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One Leg Up On Leaving The Trauma of 2023 Behind For Pops B-Day Weekend 1-19-24 · OneLegUpAlex Media

• 0:02
  Here's your host, Alex Garrett. Well, it's the three pm hour,
• 0:06
  and as always around this time the Alex Garett Podcast Network, I'm working on
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  updating any of my podcasts, the adapting, the sports or even I'm the
• 0:17
  one leg up feature of course, by three o'clock or just within the hour,
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  and I'm working hard on that goal. And today's a very special one.
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  My colleague Dwight, who is an avid fan of the podcast and also
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  is our leader in production. He's our production director. He said, you
• 0:36
  know, a month or so ago, you said you were going to talk
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  about what twenty three Andy three was really like for you, But I haven't
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  heard anything about it yet. That's because I kind of put on the back
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  burner and it just life got hectic and busy and everything. But you know,
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  I feel like today's day I finally open up about the loss of my
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  dad. Because here's the thing. It's gonna be his birthday weekend. Funny
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  enough, his birth certificate says April nineteenth. Sorry to have for revealing that,
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  but every January twenty first, he would want to honor his birthday that
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  day, January twenty first. I will never know why he tried to explain
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  it when we were believe it or not in the er in the ambulance of
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  the er in March twenty third, but I never really understood it. So
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  be it. He wanted to celebrate on January twenty first, so we will
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  honor him this weekend as his birthday weekend. But you know, the biggest
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  trauma I have is seeing him pass away right before my eyes. That is
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  a trauma I will never get out of my head. That is an image
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  that those are moments, the phone call on April fifteenth, can you come
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  to the hospital your dad. We think he's gonna go soon. So I
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  went over there on April fifteenth. And when I talk about the trauma,
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  this is the trauma, I talk about the never ending cycle of seeing my
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  dad pass away. Because this is a man who really was a hero,
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  a giant. Zach Brown would sing in his song he was a giant,
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  and I was just a kid. I was always shy to do everything he
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  did. I can steer remember himy listen me tired me go enough learning ourby
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  dying, my old man, my old man. I always remember him as
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  my dad that carried multiple plastic bags up a hill and from train station to
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  the Viscardi Center and the Viscardi School. That's one of my first memories of
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  him. And he'd always put me on his shoulder and we'd walk back to
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  the train station. And then when I was old enough, i'd roll a
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  blade. But I always remember him coming to school and picking me up,
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  and it felt like my hero was picking me up. So as I saw
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  my dad passing away on April fifteenth, those memories flooded my brain. The
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  times where we get autographs, whether it be a Belmont Park or a Yankee
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  Stadium or at Chase Stadium. I mean, he had his running around to
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  all the different places, and yes had his plastic bags in tow with his
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  book of Wit in it, no matter where we went, getting major League
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  Baseball legends to sign it, even in Cooperstown, even you know, making
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  sure we got fed wherever we went. I mean, there were a lot
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  of things that he did that stick in my brain to this day. The
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  times where I just watched him carry those bags to and from wherever we were
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  going, and I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I
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  thought it was, uh like heroic if you will, And I just keep
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  flipping back and forth between those memories and then what became now as it's its
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  first birthday weekend. I am thankful, as I mentioned before, for all
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  my family here that is getting me through this weekend too. But I didn't
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  realize so I was listening to Zach Brown how much it hit me and I
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  want to play a little bit of a bar from leader of the band if
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  you don't mind bigging for your music and your stories are the rule, bigging
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  for the freedom. Then came my time to go bigging for you kind it
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  and the times when you got to Papa, don't think I said, I
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  love you, And then it reminded me of audio I have not played for
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  you yet on the Alex Garrett podcast network. You've heard hopefully you were able
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  to hear the stories that he was telling me at a Burger King by Wall
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  Street. In fact, I'll put in the description the podcast from Father's Day
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  where you can hear that story as well as how I honor my stepdad who's
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  been our rock the last twenty five plus years and it's his birthday week as
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  well this week. Vic. This next piece of audio was actually in the
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  hospital room that I wanted to get on tape. I wanted to hear those
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  words from my dad, and I mean just thinking of his voice, it
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  does choke me up. I love you very much, see tomorrow. In
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  fact, I was crying a lot of this morning thinking about my dad's birthday
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  weekend. It hit me more than I thought it would. And I hope
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  my dad knows up there I love him. And why it's also hitting me
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  is because I am literally having to hold back time. I feel like we're
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  having the need to hold back time to have and cherish every moment I can
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  with my fiance Gabby, with my mom and my stepdad. We just are
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  having his birthday week as well. This loss of my dad is so big.
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  It's so big I can't bet to lose anybody else. And then I'm
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  reminded this week of the impact my dad has made and how we all,
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  for good or for bad, make an impact. We all can choose to
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  make a really good impact wherever we go, including including a newsstand. So
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  I was at Hudson News outside Hudson News in Grand Central, and I also
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  have memories of my dad getting the newspaper there and up until I would say
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  twenty twenty two. You know, my dad and I frequent the Grand Central
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  together a lot. He took me there as a kid and we'd always go
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  through there and whatnot. But yet, Hudson News at Grand Central was definitely
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  a big spot for my dad to get his newspaper. I actually went in.
