January 24th, 2011 by Conor

As I sit here awaiting the first of many plane rides taking me across
the country on my voyage to visit Danny, I feel the knot in my gut
growing and begin to get tight. Maybe it’s the fact that my nerves
have been on end since this whole ordeal began or maybe its just my
stomach informing me that I’ve skipped too many meals today trying to
make these flights work out. I tell myself its the food and go grab a
quick bagel to try and suppress my anxiousness. To my dismay the
discomfort is not from hunger, but from this new adventure about to
unfold in my life. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning
of my travel plans so here we go…

After hours upon hours of dealing with airline receptionists, (who
didn’t speak a lick of english), I wasn’t even sure if this trip was
going to happen. I can remember Danny telling me once that he loved
flying through Southwest Airlines because he enjoyed being able to
choose your own seat on the plane. “It’s great!” he would say, “Just
look for the hottest chick on the plane and she’s stuck with you for
the entire flight!” Unfortunately for me, my Southwest experience has
not been so wonderful this trip. Cramped/overpriced flights after
hours of phone circles with contradicting airline employees and not a
single attractive girl to be seen! So far this has been quite the trip
Danny, I hope you appreciate it!

Luckily this morning at work I received a call from Conor informing me
that Danny had been looking at pictures on Facebook and typed to him
and Michelle a comment about how he wished I were there with them all
at the hospital. After all the hard work I’ve been putting in for him
the past few weeks, and all the airline hassles I’ve been dealing
with, that really helped put my head back into perspective. Conor
informed me that because of Danny’s short term memory problem he might
not remember saying he had wanted me there when I see him. No big deal
for me, just the fact that he mentioned it once right before a
surprise trip to visit him is enough to help me forget about all the
hassles and remember the true purpose of my trip.

I’ve been close friends with Danny and his family for over ten years
now. I realize to some of you that may not seem like a very long time,
but in those years Danny and I have been through a lot of life
experiences together. Classmates, teammates, “pimp mix”
collaborators, high school, and then to college as direct roommates in
what can only be described as a 10′ x 10′ shoe box of a room for two.
It is safe to say that Danny and I have had a very extensive
friendship together, and that over the years I feel like I’ve gotten
to know danny more than he knows himself. Unfortunately, in this
instance, I am afraid that might actually be a reality.

Sometimes in high school I would go to bed earlier than most at a
party, in preparation for a 6am day of work, only to wake up to a body
tagged in obscenities. Early bedtimes at parties always seemed to
spark the artistic side of Danny and many people besides myself would
wake up with a completely different color skin tone,(usually green or
blue), and an array of naked blue women and private parts all over
their bodies. At the time this never went over well with me. Blue
sharpie is very difficult to scrub out of your earlobe at six in the
morning! Now that I look back at this it is hilarious and also gave me
an idea to help cheer up Danny for my visit. Instead of drawings all
over my body FROM Danny, I got people to draw all over me FOR Danny!

Before I left for Montana I had people donate money to use my body as
a human canvas for a get well card to Danny. I sold 4″ x 4″ sections
of my upper body for $10 and tried to get as many people to deface me
as I could before leaving for this trip. The turn out was pretty good
for short notice, and I managed to raise over $200. I apologize on the
record for those of you who wanted to leave your mark my body but
didn’t get the opportunity. You can all thank Southwest Airlines for
keeping me occupied by giving me the run around while I was trying to
show everyones support from back home for Danny.

I also want to take this opportunity to send you all my deepest
regards for the pictures that will probably be posted on this site
soon after this note. I realize these pictures of me wont be the most
flattering of photos and are certainly not for the faint of heart. If
I had known a month ago that I was going to be letting people shave
and write on my body I definitely would have worked out at the gym a
little bit for you all! So I apologize ahead of time, but I could care
less as long as it puts a smile on everyones face when I am unveiled
in Montana finally!

It’s odd for me to think that just a month ago i was hanging out with
Danny and Conor laughing and joking about everything and yet nothing
at all. Now, I’m on my way to hang out with them again, hoping we’ll
be able to do the same just like old times. I’ve come prepared with
all the usual things we like to do while we hang around doing nothing.
My hard drive is loaded with pictures and music that Danny and I have
experienced together throughout the years as well as our, “Ultimate
Movie List Ever,” created in college for those days after a big party
where you want to do nothing but lay in bed and relax. I feel like now
is an appropriate time for these things. This has been one of the most
difficult things that I have ever had to deal with, but I know that I
come bearing the love and support from everyone back home and it helps
to give me strength. I am hoping this trip will be a relief for not
only Danny but his family as well.

That being said, it is finally time to end my ranting. I am about to
land for the fourth time today, this time in Great Falls, Montana.
I’ve finally made it to see you Danny! It’s been a scary month so far
so let’s hope we can both be strong over the next few days and try to
get you back to the DCT we all know and love. I’ve missed you and I’m
glad we can finally reunite. I’ll be seeing you shortly with love from
everyone back home.

Love,
TommyJ

P.S.- This note is dedicated to the little boy kicking the back of my
seat the entire flight from Denver to Great Falls. I never would have
stayed awake long enough to finish this without you kid. Thanks for
the help!