Yeah, I said it.  Perhaps I should explain it.  You see, the moon is an awesome thing.  It rises above the earth (ok, it doesn’t actually rise but you know what I mean) and is seen by people all over the world.  By comparison to the earth it is quite small but it dominates the night sky.  Well, I contend in “our” world it is quite the same thing.  Compared to the sheer volume of everyone else we are quite small.  However, we can stand out and shine above all of the others.  There’s only one problem.  The moon doesn’t have a light of its own.  All it does is reflect the sun.  It needs to reflect something else’s light to be seen by others.

So, today when I say to “moon” someone I intend to show the light of someone else in our life that has helped us “shine”.  As the slight disappointment hits you that we won’t be bearing our posteriors in the direction of some unsuspecting poor soul I would like to set the rest of the scene.

Since Trey was diagnosed we have been blessed by so many people.  If all that came of it, if we were never a blessing to anyone else, the amount we have been loved and served would be worthy of a thousand stories of praise.  From time to time it is my intention to shed light…reflect if you will, some of those who have blessed us.  The examples are strategically chosen for HOW they have blessed us.  Typically, they won’t be who you’d think.  Family, dearest and closest of friends, will not be featured here.  Those who have really helped us the most or most often will also not be mentioned…here.  If you are offended that you are not on the “to be mooned” list:

1.  How do you know that you are not on the “list”?

2.  Realize that you are probably in those groups I mentioned that won’t be “mooned.”

3. You probably have too much tact to let me know that you are offended.  However, I will gladly moon you, just let me know.  Which way I moon you (traditional or here on the website) is going to be on a case by case basis.

So, the first person I’d like to moon is Bill Navari.  As we all wait for his jaw to rejoin his face (his mouth wide open), allow me to tell you who he is and why he was chosen.  Bill does the play by play for the Penn Hills Football team and can be seen on Comcast Channel 98 with a show called “The Coaches Corner.”  He and I are friendly but not necessarily friends (we don’t hang out or see each other outside of PH events).

The first significant instance I had with Bill in regards to Trey was shortly after his diagnosis.  He came up to me and said how sorry he was.  In the conversation I mentioned that they said that 65% of kids in Trey’s condition with his stage of cancer are alive and cancer free 5 years after diagnosis.  Bill looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “Well, it’s better than 50/50 but it still sucks.”  Yep, it sure does.  He was the first person to just call it like it was.  He comforted me and didn’t tell me how to feel.  He didn’t avoid me but rather joined me exactly where I was.  He was open and honest.

The second significant moment was just a few weeks ago.  He was sharing a frustration in his life when I think he had that (oh crap, I’m complaining to a guy whose son has been diagnosed with terminal cancer) look on his face.  I’ve gotten pretty familiar with that face.  Once again, as he does often, he asked about Trey but then asked how Rachel and I were doing.  I shared with him a story I have written about before.  “Well, Rachel and I were talking the other night and we both agreed that we were ready…you know, ready.  However, we know that no parent can really be ready for what we have been told lies ahead so I guess we’re ok.”  After an awkward pause I added, “you know.”  Bill just looked at me and said, almost incredulously, “NO.  I don’t know…and I don’t want to know.  No one should know.  You shouldn’t know.”  That was it.  No flowery words, no nods of “yes…yes.”  No pathetic head shake.  Brutal, honest, sincere, amazement at what we were facing.  He left me feeling honored and respected.  He let me know how much he thought of how we were handling this without telling us.  Again, he was open, honest, and sincere.

Lastly, a week or two later (or earlier that night for all I remember) as I was getting ready to start announcing (I do the PA announcing for the Penn Hills football team) he grabbed my chair and said quietly to me, “Your blog is excellent.”  That’s all.  Nothing flowery, nothing fancy, no tears.  He let me know that he reads it, that he likes it, and he made sure that I knew that he felt that way.  I really appreciated it.

So there, while so many have wanted to, I have mooned Bill Navari.  Oh, I may have done it differently, but I mooned him.  Who do you need to moon?  Let it fly in your own world in your own way today.