apology from me to you, and I want to show you how to play some of my songs”
Over the next two weeks Tyler and John’s friendship grew. John came to Tyler’s house each day and spent the whole day playing guitar, going for food, showing him cool pictures and artifacts in his house. Still Tyler was getting sicker by the day and was only
Mendelsohn 9
mere hours from his heart giving up and dying. One night John took Tyler to his favourite place as a kid, a small section on the beach.
“ When my father left me and my mom was all up in the drugs, I would come here and listen to the sounds of the ocean they would calm me down”
“They are quite peaceful” Tyler said playing his guitar better then before
“ You are getting better at it, your timing and rhythm have truly picked up”
“ I have had a good teacher”
“ Can I ask you something personal?”
“ Sure anything”
“What is it like feeling death approaching? I mean some people like my mother died instantly of a heart-attack, but you have known this day has been coming for a while now, and I mean… well I thought about killing myself never could, but what do you feel right now.”
“ I mean it’s actually not hard. I never knew my dad, and I was never close with either Phoebe or Mike, my best friend was my mom, but she worked two jobs and had no time for me. I just wished I knew more.”
“ Knew more, about what Tyler?”
“ About the world, life, being a rock star and the glitter and glam that came with it, I mean it only seems like a person like me with no life what so ever would have a heart
problem, and not be able to get if fixed because were too poor, and I have an AB Rh negative, the rarest blood type, where only 0.8 percent of people in the world have, so it
Mendelsohn 10
made my options go from slim to none. I mean what was it like being on the road, partying all the time meeting girls”
“Tyler it was nothing special at all, I mean yeah it had its moment but I wish I had a family, a wife and kids. I was deprived of it as a kid and I guess I was never able to rebound and start a family of my own; I just got into music, which got me into drugs. But I am impressed I was never as mature or philosophical as you are at sixteen” John picks up a rock and throws it into the ocean
“You also were not dying at sixteen, I just have a completely changed my view on life”
They sat on the beach for another hour before John took him home, where he said goodbye for his final time as he was offered a segment on the Barbara Walters show and had to fly to Los Angeles the next day. He walked Tyler to the door said his goodbyes, hugged him and when Rachel opened the door, Tyler went directly to his room.
“Thank you so much, it means the world for him to spend time with you”
“ Mrs. McPherson, Tyler is an unbelievable kid”
“ I know thank you again”
“Wait I want to give you something” as he grabbed a bunch of papers from his car and handed it to Rachel
“What is this?”
“ It’s a legal document that allows Tyler to get my heart I had my lawyer and agent fix it up, see Tyler and I both have AB Rh negative and well I have no family and so much money that I will pay for the whole procedure myself.”
Mendelsohn 11
Rachel in complete astonishment started to tear up “ I cannot take this I mean”
“Mrs. McPherson I already booked it at the same time that Tyler was going to go in the hospital at ten-thirty, I have planned the transplant to happen then.”
Rachel broke into tears and gave John a huge hug and kiss “ Thank you so much… I mean I just do not know what to say but you’re an angel, I do not understand why your doing this though.”
“I got a few lucky breaks and made it big, but I had my life I had my fun, I am not going to get married, I am not the marrying type a guy, the first day I met Tyler and the things you said really touched me and well, he is me but better, wiser and I want him to live a life, he deserves it”.
“ God Bless You” Rachel says while John is driving off into the distance.
The next day at two-thirty the transplant was completed, John’s heart had been placed into Tyler. Tyler looked up and saw his mother, brother and sister all smiling with tears rolling down each of their eyes.
“ What are you guys doing in heaven, I thought I was dead mom?”
“ Last night when you came back John offered to be your donor for your heart transplant and to pay for it all, and well his heart is in you now.”
John died but his heart and life lived on as the transplant motivated Tyler to become a rocker like him. Ten years later he made it big and went on to become better then John could be, with people referring his playing style in comparison to John’s. People were saying that it was so similar that it was like they were they same soul. He named what was to be the largest record selling album of all time “ Rebirth” in memory of John.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
100 ways to view life!
My Mom bought me this book called "Life Plain and Simple". Its a book with 100 pages. With 100 different quotes and all 100 of them mean something big.. Pick One and try to stick by it.. Mine is number 86 " laugh often" with special notice to14, 100
1) There Is a right time. You make the time right
2)What you do isnt who you are. What you think of yourself is who you are
3) The End depends on the beginning
4) Life is about having experiences rather then having things
5) There are some things the heart knows before the head
6) Even though it doesn't always feel like it, the truth is always so much easier to deal with.
