Skip Caray

This morning I read in the newspaper that long-time Atlanta Braves announcer Skip Caray died yesterday. He was only 68 years old. Anytime someone dies, it is sad, though it seems especially worse when someone leaves us at a young age. No, 68 isn't "young" by many standards, but he certainly should have had many years ahead of him. I personally want to live to 100 (at least), which is 32 more years than Skip had.

Back in the late 90's and 2000-2001, I worked at a lot of Braves games and saw Skip in the press box. He was a large man, probably close to 80 pounds overweight, and though he had lost a lot of weight in recent years, the health problems that built up from that time finally caught up to him. The article said he was "battling diabetes, congestive heart failure, an irregular heartbeat and reduced kidney and liver functions". These are symptoms of someone who isn't living a healthy lifestyle, and his body just couldn't handle the extra weight he carried around.

He left behind children and grandchildren, all of whom now must go on without him. Children now without their grandfather, taken from them at too young an age. It just makes me so sad, and wonder...could this have been prevented? My belief of course, is yes. We'll never know the stress he experienced from his job or life in general, but when I see someone that overweight, I know his body has to work extra hard to function. That internal stress caused things to break down.

I wish I could encourage everyone to live a healthy lifestyle, to not be overweight, to exercise daily, to eat healthy, and to get adjusted. Who knows how much longer Skip would have lived if he did these things, though I believe his life would have been better.

So, anyone out there who is overweight, not eating well, not exercising, not getting adjusted, PLEASE make a serious effort to change. If you can't do it for yourself, do it for your family, your kids, your grandchildren. It can make a difference in your life. I just wish Skip had done that, he will be missed.