I got a note from a Sewanee alum that one of my classmates died recently. Michael "Commander" McHale was 48 years old (one month older than I), and is survived by a wife and two children. His funeral notice provides that he was an avid marathoner. That's not the Commander I remember. Commander and I were drinking buddies. Commander, he of the Raisin Bran song story, was a wild guy back in the day. He'd drink a few too many beers and pick a fight with the biggest guy he could find, and generally get his butt whipped. In spite of his self-destructive habits, he was very intelligent, and ultimately practiced admiralty law in Boca Raton and other points in South Florida. He visited me in Tampa a few times, always insisting that I take him to the worst beer joints I could find (and I knew a few...). His favorite was The Purple Moose Saloon, which he would intentionally mis-name. "Dave, my boy, we need to get a few cold ones at the Purple Pagoda". We got into a lot of trouble at Sewanee, but we had a lot of fun. When I left Sewanee for FSU in the second semester of my junior year, I intended to return to Sewanee for my senior year. Had I returned, Commander would have been my roommate. I'd already gotten the assignment. Ultimately, I ended up staying at FSU, leaving Sewanee without a Dave Mathews until three years ago, when my oldest began there.
Commander was an off-beat guy. One of the audio-cassettes Commander, Mac and I listened to on our road-trip to Auburn was Pat Benatar. I remember Commander commenting at one point, "My Clone Sleeps Alone, Baby. Absolutely". So, here you go, Commander. It was good knowing you, Buddy.
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7 comments:
Very sorry to hear of the loss of your friend Dave. It's very hard to hear someone you knew so well and loved has passed.
Keep all those good memories alive. And maybe have a beer at the "Purple Pagoda" for him every once in while.
Thanks, Tam. I hadn't seen Commander in years, but, for some reason, I'd thought about him a few times over the last few months. And I'll definitely have a beer in his honor.
Sounds like a good dude ... and a runner? Whoa, I thought we were immune from death ....
He was a good dude, Chase. Runners may not live any longer than anyone else, but I do believe they live better than most folks. I told Andy that his running wasn't healthy; he told me it was a lot healthier than what he'd be doing if he didn't run. True, dat.
That sucks.
Yeah, John, but mostly it sucks for his wife and kids. My time with Commander was years ago, and his passing doesn't diminish the good times. Like "The Bruce" said, "Everybody dies. Not everyone truly lives". Commander truly lived.
True but it still sucks, no matter how you phrase it.
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