7) Love creates something that wasn't there before
8)It is what it is. Nothing more. Nothing Less. We make it more complicated then it is or needs to be
9) The only person who can make you happy is you
10)Nothing can change, what really matters
11)When you do the things that are right for you, the right things happen
12)The heart is the place where everything starts
13)There are no excuses, there are things you do, and there are things you dont do
14)People come in and out of you life to show you who you are
15)It is better to know then to wonder
16)If you look very closely you will find there is opportunity in rejection
17)what you think about you bring about
18)The simplest things matter the most
19)Not everything happens in order
20)At the end of the day all that matters is who is in your life
21)Starting the hardest part
22)Everybody needs a place to rest their worries
23)Nothing limits you but you
24)To find love, be love
25)Fear is simply an unanswered question
26)Everybody needs to know they matter
27)when everything is too easy, nothing means anything
28) Who you are is in you form the start, the whole reason for being is to experience what you need to become all that you already are
29)intimacy is created in ordinary moments
30)the only way to be in control is to five up control
31)Things happen for a reason, sometimes they dont happen for an even better reason
32)The secret is to find the courage to say what you need to say
33) You either trust or you dont trust. You either love or dont love. You either believe or dont believe there is no in-between
34)Slipping into the unknown is where you find the most opportunity
35)What you think about yourself matters, more then what other people think of you
36)No one else can do the important things for you
37)the more you give away the more you have
38)Silence is okay
39)The questions are more important then the answers
40)Sometimes you need to make go away to make room for make
41) It's okay to change your mind. dont worry about what anyone else thinks. being true to yourself is all that matters
42)The eyes give everything away
43)It's the things that go unsaid that mean the most. You may never have to opportunity again. learn to take it when you have to
44)Once you've decided you simply have to live it
45)there are 10,080 minutes in a week
46) When you rush you are clumsy and make mistakes and it takes you twice as long as it should. When you relax and breathe and enjoy the process you get twice as much done as you planned on
47) What happens to you affects who you are. What you do with that is what makes you who you are
48)You learn the most during the times you are alone
49)worry doesn't change a thing
50)Fear is a funny thing. As soon as you face it and look it in the eyes it loses its power. Don't worry though another one will show up to take its place this is how we grow
51)Everything comes from what you carry inside
52)Trust your intuition the more you listen to it the more it will give you
53)There are more ways of saying it besides saying it
54)When everything around you disappears except who you are with and what you are doing, this is when you are truly living in the moment
55)You are braver then you think
56)Love lives forever in the heart
57) What you risk reveals what you value and when you take risks you value yourself
58)The closer you get the less scary it becomes
59)all you have is now!
60) There's no secret to life, no right or wrong way to live, there's just life and finding you way through it
61) Be your own best friend
62)be curious
63)ask for what you need
64) sometimes you know something with every once of who you are and for no particular reason. trust that
65)do one thing at a time
66)life is lived from moment to moment and being in each moment is life
67)love isnt something you feel. love is something you do
68)when you least expect it, what you need shows up
69)write it down to make it real
70)make time
71)get our of your own way
72)change your thoughts to change your world
73)there are no coincidences
74)you teach people how to treat you
75)knowing what you need to do doesnt make doing it easy. doing it makes it easy
76)Be yourself
77)you become what you believe and you create what you believe you deserve
78)simplify
79)know your own thoughts
80)you cannot save time. you can only spend time and how you spend your time is up to you
81)power comes from being who you are
82)sometimes you have to close your eyes to see
83)when it is right there is no doubt
84)pay attention
85)just because it has changed doesnt mean its over its just different
86)laugh often
87)your thoughts create your feelings
88) there are things you want people to know about you and there are things people cant help but know about you
89)let go
90)to really know something you have to live it and teach it
91)love fearlessly
92) a place is your memory is the most sincere compliment you can give to someone
93)you can when you decide you can
94)your mind is so powerful what you intend creates what you experience
95)inspire greatness
96)every once in awhile you meet someone who affects your life in ways you cant explain. you are a better person for knowing them
97)the only thing you can control is what you think
98)be where you are
99)its the small, consistent and seemingly unnoticeable thing that make the most difference
100)you are enough the way you are
** Forgive and forget
1) There Is a right time. You make the time right
2)What you do isnt who you are. What you think of yourself is who you are
3) The End depends on the beginning
4) Life is about having experiences rather then having things
5) There are some things the heart knows before the head
6) Even though it doesn't always feel like it, the truth is always so much easier to deal with.
