He is “unsinkable.” 

I’ve known this man for more than 30 years and long before cancer entered his life, he faced obstacles that would have put a lesser man away.  He was outspoken, sometimes to the point of losing a job over voicing his opinion.  He was one of the best basketball play-by-play men in the business, but some how he’d manage to get involved in a front office squabble and if he was lucky, he’d last the season. 

But he’d move on and take his talents to another ball club.  Until eventually, his opinions became his reputation and even when his friends told him to “just do your job,” he couldn’t find many teams who would take that chance.

He has stayed fit all these years.  Today is his 79th birthday and in spite of his prostate cancer, he’s still taking care of himself.  He’s had some tough, hard battles with the beast and there have been days when I thought I could hear his voice, really his spirit, cracking.  The cancer has challenged him in ways he never saw coming.  Cancer does that, as we all know. 

His doctor must have seen he had a fighter on his hands, because even when some of the best treatments available for prostate cancer failed, he didn’t give up on my friend.  There was always something else to try.  And always hope.  Expensive medicines, have also taken a toll, but this doctor hasn’t let that stop him either.  He’s found ways around those big bills because these meds are working and he wasn’t about to stop treatment.  If only all doctors were like this.

So when I called to say “Happy Birthday” today, I heard a strong, thundering voice. The same one that could bring a television audience to its feet in the final seconds of any game. He’s unsinkable.  He made my day, on his day.