The Secret of My SucCecil

MI wrote this in July of 2021. Chief Joe — my dad — had just given us a scare, and I flew home to Tampa to be with him and mom. I’m sharing it now because they just left. Ten days. Ten days of Chief Joe and mom here with Grace, Lizzy, and me — massaging my hands and feet, feeding me, giving Grace a break wherever they could, filling the room with stories and laughter, easing my heart and my mind…

Though we are in the middle of a difficult time, we always find time to laugh a bit…I was looking through my journal and keep on in an entry that made me laugh and laugh and laugh… July 9, 2019My random conversations with Grace, which normally come from way deep in left field, are normally a hoot. She can go from one subject to another on a turn of a dime, and for the most part, the two thoughts…

Notes from my sister…ALS Clinic Update (Oct 30, 2025)Yesterday’s appt was long and tiring, but upbeat. Love seeing how much Cecil’s team rallies around them. They are positive, supportive, and excited for the imminent arrival of baby. It’s clear they care about C & G, and that lifts my heart so much. Update below. ALS progression continues, particularly affecting respiratory muscles and upper…

A typical night can spark an atypical memory. This month marks ten years since one of the wildest, funniest, most exhausting, most life-giving adventures of my entire life: a 30-day trip through India, half of which was spent wobbling across the northern part of the country in a glorified tin can on three wheels with two of my best friends. The Rickshaw Run. Jaisalmer to Shillong. West to…

I was incredibly saddened by Eric Dane’s passing this week due to ALS complications. I didn’t follow much of his work, but I knew him from Grey’s Anatomy and of course the devastating disease we both share. He was diagnosed last April, a month after my symptoms first began… before I received my own diagnosis two months later. His journey unfolded in the public eye.Mine unfolded in my own…

Do you believe in miracles?I do.I BELIEVE.Lately though it’s been harder. I wrote this about two weeks ago on CaringBridge on the eve of our ALS Care Team visit the following morning. I was inspired to post this publicly after reading a LinkedIn update from a man I’d never met – former Alabama running back Kerry Goode – and a Facebook post about his friend – former Auburn basketball player Gary…

Hello, World — MY Origin Story  Told by Me, Lizzy Mama… where are you? Why can’t I see? Why is everything so bright? What is all this noise? I’ve just arrived somewhere they keep calling the “O.R.” I have no idea what that means, but it’s full of strange beings moving around in blue gowns, masks, hats, glasses… holding shiny tools in their hands. Everything sounds muffled and sharp at the…

BELIEVE — Thinking About 2026 It’s official.No Mr. Universe contest.No Ironman.No marathon. My six-pack is gone.My pecs sag.There are big, hard knots where my biceps used to be.My hands are swollen.Both arms hurt—from my shoulders to my fingertips.From the neck down, I can barely move. Next year is a different story. It would be so easy to fixate on all the things I cannot do. I can’t move…

December 22 Yesterday came by and went much like it has for the previous 17 years at this time it was different. I am now a father as well as being a husband. A lot has changed. December 22 is not just a date for me.It’s a marker in time — a dividing line between who I was and who I became. On December 22, 2008, at 7:28 a.m., I was hit by a car while crossing the street. Thirty miles an hour.…

Yours Are the Sweetest Eyes I’d Ever Seen

Almost three years before meeting Grace, I wrote this from a conversation I was having with an old friend who was getting on in years…

“You’re all alone?” My friend looked older than usual, tired and beat down.

“I have been, for a long time.”

“That just blows my mind. You have family. You have friends. They all love you. And you know it.”

“They have all left me. They live their…

The wine were accompanied by books and old tin cans, each with their own stories. A part of me wanted to stay here for a very long time. Old black & white photographs were mixed with sepia-toned ones, none of them aligned with each other...

Tucked away in an alcove behind their furniture and housewares shop on the street, a perfect rainy day salve oozing Danish “hygge” is the restaurant Beau Marché, located on Ny Østergade. Shelley and I shared the croque madam and washed it down with 2010 Domaine de Bournet Cuvée Chris. It was amazing—tres magnifique (sorry, wrong country). The ambiance was simply perfect — inviting quiet…

Rams Gate & The Fremont Diner

The smell of the Nashville Chicken tantalizes me as I sit outside The Fremont Diner*, waiting for my text to come. It may be another twenty or thirty minutes before I can finally be greeted by a waiter or waitress to smile that perfect of questions, “what would you like to order today?” I knew what I wanted.

I had reservations this morning for Ram’s Gate Winery. Their winter release party was…

I am quite certain there are many others, perhaps millions of people, who thoroughly enjoy and appreciate sunrises and sunsets as much as I do, dare say some maybe even more. The only person in my

I am quite certain there are many others, perhaps millions of people, who thoroughly enjoy and appreciate sunrises and sunsets as much as I do, dare say some maybe even more. The only person in my life that I know for certain who so unequivocally loves them as much as me is Derek. I’ve enjoyed watching his adventures from afar meeting new friends on his travels around the world. 

While I…

What am I thinking? I am thinking of love, of course. I am thinking of my family, many of whom are my friends. I am thinking of my friends, many of whom are family. And of course, I am thinking of my dog. I always think of my dog. Taylor.

It was the perfect place to have a fire department. Perhaps today, someone needed saving. A shiny, ruby red boat, sits upon the shores of the bay, resplendent as it is docked under the Bay Bridge, its spires brilliantly flickering against the dusky sky of cerulean blue, lavender, and pink. The firehouse is old and long, a white wooden shack of supplies. 

Traffic home will be over an hour. So…

The skies clear after a while, as I savor one bite after another. Summers in the Bay Area — especially in the city and Marin — are different than summers anywhere else. Mark Twain knew it best when he reminisced about his coldest winters. Turns out...

Today’s a perfect day for a hot dog. It’s not bright and sunny, but rather a bit grey and misty. As a result, we decide to stay at my place as opposed to the common area with the gas grills, fire pit, tables and chairs. The wine and deviled eggs from Petit Marlowe linger in my head — a delightful spot for dining and drinks walking distance between the office and the ballpark in San Francisco.…