7) Love creates something that wasn't there before
8)It is what it is. Nothing more. Nothing Less. We make it more complicated then it is or needs to be
9) The only person who can make you happy is you
10)Nothing can change, what really matters
11)When you do the things that are right for you, the right things happen
12)The heart is the place where everything starts
13)There are no excuses, there are things you do, and there are things you dont do
14)People come in and out of you life to show you who you are
15)It is better to know then to wonder
16)If you look very closely you will find there is opportunity in rejection
17)what you think about you bring about
18)The simplest things matter the most
19)Not everything happens in order
20)At the end of the day all that matters is who is in your life
21)Starting the hardest part
22)Everybody needs a place to rest their worries
23)Nothing limits you but you
24)To find love, be love
25)Fear is simply an unanswered question
26)Everybody needs to know they matter
27)when everything is too easy, nothing means anything
28) Who you are is in you form the start, the whole reason for being is to experience what you need to become all that you already are
29)intimacy is created in ordinary moments
30)the only way to be in control is to five up control
31)Things happen for a reason, sometimes they dont happen for an even better reason
32)The secret is to find the courage to say what you need to say
33) You either trust or you dont trust. You either love or dont love. You either believe or dont believe there is no in-between
34)Slipping into the unknown is where you find the most opportunity
35)What you think about yourself matters, more then what other people think of you
36)No one else can do the important things for you
37)the more you give away the more you have
38)Silence is okay
39)The questions are more important then the answers
40)Sometimes you need to make go away to make room for make
41) It's okay to change your mind. dont worry about what anyone else thinks. being true to yourself is all that matters
42)The eyes give everything away
43)It's the things that go unsaid that mean the most. You may never have to opportunity again. learn to take it when you have to
44)Once you've decided you simply have to live it
45)there are 10,080 minutes in a week
46) When you rush you are clumsy and make mistakes and it takes you twice as long as it should. When you relax and breathe and enjoy the process you get twice as much done as you planned on
47) What happens to you affects who you are. What you do with that is what makes you who you are
48)You learn the most during the times you are alone
49)worry doesn't change a thing
50)Fear is a funny thing. As soon as you face it and look it in the eyes it loses its power. Don't worry though another one will show up to take its place this is how we grow
51)Everything comes from what you carry inside
52)Trust your intuition the more you listen to it the more it will give you
53)There are more ways of saying it besides saying it
54)When everything around you disappears except who you are with and what you are doing, this is when you are truly living in the moment
55)You are braver then you think
56)Love lives forever in the heart
57) What you risk reveals what you value and when you take risks you value yourself
58)The closer you get the less scary it becomes
59)all you have is now!
60) There's no secret to life, no right or wrong way to live, there's just life and finding you way through it
61) Be your own best friend
62)be curious
63)ask for what you need
64) sometimes you know something with every once of who you are and for no particular reason. trust that
65)do one thing at a time
66)life is lived from moment to moment and being in each moment is life
67)love isnt something you feel. love is something you do
68)when you least expect it, what you need shows up
69)write it down to make it real
70)make time
71)get our of your own way
72)change your thoughts to change your world
73)there are no coincidences
74)you teach people how to treat you
75)knowing what you need to do doesnt make doing it easy. doing it makes it easy
76)Be yourself
77)you become what you believe and you create what you believe you deserve
78)simplify
79)know your own thoughts
80)you cannot save time. you can only spend time and how you spend your time is up to you
81)power comes from being who you are
82)sometimes you have to close your eyes to see
83)when it is right there is no doubt
84)pay attention
85)just because it has changed doesnt mean its over its just different
86)laugh often
87)your thoughts create your feelings
88) there are things you want people to know about you and there are things people cant help but know about you
89)let go
90)to really know something you have to live it and teach it
91)love fearlessly
92) a place is your memory is the most sincere compliment you can give to someone
93)you can when you decide you can
94)your mind is so powerful what you intend creates what you experience
95)inspire greatness
96)every once in awhile you meet someone who affects your life in ways you cant explain. you are a better person for knowing them
97)the only thing you can control is what you think
98)be where you are
99)its the small, consistent and seemingly unnoticeable thing that make the most difference
100)you are enough the way you are
** Forgive and forget
Five Things we Tend to forget!
