I Thank You For The Memories

I love mike very much, and he was such a giving person, as you all know. I thought i would share one of my fondest memories of mike with you.

In 1990 my brother, Mike went down to the Make a Wish Foundation in Lansing and signed me up. (I have / or had cystic Fibrosis.) One day a man and a woman showed up at my door and said,"What is your biggest dream? Where would you like to go? Who would you like to meet?" I was stunned. For a little girl it was all I could do to keep from going out of my skin!

At first I had asked to go to Michael Jackson's "playland", only because I remember being a small child of about 5 or so, and Michael Jackson had a special on t.v. I wanted to stay up so bad to watch it. I was so little that if it was past 8:30 in the p.m. I would fall asleep, and who else was there to try and keep me awake...Mike.

But, thank goodness Jackson was going through one of his many scandals, so they said it would not be possible to go there. So I looked at mike and said what any child in there right mind would say.." I want to go to Disney World!!!!" And we did. My mother my brother and my sister and Mike.

But, that is not the end of my story. the memory that I would like to share with you and is very special to me. We were all just getting up for the morning, and there was not much to do, until Mike came running into the room and said "There's going to launch the space shuttle!" I don't know why, but no one else wanted to go. So off we went to see the launch.

We jumped into the rented mini van and off we went. I can still remember what we were listing to. It was The Red Hot Chili Peppers. I believe the song was "get away now". We were late getting there. there was only about 15 minutes until it launched. there were cars everywhere! So he just pulled right over onto the highway and we got out and started running.

I was so little and in not the same kind of shape mike was in....that he picked me up on his back and ran with me over a mile just to make sure that I got a chance to see the spaceship leave! When we got there it was so hot and we were so thirsty. We got there with 35 seconds to go, so he used the time to buy my a soda with his last dollar. I know it was his last he told me so....or maybe it was just one of those ploys you can use on kids so that they will stop asking for things..either way it was mike at his finest.

You would not believe it though, they canceled the launch just 3 seconds before its departure time! Can you believe it. All Mike did was turn to me with that wily smile and said "Did you have fun?"

Yes, my sweet brother I had fun, and I thank you for loving me so much. This is just a peek at how wonderful my brother was. He would do anything to put a smile on a face. I miss him every minute of every day.