Flavory Throwback Thursdee: Mötley Crüe, Without You

This past Sunday, with an injured shoulder, I went to Great Woods to see Mötley Crüe playing the Massachusetts date of their “Final Tour”.  The Crüe was the first concert I ever went to (27 years ago, August 10^th, 1987 at the Centrum in Worcester), so I wanted to see them one last time. 

            When the Mötley boys started into their ballad “Without You”, I was taken back to 1990 when the song was being played in heavy rotation on WAAF.  This was during my sophomore year in high school, and there were three girls who had told me (each in her own way) that they weren’t interested in me romantically…Shocking, I know.  To me, it made sense to call WAAF and dedicate this song to all three of these lovely lasses. I think one of them heard the dedication, so it was “mission accomplished” in my book. 

            It’s funny sometimes how you get what you wish for, but life has a way of making it happen not exactly how you had it in mind.  I remember thinking about these three girls during my sophomore year and wondering if things would have been different if they knew me my freshman year when I was in the hospital with Crohn’s Disease.  I thought maybe one of them would have felt bad for me or maybe would have wanted to take care of me, and my chances of having something romantic would have been better. Two years later, I was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor.  One afternoon when I was in the hospital, all three of these girls came to visit me.  It was hard for me to complain about the chemo that day, for sure.  My favorite nurse (a neighbor) came in to check on me during their visit and could tell I was one of the happiest cancer patients she had ever seen.

            Now, over 24 years after I made that “Without You” dedication, I still keep in touch with all three of these women. Two are married with kids and one is engaged to be married.  Although I am still looking for the one I can truly dedicate this song to, I’m very happy for all of them and glad we are still friends. 

            Here’s a little clip I took of “Without You” from Sunday’s show, and the official music video. 

Cancer Fighters: Women are the Majority

So far, my professional life can be divided into two categories: Special education teaching and cancer-fighting non-profits.  Clearly, my heart took me to where the women were and not where the money was. And even though my career path hasn’t helped me find “the one” yet, it has put me in contact with many passionate cancer-fighting women.  For that, I am very thankful.

Both the American Cancer Society and 15-40 have men who head these organizations, but a majority of the people who make each company function are women. They are the ones organizing the Relay for Life events, volunteering, and speaking to help put an end to cancer. They are the survivors who are doing something to fight back. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of men who are fighting back, but most are women. Weird because statistically, males get cancer more than females.

Through my work at the ACS and 15-40, I have seen firsthand how dedicated so many women are to putting an end to this horrible disease.  They make me want to be the best cancer-fighter I can be, and I’m better for knowing them. Cancer awareness and fighting back simply would not be where it is today without women. May all the females and males participating in a Relay for Life today have a successful event…As always, F- CANCER! 

For the Nurses on National Nurses Day 2014

I've been meaning to get this blog going for a while, and I thought today would be the perfect day to do so.

Like I blogged 4 years ago for my t-shirt blog, I LOVE NURSES. I did then, and I still do now.

Nurses have been important to me since I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at age 14.  Yes, the doctors performed the surgery and put me on medication, but it was the nurses who really took care of me and made sure I got better.  It was the nurses who were there for me 24 hours a day.  

It wasn't until a few years later that I realized how important nurses really are.  When I was 18, I was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor.  Scary stuff for sure, but I was receiving treatment in the same hospital (UMass Medical Center) that helped me with my Crohn's Disease, so I went in confident that they would take care of me again. 

And, they did.  I had a great team of oncologists who made sure I was getting the best possible treatment for the type of brain cancer that I had (even though it was in my brain, it was the same type of cells as testicular cancer - proving what my brothers and sisters had been telling me all along was true: I was a dickhead).   

But, it wasn't the doctors who set up my IVs and made sure my chemotherapy was being infused correctly, it was the nurses.  It was the nurses who gave me my chemo, cleaned up my puke, brought in the TV so I could watch a funny movie, and let my family and friends stay past visiting hours.  It was the nurses who helped me when my fever was so bad I was shaking, and who answered the call button whenever I pushed it.

Thank you to all the UMass nurses who took care of me, and to all of the nurses working in various settings right now.  You are life savers, and you don't get nearly enough credit for the hard, emotionally draining, and very important work that you do. 

Introduction to The Flavory Girls Blog

My name is Dave, I'm 40, a huge Star Wars dork, I work in non-profit, and I've never been married.

I've never been married, but in my 40 years I've come across many women who have inspired me.

They have inspired me to write, learn from my mistakes, and be a better person.

Flavory is a word I used in a poem to describe these women - they aren't dull and they have a flavor for life.

They are girlfriends, friends, crushes, co-workers, celebrities, acquaintances, and many others who I have run into during my first 40 years.

I've written about them before, and I'm writing about them here because, well, I think they deserve it.

I hope you enjoy...