By JEFFREY S. BELL (Jeffrey Bell was a good friend of Paddy’s and a fellow writer at the Butner Medical Centre.) We still – Paddy’s friends – share stories and anecdotes about him. The other day, I was walking the track with Mike, a buddy of Paddy’s from his days in Leavenworth. Back in the day, Mike was a bank robber in San Diego, where Paddy’s Stop … Continue reading The Puzzle Master
by Jeffrey S. Bell “Not to worry Jeff, your team can still come back and win. It’s not over.” Though Paddy was very sick, his eyes still had that mischievious twinkle, and he still was the eternal optimist – always finding the positive in the situations and people around him. It was January 8. He had invited me up to watch Ohio State, my alma mater, play Florida … Continue reading Final Days
by Jeffrey S. Bell If we remain present in our experience, we’ll discover teachings all around us. I’m an inmate volunteer in the hospice program at a federal medical center. Our mission is to provide comfort and aid to the terminally ill patients incarcerated here. My most recent patient, Paddy, suffered from lung and brain cancer. Paddy was a very gracious man who though terminally … Continue reading Noble Vigilance
This is the third batch of photos from Paddy Mitchell’s reception on January 25, 2007 at St. Anthony’s. Click on any photo to see a larger version of it. If you have any photos from the event that you’d like to share on Paddy’s blog, please email them to soozoom@yahoo.com. Thanks! The crowd at St. Anthony’s: Sharon and Jimmy Allen: Sharon Allen, Kevin Mitchell and Lynda Warman: … Continue reading Third batch of photos
This is the second batch of photos, all taken at Paddy Mitchell’s reception at St. Anthony’s Soccer Club on January 25th, 2007. Click on any photo to see a larger version of it. Check back later: more photos are coming! Ron Corbett and Willy Stewart: Clippings: Brian Doyle and friends: Susan Scruton and Lynda Warman: Willy Stewart and Kevin Mitchell: Lynda and Ron Warman: Joanne … Continue reading Second batch of photos
As promised – and at long last – here is the first batch of photos from Paddy Mitchell’s memorial service at Pinecrest Memorial Gardens. Click on any photo to see a larger version of it. Check back later – more photos will be posted soon. (If you have any photos of the event that you’d like to post here on the blog, please send them to soozoom@yahoo.com.) The altar: … Continue reading First photos from the memorial service
[Note: This is the seventh of Paddy Mitchell’s seven final blog entries, written shortly before his death on January 14, 2007, and mailed to Ottawa to be posted on his blog. The series is being published posthumously between January 21 and January 25th.] Howdy Folks, I received a letter from my son Kevin today, and he included an article from the newspaper about Christopher Clarkson which included a photo of … Continue reading Paddy’s Last Word Series #7: The truth about Christopher Clarkson
[Note: This is the sixth of Paddy Mitchell’s seven final blog entries, written shortly before his death on January 14, 2007, and mailed to Ottawa to be posted on his blog. The series is being published posthumously between January 21 and January 25th.] It’s Sunday morning, 9:00 a.m. on New Year’s Eve and I’ve just turned off my Sony radio after listening to an hour of N.P.R. (National … Continue reading Paddy’s Last Words Series #6: New Year’s Eve reflections
[Note: This is the fifth of Paddy Mitchell’s seven final blog entries, written shortly before his death on January 14, 2007, and mailed to Ottawa to be posted on his blog. The series is being published posthumously between January 21 and January 25th.] My good friend Jimmy Allen also has been an inspiration to me this past year with the success of his book: “This Firefighter’s Life”. What … Continue reading Paddy’s Last Word Series #5: Christmas in Prison
[Note: This is the fourth of Paddy Mitchell’s seven final blog entries, written shortly before his death on January 14, 2007, and mailed to Ottawa to be posted on his blog. The series is being published posthumously between January 21 and January 25th.] I don’t know if the term “history repeats itself” is appropriate here, but I was just listening to my radio and heard a news broadcast … Continue reading Paddy’s Last Word Series # 4: Out of the frying pan, into the blizzard
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