ChevyVanMiller

I'll be at the stadium early. Just let me know how to find you and I'll gladly autograph your copy. The same goes for any other TBDer.

I've had quite a holiday season. I got to realize a dream of having a book published and got to meet hundreds of wonderful people at various book signings. To top it all off, I had the honor and privilege of signing with one of my heroes, Marv Levy. As a way to say thank you to everyone here on TSW, here is the entire text of the chapter featuring Gus Gioia. Please join me in wishing Gus a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year! Bills Fans Support Family In Their Hour Of Need Who can foretell for what high cause This darling of the Gods was born? Andrew Marvell It’s called a “bump.” In Internet message board parlance, to “bump” a message or “thread” is to add a new reply to the original posting, thereby “bumping” it back to the top of the listing. Without a bump, messages fall back in the listing order, and then disappear altogether. On December 9, 2002, the Gioia family of Seattle, Washington, rode the first waves of quite possibly the greatest Internet bump of all time. Paul Gioia was born just yards from the Peace Bridge, which connects Buffalo, New York, with Fort Erie, Ontario. His family soon moved to the Eggert Road section of the Queen City. The Gioias quickly fell in love with the blue-collar neighborhood built by the sweat and toil of a cross-section of European immigrants who were proud to set down firm roots in the new land of America. It was while living there that Paul learned of the resiliency of the people of Western New York. Economic downturns, blizzards and condemning national press have all served to build a backbone in the denizens of Buffalo that can never be broken. Years later, it would be that unbending community backbone that would help hold up Paul and his family in their greatest hour of need. After high school, Paul spent many years in New York City before moving west to Seattle for a job opportunity. There, he met a young lady from Houston, Texas, named Angela and the two hit it off and began to date. Somehow, this mix of East Coast moxie and refined Southern charm struck a perfect chord within each of them and the two were married. As Kurt Cobain was using “Grunge” music to make Seattle the hippest city in America, an old yearning began to visit Paul in the quiet hours of his mind. It was a call back to the days of his youth in Buffalo. “I was never much of a Bills fan as a kid,” Paul said by telephone from his Seattle home. “I just remember my grandfather and his friends loving to watch O.J. run with the football.” As a way to find a connection back to his city of birth, Paul became a passionate fan of the Buffalo Bills. He got DirecTV to watch all of the games and surfed the Internet to find any information he could on the red, white and blue Bills. “You just don’t find people in Seattle that are like the people of Buffalo,” Paul said. “That internal fortitude, maybe it’s because of the snow and cold winters, even the four Super Bowl losses, the people just refuse to say die or ever give in. I knew that I needed to get connected back to that way of thinking.” Paul became a regular visitor to a Web site that catered to fans of the Bills. After that address was suspended, Paul stumbled upon Two Bills Drive, the Web site that would one day make an impact on his life that he will never forget. A popular section of Two Bills Drive is a message board called The Stadium Wall (TSW). There, Bills fans talk about the team 365 days per year. New coach hires, free agent signings, game analysis and spirited debate as to whether Mighty Taco or the Garbage Plate is Western New York’s best indigenous food, it’s all discussed in it’s finest minutia at TSW. Paul became a regular contributor at TSW, posting under the screen name Thirdborn, and in the spring of 2002, he used the board to make the announcement that he and Angela were expecting their first child together in December. The pregnancy progressed normally and Paul and Angela found themselves excited about bringing another fan of the Buffalo Bills into the world. On Friday, December 6, 2002, Angela was in a Seattle hospital in labor with what turned out to be a baby boy – August Salvatore Gioia. All seemed to be going well until things took a tragic turn for the worse just before the baby was born. On the evening of December 9, 2002, an exhausted Paul took a brief respite from the hospital bed of Angela, where he had spent almost all of the proceeding 72 hours, and posted this message on TSW: My wife went into labor Friday night, and the baby’s cord collapsed leaving him without oxygen for too long. After a brutal emergency caesarian, my son wasn't breathing, and had no heartbeat. It took ten minutes to bring him back, and I've been told that there's a 90% chance that he has suffered severe brain damage. My wife is fine, and my son is off the ventilator. We won't know anything more for days and I won't be posting anytime soon. He's strong, but we all need your prayers. His name is August Salvatore Gioia. Thanks! "I ride with the boy King." Gus, as his family would come to call him, was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), sometimes known as neonatal encephalopathy. HIE is an acquired syndrome characterized by evidence of acute brain injury due to asphyxia. The doctor on staff the night of Gus’ birth erroneously told Paul that his son had little chance of surviving more than a week (in truth, the mortality rate