As we tried to wrap our brains around Mike’s ALS diagnosis and the endless list of losses he’d soon be facing, we started recording him. We had no idea when he might lose his ability to speak.
Below are some tracks of varying length where you can hear Mike telling some of his famous and often hilarious stories.
Childhood
Elementary school
Mike reminisces with his brother Tom in January 2019 about elementary school adventures when they were growing up in Houston. Length: 5:37 min. Rated PG.
The Gels
Mike and his brother Tom tell Luis, one of Mike’s closest friends, about the local gang of 11-year-olds in their Houston neighborhood back in the 1970s. May 19, 2019. Length: 4:52 min. Rated PG-13.
Military stories
Early medical training
In August 2018, Mike describes to his new primary care doctor at the VA in SF how his medical training in the Navy didn’t quite work out as he’d planned. Length: 2:45 minutes. Rated G.
Living in Orlando
This is a long one but it’s priceless. On New Year’s Eve 2018 in a hotel room in Corona with Holly, Jeanne, and Carolyn, Mike recounts his time in Orlando when he was 20-21 years old and living on a sailor’s budget. Length: 49 minutes. Rated PG-13.
Outdoor adventures
Grand Canyon & Honolulu Marathon
Mike talks with Evangelina and Angel on February 8, 2019, about the trail down into the Grand Canyon (and, more importantly, back up to the top) and running the Honolulu Marathon. Length: 12:11 minutes. Rated PG-13.
Rattlesnake in Montana
During the summer of 2002, Mike and a group of other students spent three weeks in rural Montana with a paleontologist digging for dinosaur and plant fossils in the rock and dirt. Mike reminisces with fellow group member Ros and her fiance Dave on May 19, 2019. Length: 14:04 minutes. Rated G.