OK, so the visit I had earlier today was with an old friend, Mike Barger, but the reason that I made the word friend plural in my title to this blog was because we went to visit my dad, whom I also consider a dear old friend.
Moving on, we had a great time visiting dad with Mike and dad real happy to see one another. We all talked freely with one another, but dad and Mike also had a thorough conversation discussing their respective newspapers(Hartford Courant(for most of dad’s career)and the Waterbury Republican.) It was fun listening to them talk, dad about some of the those he worked with when the paper was in its heyday including Tommy, Woody and Bruce and when dads’ award-winning columns were, I assume, a favorite to sports fans in the Northeast, and Mike about his papers’ sports department.
To me, this get-together was a long time coming. Even though I have been able to visit dad pretty regularly with Sheila, I could not pass up the chance to go with Mike to see dad. In some ways, I felt a little like a schoolkid watching these two men talk about their papers and the newspaper business so intelligently.
As our visit ended after about one hour, dad shook Mike’s hand and told us how much this particular visit meant to him. Then again, I know that dad truly enjoys everyone who visits him because these visits, I believe, are what help dad keep his head up and keep moving on.

On top of this, Mike and I were able to catch up with one another over lunch at Scarpelli’s and, once more, find humor in things that so many probably would not. I guess this is no surprise, but to me, I so cherish these get-togethers’ because they’re far less frequent then they once were and so each time we meet is such a great time.
Thanks to Mike for taking time to see dad(and for buying lunch) and, of course, to dad for being such a soldier for those that he loves.