In honor of April

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Marshall Ramsey

Yellow_daffodils_-_floriade_canberraAfter all the glamour and glitz of last night’s Academy Awards, I’m going to tell you about someone you probably don’t know.  She’s not a celebrity. Oh no, she’s more special than a celebrity.

April DeLoach is a mom, an educator and a wife. She has multiple friends because her personality draws people to her like a moth to a flame. I met her like many Mississippians meet: On the little league ball field. Her humor would light up the field at dusk. Her love for her family would warm everyone on a cool Spring night.  April’s life was just like yours or mine until one fateful day she noticed bruises.  Bruises that would not heal.

Bruises caused leukemia.

She is young. I don’t give out ladies’ ages but I will say she is much younger than I am. Cancer struck her during the prime of her life.

It’s not fair. But cancer never is.

Her ability to write brought her struggles and triumphs to all her friends who followed her on Facebook. We’d cheer. We’d fear. But mainly we prayed. And prayed a lot.  Life was a roller coaster for her and her family. And we were in the car with her.

We prayed for her to get well. For her doctors’ to find a cure. For a stem-cell match. For safe operations. For strength for her amazing husband Trey. Trey and April have two great kids. It’s not fair for a kid to have to face what they have.

As I write this, she’s facing grave odds. Her soul is strong but her body is tired. She’s on the cusp of eternal glory.

It’s not fair. But cancer never is.

April is one of my cancer heroes. She lived. Really lived. She loved her family and practiced her faith. And inspired us all in the processes.

April is the month when the world springs back to life.  So on this cold, gray Monday, may we honor April DeLoach by springing back to life and truly living, too.

Note: April Heath DeLoach passed away at 4:42 a.m. on March 4, 2013. She courageously battled leukemia and the side effects of the stem cell transplant with heart and faith and was an inspiration to us all. God bless her and her family. 

Posted in Cancer, Writing | 34 Comments

MRBA Free-For-All

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Marshall Ramsey

Yesterday Summer. Today Spring. Welcome to the bipolar South.

030413Dreams

Posted in Cartoon, Fat-Fit-Fat | 41 Comments

Fit2Fat2Fit Blog: February 27, 2014

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Marshall Ramsey

treadmillWe started with running a giant nipple drill (not as sensual as it sounds), then we ran ladders, sprints and the Gauntlet. We jumped on the treadmill (8 minutes at 7.5 mph) and then finished with a bear-crawl drill in one of the aerobic rooms. It was a heart-pumping, lung burning workout.

Most people think of workouts as just a physical activity. But there is a real mental component to it also.  Fatigue makes you mentally weak. It allows things to get inside your head.  We are like oranges — you can tell what’s inside of us when we are squeezed.

I’ve been squeezed a lot the past three years.  I have a lot more work to do.

 

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Fit2Fat2Fat Blog: February 26, 2014

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Marshall Ramsey

Live for something bigger than yourself and set lofty goals. That will help you keep perspective on the bad days.

I was there today and worked my butt off. Other than that, I have nothing else to say.

 

 

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CARTOON: Mayor Lumumba 1947-2014

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Marshall Ramsey

022614Mayor

 

Mayor Frank Melton’s death on election night was terrible. But I never would have predicted that current Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba would pass away less than a year into his first term. It’s just shocking. And sad.

Prayers go out to his family. And to all in the city of Jackson.

Posted in Cartoon | 1 Comment

Make the Undertaker Sorry

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Marshall Ramsey

1743665_10153875647655721_141113459_nWhen I heard that my former coworker and Clarion-Ledger columnist Orley Hood died, a wave of sorrow crashed over me.  I thought of all the group lunches we had enjoyed at the Thai House. I remembered Orley’s stories. I felt blessed to have worked with him.  I thought about how much I enjoyed reading his columns.  Now, I wish I could read more of them. I really crave an Orley novel. That would have been amazing.

Harold Ramis died yesterday.  His creative legacy is long and distinguished.  If a movie made you laugh in the 1980’s and 90’s, Ramis probably had something to do with it. Animal House, Caddyshack, Stripes, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and those are just a few of the great motion pictures he was a part of.  Selfishly, I’d love to see one more Harold Ramis comedy.

Because when creative people die, it tears at the world’s fabric.

I was honored last Saturday at the Cancer Gala. A very nice woman came up and told me the story of her brother’s melanoma recurrence. He had a melanoma like mine and within four years, it had roared back. He’s now Stage IV and is in a brutal fight for his life. I listened and breathed as deeply as I could.  Anxiety crept in and clutched my soul.  I know I am a ticking time bomb.  I know my melanoma could come back at any time. I have a sword hanging over my head. I could die from a recurrence. But I also could live to 100. Or I could die tomorrow crossing the street. We all can.

But it got me thinking. What am I doing to create a legacy? How am I spending my time on Earth? What lessons can I learn?

These are a few of them:

Make the most of every single moment.

Leave no talent’s stone unturned.

Bring joy to those around you.

Craft a creative legacy.

Shuck procrastination and embrace urgency.

Live your life like Mark Twain said: “Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”

Yes, that’s it. Make the undertaker sorry.

Because Orley Hood and Harold Ramis sure did.

