Blog
Riding Bulls
Jan 16, 2012
The day after Christmas, I flew to KS to ride bulls for a week. Cowboy up! Bull riding has been something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time, ever since I was in college, and I was finally able to break away during the Holidays and live the dream. I spent the week in Derby, KS learning not only how to ride bulls but I learned what it takes to earn a living by being a bull rider. I was a 44 year old dude that lived the life of a twenty year old for a week. I was blessed. Thank God for Crossfit, thank the Lord that I walked away injury free (sore but not broken), and there is no doubt that I rode bulls for a week with an angel on my shoulder. Molly, my guardian angel dragonfly, was keeping her eyes on me while I chased that 8 second dream….
A lot of my pals wanted me to keep them up to date while I was in KS but Facebook can only do so much. If you want to read about my week of bull riding, please hit up www.buckrowlee.blogspot.com as I penciled three entries in between bouts with ice packs and late my night yoga sessions. “You’re only as young as your spine is flexible”…….
When Molly was little, she and I would play “bull riding.” Kieran and I still play this game to this very day but with Molly it was special because she was the first child that hopped on my back for that 8 second thrill. If you take a bit of time and read the my bull riding blog, you will understand that my overall experience was spiritual in the sense that “riding bulls will certainly make you right with God,” and I did spend a lot of time praying for my safety. You cannot put yourself in a dangerous situation without having the intelligence to PLEAD to a high power to protect you. When Molly was battling cancer and then in the days leading up to her death, I feverishly prayed for hope. I asked the Lord to spare my baby girl. Molly had a very treatable form of cancer, she could beat it…she was a fighter, but God wanted Molly to return to Heaven. I didn’t hate God for taking Molly because deep in my heart, buried underneath the tremendous amount of grief, I knew that there would be some good that would surface from Molly’s death. I have witnessed that firsthand, and I’m here to tell you that Molly was spending a lot of time with me in KS keeping me safe. Molly is my guardian angel dragonfly…watching over me as I continue my quest to cover my next bull.
The 10 other cowboys, that I rode bulls with in KS, didn’t really ask me about the “Molly sticker” that I had plastered on my protective vest and I didn’t mention it until the end of the week. I was honored to have received an award, Top Student, and during my award presentation I was asked to give a speech. You know me; I’m never at a loss for words, so I felt compelled to speak a little about Molly. I was overcome with emotion, very stoked to be in one piece, and I was thrilled that I achieved my dream of riding bulls….and I was inspired to share a glimpse of Molly’s story – which is to love your babies. Life is so very precious. Sometimes life lessons come our way when we’re least expecting them. For me it happened at Maddox Arena in Derby, KS. And I returned a much better father and husband.
Please do me a favor and save the dates for a couple of important MOLLY FUND events that we have on the calendar. Numero uno is the Molly Rail Jam at Smuggler’s Notch, VT on March 2nd and we’re also throwing down the 3rd annual SURFERS vs THE WORLD CHAMPION BOSTON BRUINS ALUMNI hockey game at The Rinks in Exeter, NH on March 18th. Please mark your calendars and we’ll keep you posted with more details as they come to light so stay tuned.
With love,
Buck
The Molly Moustache-A-Thon Wrap Up
Dec 12, 2011
We just wrapped up the November Molly Mustache-A-Thon last week and the grand finale was held at Wally’s Pub in Hampton Beach. There were close to 50 dudes that didn’t “brave the shave” during the month of November and grew some pretty epic facial hair in order to raise money for The Molly Fund. All of the credit, for organizing the event, has to go to Brandon Halberstadt, because Brandon did an absolutely amazing job pulling the entire event together perfectly. From the weekly gatherings at Wally’s, to the grand prizes and raffle items, Brandon rallied and made the event spectacular. Thank you, brother!
We have to thank big Al, who owns Wally’s Pub, for allowing us the opportunity to take over his fine establishment every Tuesday throughout November. The wonderful folks at Captain Morgan’s Rum donated $1,000 to big Al, to help promote Captain Morgan’s at Wally’s, but big Al saw it in his heart to donate the $1,000 to The Molly Fund. Thank you, Al, and thanks to the folks at Captain Morgan’s for the incredible donation.
The final tally of the Molly Mustache-A –Thon has not yet been reported because Brandon is in Europe (Austria) at a sales meeting where he’s probably shredding pow while the rest of us are home in New England praying for a cold snap! I’m sure that the total will hit us next week, but the main focus is mentioning that it does take a bit of sacrifice to grow a mustache for an entire month. I should know because I participated in the month long event and every single day I was counting down the days when I could shave my face. Many of my fuzzy faced brethren felt the same way but we all sucked it up, we had to “cowboy up,” and we grew some ugly facial hair in order to raise a few dollars for The Molly Fund. There is always strength in numbers and seeing a lot of my pals, walking around Hampton last month with some epic staches, provided us all with just the right amount of motivation to continue to not brave the shave….
