Kyle Keefe

Ten Things You Don't Want To Say At Thanksgiving Dinner

10. “Hey Aunt Betty, why is your belt un-done?”
9. “I know Aaron Rodgers is a good quarterback, but the Wonder Pets are on Channel 120 right now!”
8. “Can you pass that stuff that looks like……what is that?”
7. “I’ll bet this will taste better tomorrow on two pieces of bread.”
6. “Let’s talk about politics.”
5. “And then in my 7th year of college, I really started to focus…anyway, where is the wine opener?”
4. “This year I am breaking the wishbone with Uncle Pat’s 7-month old son”
3. “Why am I at the kids table again? I’m 38 years old!”
2. “Hey kids, why don’t you all go run around in the street while all of us adults fight for 2 hours over this game of Pictionary!"
1. “Hey mom, this box of wine is gone…can you grab another?

Like Father Like Son

I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye.
Fightin' was against the rules and it didn't matter why.
When dad got home I told that story just like I'd rehearsed.
And then stood there on those tremblin' knees and waited for the worst.

And he said, "Let me tell you a secret about a father's love,
A secret that my daddy said was just between us."
He said, "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then.
It's a love without end, amen, it's a love without end, amen."

(George Strait, A Love Without End, Amen)

On November 23^rd, at 6:30pm, I hope you’ll join me and watch the first run of “The Avalanche Father-Son Trip” on Altitude. It’s based on a 3-day trip with the Colorado Avalanche, their father-mentors, and a journey between father and son during a span of two hockey games (one at Pepsi Center and one in Dallas at the American Airlines Center).

Rather than spoil everything with the details on this blog, let me just give you a sneak peek at a few of the observations I made along the way:

•  These people (dads and mentors) are as real as it gets. No bull. Even keel. Straight forward men.
• Kids will be kids. Get these professional hockey players around their elders, no question, they are still kids.
• It will be hard for me to ever fly on a commercial airline EVER again. You’ll see…

Let me wrap this up with one comment that I make all the time about NHL players, and more specifically, the Avalanche players.  They are first class, the best kind of a human being.  Dollar signs do not affect who they are, the friendships and the loyalty they have created amongst one another.  If you love the Colorado Avalanche, you might want to tune in on Wednesday November 23^rd for the trip of a life-time.

Dealt a Bad Hand

Say a Prayer for Olivia…

They were told by the oncologist that they had been “dealt a bad hand”.

Two of my close friends have 2 children, a five-year-old, and Olivia, who is three. A week ago, she was diagnosed with a stage 4 nueroblashoma, a tumor that had started in her belly and was spreading. They were told she would have to undergo intense chemotherapy, followed by a bone transplant, followed by radiation.

Imagine that news.

It’s easy to think about your own kids at this point, but is it the selfish thing to do? Maybe, but it’s not about you. Not at this moment. You don’t know this couple, and you don’t know Olivia. But I know if you are reading this, you feel a pit in the bottom of your soul. I admit it, it’s the first thing I thought about. What would I do if that was me? If my little girl was in pain, and I was given that news in the hospital room. It’s not me, it’s them, but they shouldn’t bear these feelings alone. Two months ago, this family didn’t have a worry in the world, and now that same world has come crashing on their shoulders.

If you haven’t started to do so already, stop now and say a prayer for little Olivia. Take a moment in your busy schedule and give something, ask for something.

He’s listening.