Pats-Bills Game Preempted

It doesn't happen too often, but a Monument Mountain Spartans football game was scheduled for a Sunday afternoon this year. This scheduling quirk occurred in observance of Yom Kippur, which fell on Saturday the 22nd. We're grateful for that, as it allowed us to plan a day trip for Tim to watch his ex-team mates play the game he enjoyed so much. More about that in a couple of paragraphs.

Day trips to the Berkshires require early starts to make the most of them, so we were down with Tim by 7:30 to get him ready to go, which included choosing the best Spartan-friendly clothes we could put together. Next was getting Tim into the car, which proved to be a "watershed" moment for me. When we last brought him home, back in August, this necessary task was a lot of work, and had given me what I thought was an insight into our future. Now, like all of you, I have seen the YouTube video, and of course, have seen Tim work his leg "live." However, the practical aspects of this improvement in Tim's condition really hit home when we got to the car. The manuever into the passenger seat (and all transfers today) were a piece of cake. Tim has developed enough strength in his arms and left leg to do most of the work himself, with just a little guidance and a push or a pull here and there. That was good news!

We had a great ride out to the Berkshires, with no traffic, and arrived in West Stockbridge, where Tim asked me to take a spin around town. We drove slowly, allowing him to soak in the sites that are so familiar to him, and something new - our rapidly progressing transformation of Village School into our new town hall. After catching up with Jancy and some time spent with Sambone the aging wonder dog, we headed over to East Stockbridge for a pre-planned lunch with friends at the Elm Street Market. Tim craves their cheeseburgers, and sharing a meal with Jancy, Russ, Luke and Stefan was just great. I'm happy to say that the Market, and the downtown area around it, were pretty accessible.

Then, it was off to the game. Many thanks to Pam Race and Coach Huggins for setting up what turned out to be a great day. I'm not sure if they had anything to do with the weather, but it was a perfect day - clear blue skies, 70's temps and the backdrop of the early autum Berkshire Hills made for a perfect setting. We arrived as planned, around 1:00. The team was waiting for Tim and sent out one of the players to greet and take him back to the pre-warm up meeting. After Hoosac Valley arrived, the Spartans emerged in double file with Tim leading the team down to the field. From the sidelines, he watched the team get ready, and then was escorted back for the pre-game meeting. On their way back to the field, they formed a gauntlet, and Tim wheeled himself through it and led the Spartans on to the field. If that wasn't enough, Coach named Tim the Honorary Captain and he participated in the coin toss. It was a great game to watch and well played. Unfortunately, MM lost by a point after leading most of the game. Tim was in a great mood however, and was able to catch up with a lot of folks during half time and after the game.

Before heading back, we stopped Tyler's house where he was working with Matt on a truck. They had a good time catching up. We went back to the house to say goodbye to Sam and pick up a few loose ends. Tim asked to go up to the Thornes and take a look at the meadow behind their house that goes up Lenox Mountain. He had noticed that the sun was hitting it very nicely. We did, it was, and just sat there quietly for a bit before getting on the Pike towards Boston.