The grand finale went down last Tuesday night at Wally’s. Brandon magically locked down a mechanical bull for the night, Patrick Hall and his band “Dead Air Project” provided the live music, and we all got together and celebrated the final night of our mustaches. It was awesome! There were a ton of great photos flying around on Facebook and I’m sure that Brandon will post several when he returns from his trip, but when I got home from the big bash last Tuesday night I immediately hit the bathroom and broke out the razor…because it was time to shave!
But Steve O’Hara and Bryan Johnson, from Pioneers (www.surfnh.com) are continuing their Molly Mustache-A-Thon. These two are going to continue to grow their mustaches through the month of January in order to raise more money for The Molly Fund. Heroes!!! I can’t think of a better way to describe their thoughtfulness other than posting Steve O’Hara’s Facebook post from this afternoon because it exemplifies what this event is truly about and it paints a pretty good picture.
“So I'm stop at a traffic light and look in my side view mirror to see a black pick up truck w/ two young girls about to pull up next to me. Great here's this guy in a red sketchy van w/ a mustache. Looking like a dirt ball. That would be me. As the light turns green and the truck moves forward what do I see, on the side window, "a white MOLLY sticker."
I just SMILED to myself and then welled u...p thinking about how Molly has effected this community. "Her love is everywhere" I'm sure those girls wouldn't believe that the sketchy guy w/ the mustache has raised over $250 this month alone for the Molly fund for keeping the mustache for the month of December.
So if you see me or Bryan and you’re wondering what's up w/ the mustache now you know,,,,,And if you want to donate some money, we’ll take it.”So if you see me or Bryan and your wondering what's up w/ the mustache now you know. And if you want to donate some money. We'll take it.
Moustache-A-Thon and Other Big News
Oct 31, 2011
It has been a couple of months since we wrapped up The Molly Surf Celebration. We have been sort of scratching our heads, trying to think up a new and exciting Molly Fund fundraiser, when our good pal Brandon Halberstadt hit us with a great idea just the other day. Molly Moustache-A-Thon!! During the month of November, we’re going to grow moustaches and raise money for The Molly Fund. If you’re stoked on the idea and you want to join the fun, then we would love to see you at Wally’s, in Hampton Beach, on Tuesday November 1st where we’ll meet and kick off the event. Please see the event flier for all of the info and we hope to have a posse on hand at Wally’s on Tuesday so we can rally and continue to raise more moola for The Molly Fund.
I have a good friend and a very good Oakley account located in Plaistow, NH. Michael Gerardi owns MTN DOGS and Michael has been a big supporter of the Molly Fund for the past two years. Each fall Michael hosts a huge bash in which the crew from Meat Head Productions shows up and premieres their latest ski movie. There is a ton of food and beverages, a DJ spins some music, and the snow industry rallies and contributes a ton of product which Michael uses for raffle and silent auction items. Last year, MTN DOGS raised $1000 for The Molly Fund but the good news is that this year the local Wal Mart stepped up and immediately donated $1000 to the Molly Fund so we’re already up a thousand bucks!
The MTN DOGS event this year happened on Saturday October 29th at the American Legion Hall which is located on RT 121 on the Haverhill/Plaistow line. The event not only benefited The Molly Fund but the National MS Society as well.
I think that it’s only fitting that Meg and I share some good news with all of you. Meg is pregnant and it looks like Kieran is going to have a baby brother to boss around at the end of March. Yep, we’re pretty stoked. But as you can probably imagine, when Molly passed away the last thing that we had even remotely considered was having another baby. Our focus was surviving the grief, making sure that Kieran was in a good place, and it’s true that time certainly does help heal some very painful wounds. Meighan wanted to have another child and I, of course, was all in! We will soon be blessed with the birth of our third child, our second son, and Meg will quickly have her hands full with three cowboys tearing up the house. Life happens when you’re busy making other plans….
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and we hope that you will all continue to support The Molly Fund and help us continue to make some magic happen in keeping Molly’s legacy alive. It is truly amazing what the Molly Fund has evolved into; it’s been a blessing to not only our family but also to so many other families that are trying to cope with the nightmare of childhood cancer. Boys, let’s grow some ugly facial hair throughout November and fuel the arsenal! And thanks to those that came out to the MTN DOGS event on Saturday for some “get stoked for snow” fun.
Mahalo!
Buck & Meg
The Molly Surf Celebration 2011
Aug 22, 2011
Go check out the recap of this weekend's event in the events section.
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