Sit back quietly in your chair, and take a few relaxing deep breaths before you read this; smile.
Five (5) lessons about the way we treat people
1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor
Gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student
And had breezed through the questions until I read
The last one:
"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the
Cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
Dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?
I handed in my paper, leaving the last question
Blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if
The last question would count toward our quiz grade.
"Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers,
You will meet many people. All are significant.. They
Deserve your attention and care, even if all you do
Is smile and say "hello."
I've never forgotten that lesson.. I also learned her
Name was Dorothy.
2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American
Woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway
Trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had
Broken down and she desperately needed a ride.
Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally
Unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man
Took her to safety, helped her get assistance and
Put her into a taxicab.
She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his
Address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a
Knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a
Giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A
Special note was attached.
It read:
"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway
The other night. The rain drenched not only my
Clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.
Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying
Husband's' bedside just before he passed away... God
Bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving
Others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those
Who serve.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less,
A 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and
Sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in
Front of him.
"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and
Studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table and the
Waitress was growing impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins.
"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on
The table and walked away The boy finished the ice
Cream, paid the cashier and left.. When the waitress
Came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the
Table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,
Were two nickels and five pennies..
You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had
To have enough left to leave her a tip.
4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a
Roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if
Anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the
King's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by
And simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the
King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did
Anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of
Vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the
peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the
stone to the side of the road. After much pushing
and straining, he finally succeeded. After the
peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed
a purse lying in the road where the boulder had
been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note
from the King indicating that the gold was for the
person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The
peasant learned what many of us never understand!
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve
our condition.
5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a
hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who
was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only
chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had
miraculously survived the same disease and had
developed the antibodies needed to combat the
illness. The doctor explained the situation to her
little brother, and asked the little boy if he would
be willing to give his blood to his sister.
I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a
deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save
her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed
next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing
the color returning to her cheek. Then his face
grew pale and his smile faded.
He looked up at the doctor and asked with a
trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away".
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the
doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his
sister all of his blood in order to save her.
Five (5) lessons about the way we treat people
1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor
Gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student
And had breezed through the questions until I read
The last one:
"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the
Cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
Dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?
I handed in my paper, leaving the last question
Blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if
The last question would count toward our quiz grade.
"Absolutely, " said the professor. "In your careers,
You will meet many people. All are significant.. They
Deserve your attention and care, even if all you do
Is smile and say "hello."
I've never forgotten that lesson.. I also learned her
Name was Dorothy.
2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American
Woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway
Trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had
Broken down and she desperately needed a ride.
Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally
Unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man
Took her to safety, helped her get assistance and
Put her into a taxicab.
She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his
Address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a
Knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a
Giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A
Special note was attached.
It read:
"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway
The other night. The rain drenched not only my
Clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.
Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying
Husband's' bedside just before he passed away... God
Bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving
Others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those
Who serve.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less,
A 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and
Sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in
Front of him.
"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and
Studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table and the
Waitress was growing impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins.
"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on
The table and walked away The boy finished the ice
Cream, paid the cashier and left.. When the waitress
Came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the
Table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,
Were two nickels and five pennies..
You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had
To have enough left to leave her a tip.
4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a
Roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if
Anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the
King's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by
And simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the
King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did
Anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of
Vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the
peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the
stone to the side of the road. After much pushing
and straining, he finally succeeded. After the
peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed
a purse lying in the road where the boulder had
been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note
from the King indicating that the gold was for the
person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The
peasant learned what many of us never understand!
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve
our condition.
5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a
hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who
was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only
chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had
miraculously survived the same disease and had
developed the antibodies needed to combat the
illness. The doctor explained the situation to her
little brother, and asked the little boy if he would
be willing to give his blood to his sister.
I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a
deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save
her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed
next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing
the color returning to her cheek. Then his face
grew pale and his smile faded.
He looked up at the doctor and asked with a
trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away".
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the
doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his
sister all of his blood in order to save her.
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