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It seems as though any tribute to Michael's life would be incomplete without mentioning his love of music. I recently felt Michael's presence very strongly as I sat with my brother Thomas and Stephanie at the concert for New York. The Who's performance, one of Michael's favorite bands, brought back a very fond and vivid memory that I've kept since I was barely a teenager. As we sat in my father's car in the Silver Beach parking lot, Michael described his latest concert going experience. It was a Who reunion tour. He described the rendition of "Wont Get Fooled Again" by using the car headlights to demonstrate the lighting effects that had been used. Now as I sat in Madison Square Garden it was exactly how he had illustrated. Michael's passion for music is well known by many of us in the Throgs Neck community. Some know him as the DJ at their weddings, christenings, and other family parties. Others remember him from several local establishments that he often played at. Many of us remember him giving selflessly of his time as he played at the annual TNBA benefit at Maritime College. It is almost impossible to take a short ride in a car without hearing a song on the radio that reminds us of Michael. Michael not only loved playing, listening to, and singing favorite tunes but he also loved to dance, and he was quite good at it. You would often see Michael and his beautiful bride-to-be, Stephanie, performing their best rendition of a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers routine. Family and friends that attended Thomas and Tracy's wedding will never forget the images of Michael and John Badalati dancing to "Born to do the Hand Jive". In fact, I remember my mother telling me that the McCarrick girls were so impressed with Michael that they wanted him to teach them the dance in preparation for his own wedding. Little did we know then that they would never get the chance. Michael had important work to do in a month's time that would leave us standing here today. Although Michael made a point not to take life too seriously 90% of the time, there were a couple of things that Michael did not take lightly. One was his profession that he respected and loved so much that he was willing to sacrifice his own life to save the lives of others. The other was good natured competition. Although Michael took competition very seriously, it was not winning that was important to Michael. What was important to Michael was to be the best he could be at whatever it was he was doing, and more importantly not to let his teammates or his brother firefighters down. However, no matter what the undertaking, Michael always found a way to have fun. This shows that Michael really knew what life was about because it is the fun times that we will always remember. Michael had a unique way of lifting people up to his level and helping them to enjoy themselves the way he did. One such instance that will remain with me forever is an adventure I would embark upon with him and my brother-in-law Tom Baker. It was on the annual Lynch fishing trip to Florida and Michael suggested that we take a trip into the Gulf of Mexico as far as our fuel would take us. When it was time to head back in our small motor powered skiff, the water began to get fairly rough and the three of us very wet. I'll never forget the way Michael spread himself across the bow with arms outstretched and borrowing a line from Titanic, repeatedly yelled "I am King of the World!". Tom and I agreed that we never laughed so hard in our lives. Michael made us all feel invincible and on top of the world that day. Since that fateful day in September, I, as well as each member of my family, have come to fully realize the affect that Michael has had on our own lives and the people that we have become. We each had a very strong, but unique, bond with Michael. Every time I look at my own music collection it seems as though it has Michael's influential signature written all over it. Michael's spirit will live on in each one of us and continue to affect the people that we are. Whenever I hear one of those songs on the radio that remind me of Michael, I know he is saying that despite the grief we feel over his loss and the memories we should have shared, we must go on singing and dancing, and enjoying our short time together. As we enter into the holiday season, there is a very familiar movie that we often see on TV. "It's a Wonderful Life" is about a man, who in his despair, wonders what it would be like if he had never been born. An angel from heaven shows him how one man's life can really make a difference to the world that he was born into and the people that surround him. Although we will never know the exact number of people Michael helped in his last moments, we do know that he has had a profound affect on all of us. I am proud to be one of the many that pay tribute to Michael today and help show him what his life meant to us. I want to thank my big brother for making his life "wonderful" and ours better for having known him. In closing, I'd like to borrow a line from my father's Thanksgiving grace. "With all those heroes and patriotic American citizens entering God's presence that day, heaven must have needed a really good DJ." |