RIP Probie

Bob Probert, 1965 - 2010

No matter what your feelings were about Probert, 45 is way too young to go - especially when you have four kids. What's horrifying to me to me is he apparently went in front of his wife, children and other family. I don't know if I'd wish that on my worst enemy.

For myself, Probie was the guy you loved to hate when he played for the Wings. He did his job well - beating the shit outta anyone in his way. What most people forget though is is could also score - look at his point total in 87-88: 62. The Hawks gave him a second chance at playing after one of his frequent alcohol related run ins with the law and subsequent release from Detroit. The hate turned to love for the Chicago fans. Here was a man who protected his teammates, especially the skill players, with his fists. That's something you'll never see again with the instigator penalties they've instituted - another thing that has changed the game for the worst, IMHO. He was the last of a dying breed.

As his hockey card from 1990 states, "Bob had a much publicized drug and alcohol problem." Maybe that contributed to his early death, but why speculate? The man had demons, but it seemed like he had done his best to conquer them. By all accounts he was truly a nice, stand up guy off the ice. 

Most of the tribute posts I've seen link to clips of Probert's best fights. If you'd like to see them, take a look at hockeyfights.com or youtube - they're there for the taking. I'd like to include the one below. It's a Hawks/Wings montage before Game 4 of the WCF Finals last year and includes the ceremonial puck drop by Probie himself:

"Kick their ass" indeed, Bob. Wherever you are now, I hope you're doing the same.

Not To Bring This Blog Down...

My grandfather died yesterday morning.

It was somewhat expected - he had not been well for over a year - but no matter how much you think you mentally prepare yourself for it, when it happens your emotions go through a blender.

He had something many people don't get to experience - over 30 years of enjoyable retirement. He retired from the Chicago Fire Department when he was in his mid 50s and had good health up until the last couple of years. He had a lot of difficulty adapting to the fact that he wasn't physically capable of doing the things he did for so long. And honestly after his latest hospital scare in December and putting him in long term care afterward, I think he realized it was his time and went to a better place.

I'll always have these memories of him:

• His love of crossword puzzles, macadamia nuts, Beefeater gin and the Cubs.
• His garden - when my grandparents still lived in the city he had a huge garden for a fairly small backyard - he even grew corn! When they moved out to the retirement community he still had a plot in the communal garden for many years. He was the first person to feed me zucchini.
• He used to smoke cigars but my grandmother wouldn't let him smoke in the house. When I was little he would say, "Come on Melissa, let's go for a walk." I didn't realize until I was older that when he said that he wanted to have company as he smoked. He probably hadn't smoked them in 15 years but when I smell cigar smoke I still think of him.
• He made the best homemade lasagna. He used to cook for his fellow firemen, and I always looked forward to Sunday spaghetti dinners.
• His laugh and enjoyment of life. I only hope I can get as much out of life as he did.

I am not a religious person by any means, but I hope wherever he is he knows that he is loved, and that he will missed.

MLK

It's always nice to have a day off, but let's not forget the reason for it:



The "I have a dream" speech is legend - but this one kills me every time. It's almost as if he knew his life would be taken from him and is such at peace with it.

A lot of folks said we'd reached The Promised Land when Obama was elected. Sadly, one only needs to read this report to see we're really not there yet. Trust me, I witness the segregation every day at work. Here's hoping that every year on MLK day we're all a little closer to the cause that he died for.