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  I got the very last post of the day. This was Wednesday,
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  my dad Vick's birthday. And I told me, no, my father,
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  my pop's John. My father was a frequent customary, Like he came and
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  bought the newspaper here all the time. Showed him a picture of him,
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  and would you believe it, the newstand at Grand Central and Hudson News remembered
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  him, and I was like, guess what, you guys are family.
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  Now I'm gonna continue the tradition. So alongside the love that my dad passed
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  along, he passed along a lot of past times, baseball, the obvious
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  pastime, love of sports, and even love of getting the newspaper. I
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  mean, how many times did he have me wait outside a newsdayer like a
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  delicatesst or whatever to get the paper and then we'd read it. He'd do
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  the word search, he'd do the crossword puzzle. Crossword puzzles were his thing.
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  Every year around this time at his birthday, I would get him a
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  crossword puzzle book at least one, because I believe that kept his mind going,
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  his mind sharp. As he was in his eighties and dealing with this
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  affliction. I wanted to keep his brain as sharp as possible, and obviously
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  need manhela much help with that. But I loved the crossword to be something
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  he'd enjoy and work at and keep going, and it would keep him going,
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  and he would collect it complete a lot of those puzzle books, believe
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  me, he would. I aiming gave him some of my grandmothers because my
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  grandma also loved puzzles and they had that kind of common affinity. I do
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  things about a lot of moments. The words you shared to me were focus
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  on your job, focus on your work, and that's in the back of
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  my head to this day. Pops, Yeah, going to games and maybe
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  being in George Simon or sweet every few Yankee homestands and whatnot, Every Yankee
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  homestand and whatnot. But he also believed that I should be getting the grades
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  as well, and he also believed I should know my math problems, I
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  should know accounting, I should know this side and the other he never believed
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  I was meant to be a slacker, So any moment he saw me on
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  my phone or he saw me not focused on a certain project or certain work,
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  he gets frustrated. And so made my pledge for twenty twenty four.
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  I get off the phone more, I stop slacking. I get to dig
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  my foot in it, if you will, and keep working, keep working
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  in this podcast. The other thing about twenty twenty three that really got to
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  me was the upside down second half of the year. Okay, so we
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  lose Pops and then my mom had some health issues, and you know,
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  thinking of both parents in the same year having health situations a little daunting.
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  Has come out really strong and she doesn't talk about it much, but I
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  will. She's working on getting that master's degree. She's working through her health
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  complications, and that means a lot to begin twenty twenty four and to see
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  her feeling better and walking better is important to me. And then of course
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  the engagement. Yeah, so one half of the year is pretty somber,
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  it's pretty sad. We celebrate my dad's life, as we're doing this weekend,
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  but then we jump into Gabby and I turning inevitability into a positive.
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  It was inevitable I'd end up moving back in with her, and then it
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  was inevitable, as everybody could see around us, I would pop the question
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  and she said yes, And that was a big part of helping through the
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  trauma of twenty twenty three while learning to reconnect with each other and love each
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  other harder and better and do better this time around. And then of course,
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  behind the scenes with it all is my stepdad Vic. Yeah, his
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  birthday was this past week and we're going to celebrate him this weekend as well,
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  So be a joint celebration if you will, the life of my dad
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  and the birthday of my stepfather, Vic, who's been our rock through this
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  all in twenty twenty three into twenty twenty four. He's been there support my
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  mom and through everything, through her health complications, and he's been there for
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  my sister and I and through the engagement to Gabby. I mean, he's
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  been a really supportive dad and I love him so much, and he's helped
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  ease the trauma of twenty twenty three just by being there by being supportive,
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  by being an ear, by being an advocate and a cheerleader for us at
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  every turn. And one of the thing about the people supporting through the trauma
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  of twenty twenty three my radio family, of course, work in the Morning
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  Show with Joe Piscopal, working with Arthur Idalla, Matt Sambole and our Fearless
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  Leader. They've all Joe, Sibelia, They've all helped me get through this
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  time, and I'm so thankful for them on the ground with me and working
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  with them when I get the chance to Ashi and Danny and Britt Desow,
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  I mean, the list goes on, and Andrew Damasters of course, and
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  of course lou Terminella with Terminella's take and the many guests on this podcast have
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  helped me stay distracted from the grief. But then there are times where I
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  do have to process the grief. And so in twenty twenty four, as
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  I pray I've left that trauma of twenty twenty three behind, I will honor
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  my dad fully every time I can, but I will also work on myself
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  and work on processing this trauma in a way that can propel me to that
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  next level that my dad always wanted for me. And that's how end this
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  is of the Alex Garrett Podcast Network lovey pops. Leader of the band is
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  time and his eyes and roll and all, but it's plugin runs through my
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  instrument and the song isn't my soul.