Bummed
My friend,,my good friend Mike is in the hospital...
I met Mikey thru the theatre deartment at school and became fast friends.
Mike and I started a band in the summer of 92..just him and I, a couple of acoustics and a lot of time on our hands..We were the core, Kevin was there in the beginning, but as a singer, well...he couldnt sing! We bought our electrics at the same time from the same mail order house..Weekly trips to the local music stores..road trips to Lansing for guitars, beer and parties. When I didnt have a car for a while he would give me rides to work in the winter..we wrote songs, auditioned other band mates, the death metal drummer, the bass player who loved Extreme, the ska bass player..Mike and I staged the great rehearsal space coup! the extrmeme bass player's other band that we shared the space was a pain to deal with, so we had a hand from Joel in telling them that wewere all kicked out. We moved all out gear out one night and the next afternoon, Mikey signed the lease on the room!
We spent a lot of time talking about life, the universe and everything..So we played out as Melange..more lineup changes but we were the core. I'm babbling right now so bear with me..
We played for a few years..good shows, bad shows, all the drama that goes with being in a band, but really having a good time..
I left in the fall of 95 and Mikey soldiered on..but eventually he too left..and so with both of us gone, Melange was done..but I was happy for him cos he was getting married..and soon he had a family when Sam was born..
last year, out of the blue his wife files for divorce..and it was a bad, bitter one, he had very little court appointed time with his son..and he worked and worked and worked double shifts when he didnt have Sam..and he survived cos Mike's a survivor. He is a diabetic and has been for his whole life..
I got a message last night that Mike was in the hospital. The ravages of diabetes had caused a total kidney failure, He will have to go on disability, and get dialysis 3 times a week now..I've been told that a person can live a long time with this regiment, but the thing I fear most is that eventually he'll have to have a leg amputated for poor circulation, or worse his hands/arms..he still plays his guitar and I fear that if that goes, he'll not be very far behind..
Mikey can be really hard to deal with at times..he can be very down on himself, but Mikey above all else, above all the trash that he's been thru, is a friend in the truest sense of the word..a real friend who would lay down in traffic for you if you needed him to..
okay..I'm done..time to get to work..
I met Mikey thru the theatre deartment at school and became fast friends.
Mike and I started a band in the summer of 92..just him and I, a couple of acoustics and a lot of time on our hands..We were the core, Kevin was there in the beginning, but as a singer, well...he couldnt sing! We bought our electrics at the same time from the same mail order house..Weekly trips to the local music stores..road trips to Lansing for guitars, beer and parties. When I didnt have a car for a while he would give me rides to work in the winter..we wrote songs, auditioned other band mates, the death metal drummer, the bass player who loved Extreme, the ska bass player..Mike and I staged the great rehearsal space coup! the extrmeme bass player's other band that we shared the space was a pain to deal with, so we had a hand from Joel in telling them that wewere all kicked out. We moved all out gear out one night and the next afternoon, Mikey signed the lease on the room!
We spent a lot of time talking about life, the universe and everything..So we played out as Melange..more lineup changes but we were the core. I'm babbling right now so bear with me..
We played for a few years..good shows, bad shows, all the drama that goes with being in a band, but really having a good time..
I left in the fall of 95 and Mikey soldiered on..but eventually he too left..and so with both of us gone, Melange was done..but I was happy for him cos he was getting married..and soon he had a family when Sam was born..
last year, out of the blue his wife files for divorce..and it was a bad, bitter one, he had very little court appointed time with his son..and he worked and worked and worked double shifts when he didnt have Sam..and he survived cos Mike's a survivor. He is a diabetic and has been for his whole life..
I got a message last night that Mike was in the hospital. The ravages of diabetes had caused a total kidney failure, He will have to go on disability, and get dialysis 3 times a week now..I've been told that a person can live a long time with this regiment, but the thing I fear most is that eventually he'll have to have a leg amputated for poor circulation, or worse his hands/arms..he still plays his guitar and I fear that if that goes, he'll not be very far behind..
Mikey can be really hard to deal with at times..he can be very down on himself, but Mikey above all else, above all the trash that he's been thru, is a friend in the truest sense of the word..a real friend who would lay down in traffic for you if you needed him to..
okay..I'm done..time to get to work..