The ESPY's, Cancer Sucks, and Today I Miss My Friend

If you've ever lost a loved one to cancer, or know somebody who has had cancer, keep reading.

I was listening to Mike & Mike on my way to work this morning. Tonight is the ESPY's, and they were doing the annual fund raiser for The V Foundation. Of course they were playing the great speeches by Stuart Scott and Jim Valvano. In case you didn't know this, Jimmy V is the guy who The V Foundation is named after.

Both Scott and Valvano gave great, emotional speeches. They would both die of cancer soon after giving those speeches. Jimmy V's speech is one of the best ever, where he challenges people to "enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get your emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day, and Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm,” to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems whatever you have. The ability to be able to work hard for your dreams to come true, to become a reality."

On this day, every year, I always think about the people that I know who've had cancer. One of my former players, AJ Henry, had cancer during his senior year. AJ would go get chemo treatments AND COME BACK TO PRACTICE. It's one of the bravest, toughest things I've ever seen a kid do. My cousin, Drew Taylor, has battled cancer for the last several years and had major health problems. Drew punched cancer right in the mouth, and he did it - in typical Drew fashion - with a smile on his face.

But today I'm thinking somebody who meant a lot to me, somebody that didn't make it. This past year we lost Dave Gilmore, who was a friend to everybody who knew him, and he was one of the best coaches (of any sport) that I'd ever met in my life. My friend Charlie Hilburn used to always say that Dave was "a kid magnet." He just had a way with people. If you knew Dave, and got to spend even five minutes around him, you just knew there was something special about this guy.

I first met Dave when I was coaching basketball at Bell City. He was the football coach at Caruthersville, and they were beating teams like 65-7 every night. So I went down to watch them play, and after the game I walked out on the field, went up to Dave and introduced myself. We stayed in touch through the years, and later Dave would be my official mentor when I became a principal. Our sons are also so the same age, so we did a lot of little league coaching against each other LOL.

I can't count how many meetings we went to together. We shared a lot of car rides and good conversations. When I had my near fatal car wreck, I don't really remember anybody calling me, but they tell me that one of the first people to call and check on me was Dave Gilmore.

Dave was larger than life, a big guy, totally healthy, and then one day he just got sick. He passed away in January of 2016. He was a great man. He was a helluva good coach. He was my friend. I thought of him today, and it sure did make me miss him.

So I'm going to do this for Dave. I'm going to make a donation to the V Foundation. I'm challenging the JWT Nation to do the same thing. If you will go to the V Foundation Donation page on our site (or just click on that hyperlink), there is a DONATE button. You can donate via PayPal or credit/debit card. I can't see any of your card information. This all runs through PayPal and is totally secure. I WILL MATCH THE FIRST $100. So if we can raise at least $100 as a group, I'll match that $100.

In closing his speech, Stuart Scott said, "When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live.”

By that definition, and by any other, Dave Gilmore was a winner. Everyday he was a winner. Thanks for reading. #JWT