A Selfless Giver - Manute Bol

To sum up the life of a physical freak of nature, it is easy to get stuck on the attributes that made them physically freakish.  Overshadowed by what is obvious, the subtleties of a person's character can get lost on what is easiest to marvel at.  This is very much the case with a certain professional basketball player, Mr. Manute Bol.  

At 7'7" tall, he could easily have made a living as an NBA star, bought a massive house with the cash he took in, and lived out his life in posh quarters.  Instead, he gave up his luxury-living potential and traded it in for a life of giving and activism in his native country, Sudan.

Although he passed away at 47 years old, Bol lived the life of many men and made the very most of those few years he got on this earth.  My favorite quote from Manute Bol came from an article in Sport's Illustrated where he said "God guided me to America and gave me a good job, but he also gave me a heart so I would look back."  A kind man no doubt.  Kind and brave as it turns out.....  Legend has it that he also killed a lion with a spear while herding cows.  


After Manute Bol retired from basketball after ten seasons, he became an even bigger force throughout the rest of the world.  As an activist  in his native Africa and giving to the starving families in Sudan, he literally went broke trying to help as many as he could.  He even went so far as to do a celebrity boxing match against former Chicago Bear William Perry in order to raise money for his country.  He signed a one day contract with the Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League to and signed on every now and then as a horse jockey to raise money for children of Sudan.  It seems even being humiliated on television was worth the cause.  


This was a man who used what nature gave him and utilized those attributes to help others.  If the world had more Manute Bol's, it would be a better place.  

The Wonderful Things We Do For Each Other

Mr. Joe Scaturro at his finest

I recently had one of the most influential people in my life, Joe Scaturro, pass. While it was agonizing to feel the pain, see the hurt in his family's faces, and consider the world without him, I am motivated to make the world a better place and to pay forward all of the great things that my father in law gave me.  To call him generous would be terribly underestimating his nature to give.  A true family man, he provided support, advice, and time to levels that are rarely seen.  My wife made the statement that if there was only one thing that she was ever totally sure of, it was that her father loved her.  He carried that through to everyone he met and took a personal responsibility for not only the people who knew him and worked for him, but their families as well.

I myself would have never had the opportunities I have had without my father in law.  He encouraged me to apply to Cornell University, where I received my Master's Degree.  He helped me open my own businesses and supported me even when our business ideals diverged.  When I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, he employed me for two years while I worked it out.  Most impressive, when my wife and I separated, he called me every day to make sure I was doing well.  He told me that no matter what happened, we would always be family.  This is kindness that simply does not exist in this world.

It makes me think about all of the people who have made massive sacrifices and given for others with no desire of return.  I am going to try to write about one of these people one day out of each week.
Please send me your own stories and I will use them.  It can be a family member, friend, historical figure, teacher, anyone.  If they inspired and gave, I wanna hear about them and share their story.

DaVinci, Boulder Brewing, and an Amazing Band

So, I have stated before that I am not a music critic, nor am I a musician.  This being the case, I try to stay away from saying too much about bands at bars I visit.  Last night, I was able to see a band that blew me away.  You know those moments where you ask yourself "how come I've never seen this band before?"  This was one of those nights.  In fact, where I am very much a bar butterfly, I did not leave the bar the entire night.
To start, the band is called the Chris Hiatt Band.  Led by Chris himself on guitar, they have Tommy on bass and Crash on drums.  A mix of Classic Rock and Rockabilly, the band moves from Led Zeppelin to Violent Femmes, to Hendrix, to Stevie Ray Vaughn, to their own material and does not miss a beat on both energy and chops.  Add to that, they love them some Hazed and Infused and even played some Dazed and Confused by Zeppelin, which of course made my night.

Most impressively, midway through their third set, Chris moved to drums, Crash moved to bass, and Tommy moved to guitar.  Always extremely impressive to see artists who are able to play multiple instruments.  The whole crowd was in awe.


If you're wondering where you can see them, I suspect they will be playing a lot in DeLand for the forseeable future and, according to Crash, they play up and down the coast of Florida with frequent stops in Daytona and Port Orange.  Great stuff!!

Cafe Da Vinci on Sunday

Eddie and a Betty

It always makes me hopeful for the small town that I live in when I see a great event put on that draws a great crowd.  As it turn out, this time not only the crowd, but the venue, the music, and the weather all collided in perfection to make it a surreal DeLand experience.  All this and I didn't have a drop of alcohol!

For those who don;t know, Cafe da Vinci sits on what is in my top 10 coolest locations in Florida.  The venue itself has seen many incarnations of a music venue/bar/hangout/coffee shop and every time you think to yourself "this time it will work."  Woefully it hasn't for a great extent of time and everyone who loves the place laments its passage.  It always leaves me wondering "if we all love it so much, why is it not supported more?"  That is neither here nor there I guess, but I had to throw that out to show everyone else who feels the same way that they are not the only ones.

The other thing that has driven me to Davinci since my first experience there is great beer.  They have never had a gigantic menu, but have always managed to carry a good amount of beers whose owners have never been in a commercial or have invested in a million dollar ad in GQ Magazine.  They have always taken chances despite the majority and I dig that.

As a bonus, the new owners also have decided to make Chalone their house wine.  A major bonus for me as I love their Chardonnay and Chalone is usually a few steps above house price-wise.  Luvin it!

On this particular Sunday afternoon, the local legend Ben Prestage was playing and, as much I have heard great things about him, I have actually never seen him.  I have decided that it was my bad to have not seen this fella play live.

If you have not heard of him, he is pitched as a "one man band."  The typical guy standing on the sidewalk playing random articles found around the house with cymbals on his feet and such has always been very impressive to me.  Don't make the mistake of thinking of Ben Prestage as that type of schtick.  First, if you turned your back, you actually would swear that it was a whole band playing. Second, if it were a band playing, you'd still be blown away by the quality of the music.  I'm not a music critic, so I won't try to pretend to be.  I will tell you that the crowd loved it, he always draws a crowd, and I was very impressed upon my first experience.

Add to that again, my joy in Cafe Da Vinci being re-opened, the weather being a perfect 77 degrees and sunny, the grace of being surrounded by interesting people, and this makes for a Sunday afternoon that I wouldn't mind repeating over and over again.

***  As a side note, Free Will BBQ was there and their grub smelled amazing!!  I do not eat meat, so it was my loss, but man did it make me hungry.

Davinci is open 7 days a week and have music nearly every day, if not all.  Check em out on Facebook!!