“…And the book of Legend was opened up at the page marked ‘a little neglectful!’. Chapter 1… “Sorry”.

Basically, I’ve been on the road pretty steady since the last post so it’s been virtually impossible for me to update. I was on tour for BSE in Canada for a tour that started in Saskatchewan and rolled right through to Ontario over just shy of 3 weeks and had a blast.
Got to work once again with Rhino, hang with Tracy Brooks and a couple of the actors from “Trailer Park Boys” which is (if you don’t already know it) a VERY funny show and film to boot! This plus the fact that I got to work with some great up and coming talent who ACTUALLY want to put in the time and effort to give fans their monies worth… REGARDLESS of ticket sales(!)… is just a pleasure in and of itself.

Now, before I forget to mention it, I’d like to thank TotalWrestling in general and Woody in particular for the shout out for my birthday yesterday (September 2nd) and the whole “old man” thing did not go unnoticed, nor unappreciated.

By the way, since you guys don’t already know, I’m now 39 years (very) old.

The cool thing about this is that I can actually begin this column formally off of the back of these comments about my age and the Canadian tour. It’s a hell of a link and I won’t pass up on that!

So settle in with a BIG glass of lemonaid, this will take a while.

Basically, for the past few years I’ve found myself questioning what I do at any point in my life as whether or not it well… has a point. I look at the fact that I get to travel the world making good money, seeing  many historical sites, experiencing new cultures, meeting new people and being confused by different languages as a rather decent blessing.

However, I’m still a middle-aged man who wears spandex, oils up and play fights with other men for a living.

Needless to say, it seems a little pointless and more than a little “homo-erotic”(!), but at least I can say I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m a straight man who has NO fear of gay people. Still, I’ve been looking for a point to this beyond “I’m paid well”. Probably since I’m a father of twin boys now and I will be looking at EVERYTHING I do through their eyes as I want to be the best example to them I can be.

Well, this Canadian tour shed a tremendous light on why I do what I do.

Now, during my tours of South Africa, I got to meet a little boy named Roman via the “Make-A-Wish Foundation”. His bravery in the face of his health issues really gives me cause to rethink my “woe-is-me” rantings when I’m caught in traffic (I’m terrible for Road Rage) and I’m proud to say that he and I E-mail to each other often and I really consider him a pal.

It’s a blessing this business has given me and one I recognize as a great perk to the job as well as my life.

Well, on this BSE tour I did in Canada, I made arrangements with Arda (the promoter and a GREAT guy) to run a raffle at every event. It would cost a dollar to enter and the 4 winners would be kids and they would get to carry my 4 “World Title” belts to the ring (it’s just awkward and clumsy to do it myself, plus we can do some good here) and get to be involved in the beginning and end of my matches. All proceeds would go to the “Make-A-Wish Foundation” on behalf of myself and Roman. BSE, as it turns out, were already involved with the “United Way” and they asked if proceeds could go there. Since they are also an organization I feel very positive about, I was cool with that.

We made a nice chunk of change during the tour for the “United Way” and before I go further I’d like to thank everyone who donated and participated in the raffles during this tour. Every dime went to the “United Way” and you’ve done a wonderful service to a lot of wonderful children who need your help.

Aaaaanyways, on the event in Swift Current, Saskatchewan I was approached by Arda who told me there was a local guy who has some serious health issues and has always dreamed of being involved with wrestling in some capacity. They would still put out a container for “United Way” donations, but could be scrap the raffle and just allow this gentleman to carry all 4 of my titles to the ring in his wheelchair.

This is how I met Morgan.

Of course, this was not an issue for me and I said I’d gladly do it. Arda thanked me and went over and got Morgan to come over and meet me at the merch table along with some people he came to the show with.

I immediately welcomed him to the show and told him he’d have to wear one of my t-shirts if he was to be my “corner man” for the event. He thanked me and took the shirt I offered along with a few of the posters I had as well which I autographed for him and a few people he specified. I was very cautious when shaking his hand as he seemed fragile physically, though he had a wonderful spirit. He seemed a genuine “good guy” and I was happy to meet him.

But then Morgan asked me to listen as he had something important to tell me.

This changed my life for the better.

Morgan told me that a few years ago, he was in a pretty bad place emotionally. When he mentioned that he’d “lost his smile”, I took what he was saying in stride since it was such a “Shawn Michaels” type statement, but his demeanor spoke volumes about the depth of this statement.

He said getting up in the morning became a chore. Not because of the wheelchair, but because of how he felt about his life. He was in a deep depression and while he didn’t say the words, I knew he was telling me that he was, at that time, considering the prospect of ending it all.

Needless to say, the rest of the room slipped away from me during this conversation and I practically held my breath in order to ensure I wouldn’t miss a word.

He went on to say that he started to watch wrestling weekly years ago and just kind of kept on watching through habit. He said the storylines that lead from week to week kept him watching.

Then one week lead to two. Which lead to four. Soon MONTHS were rolling by as he watched what our minor little contribution to the world did on TV and on DVD. As this happened, his life around him started to improve without him really noticing. Improvements, he said, he would have never seen