Uncle Leo

My Uncle passed away yesterday......he lived down the street from my grandfather and I basically grew up going from house to house in Lawrence, MA. All my older relatives are starting to pass away and we are starting and growing our families now. The only unfortunate thing was that he had to see two of his daughters pass away before him. One had passed away from cancer and one from debilitating M.S. I'm sure that nobody wants to see any of their children die before them (that is my greatest fear) and he had to suffer the loss of two.

I knew it was going to be soon. He had a form of cancer and bad blood clots in his leg. I was not aware that it was as bad as it was until basically a couple of months ago. He was the De facto patriarch of the family after Grandfather passed away in '98. I didn't visit him in the bad state he was in for the last few months...I called my cousin (his youngest son who is my age) and apologized but he actually set me at ease "Don't beat yourself up about that...he didn't want a big deal about it anyway"...he put me at ease with that and I just sort of started to cry....of course after I choked up and told him I would see them this weekend and hung up the phone. This guy was an awesome uncle....he taught me to fish, camp, water ski, cross country ski and winter camping......and enjoy the outdoors for all its worth. I want to remember him as the bourbon sipping uncle that tied fishing flies to relax. I remember him with his magnifying glasses tying flies for what seemed hours upon hours at his cabin in the woods. He used to take my cousin and I camping with the Boy Scouts for weekends during the summer. In the White Mountains of New Hampshire. That is where I learned to fly fish for trout and then fry them up in Bacon grease left over from the morning breakfast. Let me tell you....there is nothing better than fresh trout fried in bacon grease....with the mountain air.....no less than 10 fish would suffice. My uncle was a big Lithuanian guy....and his son soon became another big Lithuanian guy. He was a straight talking no bullshit guy that loved nothing more than to go fishing and camping. He took his son and I night fishing in his boat on that lake on the N.H.-Maine border quite often and I never realized how important that was to my growing up. We caught pickerel, perch, and small mouth bass...some where almost trophy sized. I never knew what Lithuanian was until I learned by looking on a map when I was young. I have a real mix of nationalities in family history....I noticed this tiny country that used to be part of the U.S.S.R. back then...wacky.
I never knew anybody could derive pleasure from tying fishing flies for endless hours....it seemed so boring. During the days at the camp we would go fishing and water skiing off the back of his motor boat. I even learned to drop one ski and continue on one for the rest of the summer. Every night he go to his rocking chair while we played card games at the kitchen table in the cabin....he would get his bourbon and get his fly tying kit out. He had thousands of them...all different colors and he practiced constantly. Out of that love of a boring hobby came a lifetime of fun. He bought books on it and studied about the intricacies of threading the perfect fishing fly....
I never really thought about how similar it was to spending countless hours in front of a game (that's what Poker is....just a game) trying to fish for a prize....all while spending countless hours studying and practicing techniques and strategies. My uncle was a great part of my growing into the man I am today....and for that I thank him forever. Thank you Uncle Leo....R.I.P.

Poker and Misc. Stuff (with some bad grammer mixed in)

Unless your hiding under a rock you must know about the BBT.........so if you want to test your MTT mettle then get involved in the following....bitches!!!

This week so far:
Strike one on M.A.T.H
Strike two at the WWdN : Weekly NLHE
???? Tonight at the 'Mookie'?????

Tournament: The Mookie
When: Wednesday. 10pm ET
Buyin: $10+1
Password: vegas1

Tournament: Riverchasers Tour Event #9
When: Thursday, May 3rd, 9:00pm ET
Buyin: $10 1
Password: riverchasers9

How 'bout them RedSox.........and how 'bout them Patriots. Both teams have brought so much excitement in the past few years. The BEST IS YET TO COME!!!!! The look on Tom Brady and Bill Belichick's faces at the end of the playoffs last year means one thing for this year. Superbowl!! You know it....I know it...now after the draft and free agent pickups....everybody knows it!
As for the Sox....if anybody had any doubts or have wondered what a pro thinks...then read 38pitches
Read Curt S. verbally bitch-slap that IDIOT Gary Thorne (stick to hockey you douche...at least you do something right). Even though Mr. Thorne decided to recant his statement....he still made one of the all time gaffs in broadcast history.
Another entertaining link for you politicos out there.....It's an interesting read on the politics of politics (huh?).

I'm going up to North Conway, NH this weekend for a wedding. Should be a great time with some golf and partying mixed in. I'm thinking about selling my condo.....it will be tough to give up. It's a 2 bedroom flat on a 9-hole golf course. If I sell it then I'm going to WSOP with 20K in my pocket.....just kidding. I'm going to invest much of it into my small house. I'll fix it up and put a porch on. It's not in bad shape but it needs a new roof and vinyl siding etc. The porch is needed because I'm a (sit-on-the-porch-with-a-brew-and-a-grill-kind-of-guy) porch lover. In a couple of years I'll probably sell that house too....then buy my parents house. Can't wait for that (has an awesome roofed porch that I grew up on). So anyway, I'll end up bringing my new laptop PC so I can dial-in and play a couple of late-night tourneys. It killed me when I went of vacation last year.....because I couldn't play online poker for a week! (actually I snuck out on the fam. to play at my weekly bar league NLHE tourney....and cashed). Now at least I don't have to worry about my laptop PC dying mid-tourney or right before the final table.

I can't believe my daughter is two years old now (actually on Cinco de Mayo). It makes me think of how much my priorities have changed. I used to be sooooooooo mad if my A's got cracked by 8's...like in last nights Daily Double B tourney on Full Tilt. Now it's funny.My parents have graciously offered to babysit for the weekend while we go to a wedding.....PARTY TIME!!!! There just isn't anything more important than family (and babysitters who happen to be your parents). I'm rambling here....but it's true. So this weekend I'll be watching a new family formed before my eyes. They will however be blurry with booze........
I'll be going to another bachelor party in June. The last of my high school friends is finally going to get married on June 30th. We are all 35-36 and I'm still going to bachelor parties. Here is the email of the June 2nd festivities.....it's not Vegas but it worthy of a........weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Ok all I have booked the limo, the golf times, and I will get all food and booze.

Here are the details:

Saturday June 2, 2007

9:00-10am meet at Rick's

I have two Foursomes booked at 10:32am 18holes,Falmouth Country Club(resident rate), with cart

I will get all food and booze

I booked a party Van from 8-2am

In short all expenses outside of lap dances will be included the amount per person is roughly $100-120 a person. If you are not playing golf it will be around $50-70. Please let me know if you are not playing. Remember Golf really is just a bunch of fat white guys drinking beers and hitting a ball. No one is a serious handicapper. Any questions let me know.

Hopefully lot of these will be doing this :