Number 199

Number 199

by MichelleMcHatton

Hopefully this will be the last time I have to post this. Because Tom Fucking Brady said today that he has now retired “for good”. A whole year to the day after he originally “officially” retired. And then 40 days later changed his mind. One losing season (his first ever) and a divorce later, and here we are. Posting this again for real this time, Tommy baby.

Tom Brady retired from football today. Not that anyone was shocked by the “official” announcement, as we all surmised it on Saturday.

To think we knew Tom when he was nothing but a wet-behind-the-ears 24-year-old with a beat-up blue pickup truck who couldn’t dance his way around a Duck boat.

Thanks for the heart-wrenching and often heart-stopping moments, the many championships and the memories. Even if Tom doesn’t care to remember or acknowledge New England in his retirement speech, New England will always remember and acknowledge him.

Although he went from a humble QB who had to quickly learn his way around the NFL field to a cocky, sometimes selfish QB who thought nothing was good enough and felt he could let his teammates know it if he didn’t like what they did, nobody can argue that Tom will go down in history as the best QB of all time.

I will always remember the day my husband told me that Drew Bledsoe had been taken out of the game the day before and was replaced by Tom Brady. I wasn’t really following them at that point and I asked, “Who’s Tom Brady?” and my husband replied, “He’s nothing special”. At that time he really wasn’t. Special isn’t something you are; it’s something you become. And “special” is what Tom Brady eventually became.

It’s sad that Tom forgot where he came from. He forgot draft day when team after team passed him by. When he threw things in anger because he hadn’t been selected yet. When he moped along the sidewalks of San Mateo because he hadn’t been selected yet. He forgot that the Patriots selected him at 199. He forgot he got his true chance through nothing but pure fucking luck. It’s sad that in the end he didn’t remember how he got to where he truly is. But fame can often do that to a person.

Yes, I understand the speculation of why Brady left out mentioning the team he led for 20 years and the fans who adored him for the same amount of time is because he plans to sign a one-day contract and retire as a Patriot. Whether that actually happens still needs to be seen. It still doesn’t change the fact that he didn’t even mention New England fans in his good-bye speech.

One thing Tom Brady forgot in his retirement speech was to remember that to have an ending, you need a beginning. And the 20 years he spent in New England was one hell of a long, beautiful beginning, especially for someone who only mentioned the franchise and fans he has played with for the past 24 months in his retirement speech, as if they were the team he had captained for 20 years. I feel bad for Tampa fans. They only got to experience two years of greatness, mostly on the downside. We got to experience 20 great years, mostly on the upside.

I will always be a Patriots fan. Nothing will ever change that. And although I lost respect for Tom with how he divorced himself from New England, and has acted like those 20 years never existed, I know nothing can erase what he brought to a down-and-out, never-going-anywhere franchise. For that I, and many fans, will forever be grateful.

I wish Tom Brady the best of luck in all his future endeavors and happiness always with his family.

Thanks for the memories. It’s been a hell of a ride.

Missing: Brittany Tee

Missing: Brittany Tee

by MichelleMcHatton

This is the first time I’ve used my blog to post about a missing person. People go missing every day but I guess this one hits more particularly because it’s so close to home and from my hometown. I figured if I can’t do anything physically, I could at least use my blog in some way to spread the word a little more.

Brookfield has always been such a humble little town. Not many people know where it is, when you tell people you’re from there they look at you like you have three heads. Not much happens there. So when something like this occurs, it’s a pretty big thing. And it brings people out of the woodwork. Like the psychic/mediums.

Now I’ve had personal experiences with mediums and I would call them more “mediums” than psychic. To me a psychic is someone who can predict the future. I don’t really feel there are people who can do that. A medium is someone who can talk to the dead. That I know is a fact and have experienced it myself. But someone on YouTube giving out “clues” as to this woman’s alleged whereabouts because they’re a “psychic” is just plain nuts. To believe anything she says is even more nuts.

As for the searches, I know a lot of people have put a lot into them, from every day citizens to dive teams and all the authorities in between. Reading all the articles regarding this case leaves more questions in many minds than answers. Too much media can lead to so much confusion, assumptions, guesses, theories, etc.

In speaking about theories, I guess you could say I have one of my own. In everything I’ve read about the searches and where the searches have taken place, i.e., the woods, backyards, bodies of water, etc., there is one thing that I have not read about being searched. I’m hoping/assuming the authorities have checked the various dumpsters in and around Brookfield. And I’m hoping/assuming they would know that said dumpsters are emptied at least once a week or bi-weekly (or I’m assuming so). And if said businesses that have said dumpsters have cameras focused on them, make sure they are checked. I’m not going to go further in on the theory, but I’m just putting that out there. Because it’s logical. And it’s something that would be time sensitive.

I do hope, for the family’s sake anyway, there soon are answers and closure of some sort.

Review: A Man Called Otto

Review: A Man Called Otto

by MichelleMcHatton

What can I say about “A Man Called Otto” that may not have already been said? I don’t know.

The film produced by Rita Wilson and starring her husband Tom Hanks is an emotional roller coaster ride that will leave you thinking about life.

Hanks plays Otto Anderson, an older man who is facing some of life’s biggest hurdles: losing a spouse and losing a job. On top of that he now has to deal with new annoying neighbors (Marisol and Tommy, played by Mariana Trevino and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, respectively) when all he really wants to do is end it. Thank goodness for those new annoying neighbors.

Through the film we watch Otto’s life unfold through his younger self (played by Hanks son Truman Hanks). We watch him meet his wife Sonya (played by Rachel Keller) and the world they build together. The viewer sees the friendship he forms with his neighbors. Through all that we know that although Otto is currently an angry old man, he wasn’t always that way. He may be set in his ways, but he has his reasons. And he does care. More than he wants you to believe. The only one who truly figures him out is Marisol.

“A Man Called Otto” hits you right in the heart and holds you there for two hours. But it’s not a bad hold. It’s a good hold. One that will leave you wanting to care more and more.

Enjoy!

Enjoy!

by MichelleMcHatton

At this time of year there are many holidays to celebrate. Whatever occasion it is that you may celebrate, my hope is that you fully enjoy it.

Savor your time with family. Especially the children. It’s true what they say: they really do grow up so fast. Wasn’t it only seven or eight years ago that my daughter’s big Christmas wish was a Barbie dream house? Now it’s Apple cards and oh, I really want to get my driver’s license!

Linger a little bit with your elderly relatives. Listen to the same story you’ve heard a million times. It may be the last time you hear it. And then you may wish you could hear it again but you won’t be able to.

Listen to the music. Watch that holiday film you’ve seen a million times. Sit in the room with the only light coming from the Christmas tree. Drink that drink. Eat that food.

The holidays only come around once a year and that’s what makes them so special. Enjoy life. Enjoy the holidays. Absorb it all.