Tribute to an Old Friend

My son AJ sent me this story yesterday. NHL star TJ Oshie recently lost his father, Tim Oshie, to a struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31396860/playing-day-losing-father-tj-oshie-nets-hat-trick-washington-capitals-emotional-win

TJ Oshie is the son of my old friend, Tim. Many years ago, Tim and I played basketball together at Everett Community College (Tim is #32 and I am #12 in the picture below). I think Tim was our best all-round player. He didn’t start playing basketball until high school. His family had moved from Minnesota to Washington. Minnesota was hockey country and Tim loved to play hockey. One day his Dad handed him a pair of Chuck Taylor basketball shoes. He told Tim that they couldn’t afford hockey and that he should play basketball….Tim shrugged it off and turned his attention to basketball. I remember him telling me that his high school coach told him that he didn’t have a “basketball body.” That didn’t bother Tim…he kept working at the game…he wasn’t recruited to play ball in college and so he landed at EvCC. The EvCC men’s basketball program had been cancelled for a few years (due to some sort of violation), and the program was just restarting. Tim was all in! I was playing pick up ball and the coach saw my game and invited me to try out too. I was all in! It was a fantastic opportunity for gym rats like me and Tim. We had a scrappy team and we struggled against some of the bigger and more talented teams (a couple of the teams in our league were loaded with future Division I players). Tim got better and better and ended up being recruited by several four year schools, which landed him back in Minnesota. He later returned the Pacific Northwest and started a family. When Tim saw that TJ had a love and talent for hockey he once again relocated to Minnesota so that TJ could play in the more competitive youth hockey programs. Tim was a devoted father and coach, and he spent many years in youth development. Tim had an infectious personality…always made you feel valued and appreciated. We would only touch base occasionally over the years and I knew that he was struggling with Alzheimer’s disease, but I was surprised to hear of his passing. Rest in peace, Tim.

And for a little fun, I post a short video of lessons from basketball for life here I made (with my daughter Maria’s help) for my son, Jack, who just completed his college degree.

Millions Are Saying No to the Vaccines. What Are They Thinking?

This article from the Atlantic isn’t too bad. There is some useful information here. However, in my reading it completely omits one very important fact: There are safe and effective alternative treatments for COVID such as ivermectin and HCQ!

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/the-people-who-wont-get-the-vaccine/618765/