Kyle Keefe

Stride & Ride Dino

Until you’ve put together a toy that requires 3 screw drivers, 16 screws, and 4 plastic nuts at 1:14 in the morning, while sipping from a box of nine-dollar wine…. You don’t “officially” become a man.

I am a man.

(12:03 am Christmas Morning)

My first Christmas as a father. Oh, how I waited for this day, and the moment when my little angel was tucked in tight in her little crib upstairs, the rest of the family members fast asleep, and the whole house, quiet with anticipation….as “the man” began to build his legacy. I stood there in front of the Christmas tree, chest out, hands on my sides, proud of the challenge that lay before me…a challenge that so many fathers before me had done, the challenge of being Santa’s Little Helper and making Christmas magic come to life under my roof. I took a deep breath, and………

(12:04 am Christmas Morning)

Where did I hide the present? Ah…in the basement behind the water heater and four chairs, under a blanket, and inside a box. Quincy is 8 months old. Why I hid the gift AT ALL is an issue in itself.

(12:11 am Christmas Morning)

All the pieces laid out on the floor, directions open, glass of wine full, I think we are ready to rock n’ roll!

(12:26 am Christmas Morning)

No progress. Still have no idea why all the directions are written in Spanish and French? AHHHHAAAAA! Here’s the English version!

(12:43 am Christmas Morning)

I never realized how “not handy” I am. Seriously, what am I doing? Frustration reaching its peak, time to re-fill the wine and get a new screwdriver.

(12:58 am Christmas Morning)

Sitting on couch watching Man vs. Food. At this point, I’m angry at Santa, angry at Christmas, and I’d like the phone number to Fisher-Price so I can talk to the guy who made this toy!!!!

(1:14 am Christmas Morning)

Cat Stevens never sounded so good singing “Silent Night”. I have completed my first project! Lord have mercy! The “Stride & Ride Dino” is completed and next to the tree…My little Quincy better love it!

(1:15 am Christmas Morning)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………

Take a Deep Breath

"There's a sprit of a storm in my soul....a restlessness I can't seem to tame…thunder and lightning follow me everywhere I go....there's a spirit of a storm in my soul."- Kenny Chesney

That song plays on my iPod all the time, but for some reason today, I actually listened to it.

I'm the kind of guy that has "to do lists" and sticky notes.  I'm a worry-wart, a stressed soul, a constant thinker. I rarely appreciate the good, and too often, dwell on the bad. It's sad really, but I'll bet I'm not alone.

So, there I was, running around Bible Park, headsets, stocking cap, my old rugby sweatshirt on, not worrying about one thing...until Kenny started flappin' his mouth.

The truth is, every word he sang, I felt like he spoke to me. "There's a spirit of a storm in my soul...a restlessness...thunder and lightning follow me", if you think about it, it's very easy to relate too.

In this crazy world of social media, the internet, fast cars and being seen with the "cool crowd", we forget to appreciate what is really important. Our family. Our friends. Our health. Having a job. Being able to walk, see, talk and feel real emotion.  I’m as guilty as anyone for taking all those things for granted.  I’m too worried about my pants being too tight, my hair falling out, and my bank account too low.

You see, thunder and lightning aren't anywhere near me...yet I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders, like noone would understand my problems. It’s a joke.

So as I listened to that song over and over and over again, I turned my self-inflicted sorrow into something better, an appreciation for what is right in front of me. A family. Friends that care about me.  Good health.  A roof over my head.  A job.  Air in my lungs, food on the table, and some change in my pocket.

My point is this:  Be grateful this holiday season.  Do something nice for a friend.  Shake your enemy's hand.  Kiss your wife one more time.  Turn off the television and have a conversation.  Let's not let any dark clouds cast any shadow over us.  No thunder or lighting chasing us in our rearview mirrors.  Let's be thankful for everything we have this holiday weekend.

Take a deep breath and smile.

The Avs have won six in a row.

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Five Scariest Things I Saw Last Week

5. Ryan Wilson’s near collision with Alex Ovechkin. They might call him Alexander the Great, but he nearly became Alexander the Pancake when “Sauce” almost turned his lights out Saturday night.

4. Sid the Kid and the Pens continued to roll. I knew the Penguins were good, but 12 in a row? They scored 43 goals and beat Vancouver, New York, and Atlanta. Oh…and Sidney has his own little streak going as well. Right now the cup goes through the Steel City.

3. Another Shorty for Mauldin. Did you see the handy work from Greg Mauldin in Atlanta? Are you kidding me? Google it right now. I’m serious, go google it.

2.  Some guy in Washington was wearing a Halloween costume on December 11^th. It was a mixture between Boba-Fett and Carrot Top. If he walked behind you on your way out of the Verizon Center, you had 9-1-1 programmed on your phone ready to hit SEND.

1.  1,100 fans from Nordique Nation making a statement in Long Island. The scary part: That made the total attendance to just over 10,000 people. The Islanders are in real trouble.

 

Office Space

“Ahhh…yeahhh…I’m gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Suuunday….un-kay?”

Long and unconventional hours. It’s what we signed up for. Look at the picture and follow along, it will give us some time to see what’s going on…in my office space.

I don’t own a measuring tape, so I used my “Stick By Stan” baseball bat to measure the box that I call home. I use the bat when I’m stuck on a story, when the mind isn’t clickin’, basically when I have nothing going on upstairs…it helps me relax. Anyway, my cube is officially 2 ½ bats by 3 bats. Now before we get serious, see the token “Apple”…that’s exactly what it is, a token, to make me look healthy, conscious of what I’m eating. Make no mistake, that apple is in the garbage. Had it been a “Reeses Peanut Butter Cup” or maybe a “Fun Dip”, then we’d be talking the truth, but it was an apple, so I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot and mislead you as we go through my space together. Apple=fake. Good, I’m glad I got that off my chest.

In the upper right corner of the picture, you see my shrine of “Quincy”. That’s what keeps me sane. She’s my 8-month old daughter. The best gift I ever received. Right above my balding head, you see some schedules, those are my days ahead. Those are the times and places I need to be for the week. The home games, the studio work, the Weekly Show, or even hosting the Summit. If I lost those pieces of paper, I’d probably be working at the “Dipin Dots” stand at Pepsi Center during games. Not that there’s anything wrong with working at the “Dipin Dots” stand…I’m just sayin’.

Just to the left of my computer is a picture of the 2010 Avalanche Charity Golf Classic, which (drumroll please) we won. I played with David Jones, he’s a stud on the golf course. You also have one green lamp, a diet coke, some tapes that need to be logged and edited, a picture of my wife, some tape, and on the far right of your screen, a golf clock that hasn’t worked since the day it was given to me. It requires a battery, and I haven’t had the time. That last sentence is so funny…anyway, that’s my space. I wanted you to see where I worked and what my life was like on a daily basis in my 2 ½ by 3 bat space. Oh, and one more thing, no one is on the other end of the line…