Trying hard to arrive alive at 25 +

A former teammate of mine from the Windsor Alpha Kai Omega Fratmen wrote me tonight, gave me the horribly bad news that yet another former Fratmen footballer has died yesterday at home during the offseason, this one just barely turned a quarter of a century and now deceased from this world. This is a third such death in the AKO family in the last half a decade, first in 2000 when #4 Alex Stajic drowned, then in 2003 when #14 Glen Ivancic was stabbed to death and now #1 Mike Gillen. Such a shock to one's system, realizing we all will go and evetually we all do.

Pinball Mike Gillen was a quick kid as captain at Acadia at just only 5'7" and 179 pounds (as they said, only after Thanksgiving dinner and him standing on his tippytoes), believed that your "fastest way from point A to point B is a straight line, right, up the middle behind my guards that's where I like to be" like all of us scatback type returnmen, "his grit, determination and amazing competitive drive" really did indeed place him pound for pound on top with the very best and almost at the top as one big part of bringing home the championship in 2007. It seem after being switched also from corner/defensive back to tail/full back then eventually forced to backup the Axemen as a RB, he too was left with plans of looking forward to playing with the University of Windsor Lancers, with the word being a couple older AKO Fratbrothers we thinking of making a one year comeback Tour for the Vanier and it likely would have worked. Even rival St. F-X and former AKO Fratmen head coach stated he was the best in the Windsor-Essex region, which is a big competitive area and that says a lot as most good things come in small packages or as we Fratmen say, "Not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of fight in the dog."

For the past couple of years, since my own health mishap, I have been thinking about putting on the cleats for one more go at it. More and more of these stories make me much obliged and happy I am alive, although I am also very sad for each of those individuals, knowing Alex, Glen and now Mike worked hard to stay and play with us for one of the most premier football clubs in our nation in our time. Perhaps my time to bring back the game and its day is coming soon, but for now in the meantime let's not forget these Fratbros at the AKO and hope our fellow boys down in Windsor do rest in peace down in the Rose City for a restful eternity.