Profanity Pwns

So... Most of you know about my Halo clan. Well, it's really not just a Halo clan anymore. It's become something else. I've met pretty much all of them (60 or so) in person, and a handful have become "real life" friends.

Most of them share my skewed view of the world and we all like talking shit and winning (and still manage to be pretty cool people).

You might laugh about the "real life" friends part, but let me tell you this story.

One of the guys, Mike, lives in San Diego. Dude is like 6'4", 280 or so. Bald head. Big, long goatee. Nicest guy in the world. For example, when he found out Tanner didn't have an xbox 360 or the money to buy one, he UPS'd Tanner his old one. Mike has never met Tanner, mind you.

Seven or eight months ago, Mike and his wife Teri had twins. First kids. Mike and Teri are older than Steph and I. I think he's 38 or so. She used up all her leave from her job (well, she's a third-grade teacher, this isn't summer, and the kids were born during the late winter/early spring).

Couple of weeks ago, Teri was at the store and her knee went out. Like dislocated. She didn't slip that she remembers, but you get the idea. Tore her ACL, PCL and pulled the hamstring away from the bone (with bone fragment). Last monday, they reattached the hamstring & bone. In six to 10 weeks, they'll go back in and repair the ligaments. Fortunately, she didn't mess up any of the arteries. I'm told a lot of times when you dislocate the knee, if you hurt the arteries, you loose the leg from the knee down.

So Teri has no leave, no compensation while she's at home recuperating and Mike is having to take care of her and the two babies.

I asked the clan to help them out. In just over a week, they kicked in about $940 (which after PayPal fees was $901.89). We sent them a gift certificate to Restaurants on the Run and $500 in cash.

How fucking cool is that? Sometimes, it's hard to maintain my innate sense of bitterness.