I'm reading the latest book from Mitch Albom now called "The Time Keeper" - and it's very timely because the more I look at all the clues around me it is the plain and simple truth that 'time is running out' for each of us and there's not a damn thing we can do about it.
Well almost - because we can certainly last a bit longer on this terra firma if we look after ourselves, mentally and physically, but the fact is that there is an 'expiry date' on all of us that is up and coming at some point in the future.
The book, as always with Mitch, takes you through a long maze to get to the eventual meaning - but without ruining it for you - it's another reminder of how precious life is and that you should try to suck up every ounce of life that you can while you have your alloted 'time' on this earth!
The Albom book hit me a bit hard this past weekend as I lost another old friend.
He was one of those guys that I had a ton of fun with while working in radio in Vancouver in the 1980's - and one of those guys that fell into the "why the hell didn't I keep in touch with him" category - for which I blame both of us.
John Iocobucci (Yack-a-boo-chee) or Yak as we called him was a very funny man - always!
He and I worked together at Selkirk Broadcasting in Vancouver for several years and I can safely say Yak made me laugh on a 'daily' basis.
During our CRTC hearing in 1985 our panel was one of great diversity with John sitting in the middle.
As the Commissioner looked across at the name tags he looked over at John and said - "can you please pronounce your name for us?"
Yack leans over to the mic very slowly and says...."John!"
It set the tone for the meeting in which we were in a heated battle with the CRTC to change the format of CJAZ to KISSFM (now Jack) and it certainly eased the atmosphere greatly from that moment on as the entire panel either laughed out loud or had cheshire cat type grins on their faces as we began our presentation.
Over the past decade or so I've lost many good friends and each time when my reflection app in the brain kicks in I get to remember great moments that friendships can bring to you.
And each time we seem to start with "how hold was he/she" question and, no matter what the answer is, the usual real response is and should be.... "wow that's way too young!"
Or - 70 is the new 60, 60 is the new 50, well...you know....
When you lose one of your pals I think it should be used as a real stepping stone to make some realizations in your life too.
For me, personally....
1. I'm going to start taking better care of myself 'just in case.'
2. I'm going to call/email/text/mail a letter to somebody who I spent time with in the past just to touch base and say hello - and to let them know I appreciate our friendship.
3. I'm going to continue to make donations to the various organizations that either help fight disease or that make life 'better' for somebody else - to show my appreciation for what I've experienced in my life.
4. I'm going to continue to counsel family and friends to "quit stressing about the little stuff" - because stress really is a bastard and most of the things I see people fret about really mean nothing in the grand scheme of life.
Yes kids there "WILL" be hockey again one day soon!
5. Finally I'm going to remind idiots on social media who call anybody "old man" or "old woman" as a way to be a smart ass to them that you too will not escape The Time Keeper and you too will be exactly what you are slagging us as an "old man/old woman" one day too so please find a new way to tweet or post your comments to anybody who is older - and obviously more mature - than you.
With age comes wisdom.
With time comes experience.
With experience comes respect.
With respect comes love.
With friendship comes precious and lasting memories.
I hope to live a long long time to experience even more in my life - and to John Iocubucci - my sincere thanks for treating my family and me to some very fun times in our lives. I will truly miss you and I'm so sad that I didn't reach out over the past several years simply to say 'hello' and 'thank you!"
We had a hell of a Management Team at Selkirk Vancouver - and between you, the the likes of the late Tom Peacock, Ted Farr, Taanta Gupta, Sharon Berry and the Selkirk Toronto team we had an amazingly fun time and made some very valuable and lasting friendships.... for which I am forever grateful.
RIP John! Make God laugh!