Posted in Cancer, Writing | 1 Comment

Fit2Fat2Fit Blog: February 25, 2014

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Marshall Ramsey

My legs cramped yesterday.  Lactic acid burned both of them and I felt the cloak of exhaustion battering me.  Like the tide that refused to go out, fatigue overwhelmed me, flooding me with sleepiness. I poured all the ice from the ice maker into the the cold water in the tub.  And then I sat down in the icy bath.

HOLY #$%#!  IT WAS FREEZING!!!!!!!!

If I had been a turtle, I’d still be in my shell.

A late work night and tired legs (I ran 13.5 miles last weekend after a five-day workout without a break), meant I needed a rest.  I took a day off today and will take another ice bath again.

Tomorrow I’ll hit the workout hard. This time with fresher legs.

 

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Fit2Fat2Fit Blog: February 24, 2014

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Marshall Ramsey

straight_grip_hand_stand_pushups_startingIt’s Monday. Normally, I would have slept in (until 6) but we’re making up another snow/ice/rain day today. So I was blessed with another opportunity to work out.

See what I just did?

I could have complained that I had to get up. I could have whined that I was tired and didn’t want to work out. I could have mentioned my legs are pretty much shot from running over the weekend.

And yes, my legs are tired.

But I decided that I would embrace today’s workout with my whole heart.  And surprisingly, my attitude pulled my tired body through the day.

It was an upper-body workout today. Even Leonard’s station was geared more toward it.  I ran with a bar over my head. I threw a medicine ball as my friend and I shuffled down the court. Sure, my legs got a workout, too — I kept moving the whole time. But I could tell the day would be geared toward the waist up.

We did an inside four-corner drills (run the Gauntlet and then do pushups, sit-ups, burpees and squats along the course.) Then we went to Clark who had us doing unnatural things with a 25-lb. pound weight.  My favorite is the wall stands.  When I was in college, I used to do pushups while standing on my hands. That was a long, long time ago.  From there we went to the treadmill, where I did an incline of 15%, then ran 6.0, 6.5, 7.0 and 8.0 mph.  I could feel the lactic acid in my legs gurgling and cursing my very being.  After six minutes, we went into the bike room and rode the bike. That actually felt good.

I ran a 5K race Saturday and a 10-mile run yesterday.  We have another five-day training schedule this week.  I’m just thankful I have so many opportunities to improve my health and live a better life for my family.

But right now, I’m taking a nap. I’m positive about it.

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SHORT STORY: Throwing Stones

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Marshall Ramsey

untitledEarly one Spring morning, wispy fog slipped across a small pond’s glassy surface. As the sun rose, there was a stillness in the air. A distant crow’s call echoed across the water, breaking the silence. A man and a little boy walked out to the pond together.  The man reached down and picked up a small stone and threw it into the water.

Kerplop.

The splash stilled the crow’s call and caused rings to spread outward across the pond’s surface. Then the water stilled again.  The father picked up a second stone and threw it into the water.

Kersplash.

Once again, rings moved outward until the water once again became glass.

The boy looked at his father with a quizzical look. “What are you doing, Dad?”

The father threw yet another stone and began to speak. “Each stone represents a dream of mine.  Me throwing it is the effort I put into making my dream into a reality.  The pond is the world around us. And the circles are how my dreams change it.”

The boy was smarter than his years. He looked at his dad and said bluntly, “But the pond goes back to how it was. How do your dreams change the world?”

The dad patted the little boy on the back. “You’ll see son. It will all become clear to you someday.”

The son picked up a rock and flung it as far as he could, too.  More rings formed.

Days and years passed. The little boy joined his dad to throw rocks.  And every day they’d go out into the world and work hard to make their dreams come true.

When the boy was 25, his father suddenly passed away.  The morning of the funeral, it was just him. Angry at the world, he picked up the biggest rock he could find and heaved it into the water.

“DAMN YOU!” he cursed the pond. “My father’s dreams didn’t change the world and mine won’t either!”

But instead of the the usual “Kelsplash,” there was a more clacking sound — more like the sound of rock hitting rock.  And there, seemingly on top of the water, sat the stone.

The son stared curiously at rock. He then picked up a second one and threw it.  Crack.  It sat next to the first one.

Year after year of throwing rocks into the pond had changed it after all.  A little island began to form.  Encouraged, the son continued to throw his rocks — now with greater intensity.

Day after day turned into year after year. The island grew and life began to form on it.  A bird dropped an acorn on the rocky surface and a little oak began to take root.  The son still threw rocks and was soon joined by his own son.  Dreams flew into the sky and landed into the pond. The little tree slowly turned into a bigger tree and soon shaded the island beneath its limbs.

“Why are do we throw rocks, dad?” the grandson asked the son.

The father patted his son on the back and said, “The rocks are our dreams. Our throwing them represents our effort to make them come true. And the pond is the world around us.”

And at that moment, he found the answer to his own question. No one rock changed the pond. But by dreaming and working consistently every day over the years, he and his father had truly changed the world.

He smiled at the oak tree and picked up another stone and tossed it into the pond.  And as he looked out at the little island, he understood his father’s wisdom: Dreams can change the world if you consistently throw enough of them.

 

 

 

Posted in Writing | 1 Comment

Heaven’s Writers Club Meeting.

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Marshall Ramsey

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Posted in Cartoon | 4 Comments