for severe cases of HIE is roughly 50%) and that if he did, he had little hope for a life beyond a vegetative state. As you can imagine, this news hit Paul like a ton of bricks. With Angela still heavily sedated, Paul had to make some very difficult decisions concerning Gus’ treatment on his own. Paul put out a call of distress to his family and soon the cavalry was on its way. Two of Paul’s brothers drove non-stop from their out-of-town residences to be at his side. As Paul looked into the eyes of his beautiful little baby boy, he saw something there that was eerily familiar. It was a look of determination. It was the same look that he’d seen in the eyes of those who struggled through the Blizzard of ‘77. It was a look that he’d seen many times on the faces of his gridiron heroes, the Buffalo Bills. It was that exact look that took the team to four consecutive Super Bowls, a feat unmatched in the annals of the National Football League. It was that look that carried the team back from a 32-point deficit to defeat the Houston Oilers in a 1992 wildcard playoff game, better known as the greatest comeback in NFL history. And it was precisely that look that inspired ESPN host Chris Berman to coin the phrase, “Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.” It was while thinking about these things that one of Paul’s brothers spoke just the words that he needed to hear. “He said that no matter what, we can do it,” Paul explained. “The Gioia family isn’t going to give up.” The second shot of tonic that Paul needed came when he checked in at TSW a few days later. “I really didn’t expect a groundswell. When I saw what was happening, it just floored me,” Paul said. What he found was the thread to his original message about Gus’ complications during delivery filled with hundreds of posts. Each of them pledged prayers for angels to look after Gus. Here are a few of those posts: These words may sound trite and it's impossible to convey true thoughts over this impersonal medium, but rest assured that your friends here (and even the gang at the PPP board) have you and your family in our hearts. – GG I will pray all day and ask my family to do the same. Please keep us posted, and feel the support you have. May God bless you and your family. – Bill from NYC I can't tell you how this bothers me. My prayers are with you. – Ice I am meeting with Drew (Bledsoe) and his Dad at a Church tomorrow--and you can count on their prayers too. They have 3 little boys of their own. And remember, kids are tough little suckers and doctors, although educated, are frequently wrong. God bless. – Ann Infamous “These people, most of whom don’t even know me and my family, got me through that first week,” Paul said. “One guy even took a picture of Gus to his work and had the people there pray for him. What they did was amazing.” On December 10, 2003, at precisely 6:37 P.M. Cablelady made the first of hundreds of postings with the same one-word message that would be added to the thread – Bump! For nearly seven months, the thread was kept alive by posters who wouldn’t let Gus out of their hearts for even one moment. As the weeks and months passed, Gus went home and made steady progress. As Paul would add updates to the thread, the good news that he posted was always met with smiles and tears of joy on TSW. Sometimes posters would log on to wish Gus a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter, while other times it was simply to say goodnight and God bless. There is no doubt that the thread would never have died out of its own volition. Worried that it was taking up so much bandwidth that it was in danger of crashing the TBD site altogether, Paul contacted the site administrator, Scott, and asked that the thread be retired. Scott had no concerns over the size of the thread, but as he was in the process of changing message board software anyway, all posts from the old database were unable to be imported. Scott archived the thread and all 952 posts of it can forever be viewed at: http://www.twobillsdrive.com/gus/. Scott has this to say about the response by Two Bills Drive members to Paul’s posting: "The love and compassion that we have for one another defines us as a community. The outpouring of prayers may have surprised Paul and his family, but it was not a surprise to me. Time and again, this community closes ranks around its members to provide emotional support when needed. Paul, Angela, and Gus will always hold a special place in the hearts of their extended family on the Stadium Wall." Other threads to Gus are constantly being created and he will always be a permanent part of life at TSW. Today Gus is continuing to make steady progress. He has begun to vocalize, is making strong eye contact, and Paul and Angela are teaching him sign language. He is seen by some of the nation’s premier neurologists at Children’s Hospital of Seattle and receives regular physical therapy and early intervention sessions. Gus is a Gioia and he is a survivor. Paul has a goal of one day bringing Gus back to Buffalo for a Bills game and to meet with the people that have touched their lives by offering their prayers on TSW. When that day arrives, you can be sure that Gus will be surrounded by the beating hearts of hundreds of people, united by their love of a team and a city that never says die, who form a safety net that will always be strung up under his high wire. Those hearts will beat in harmony for the boy king of Seattle and it will sound just like this – Bump, Bump, Bump.

Yes Marv was class with a capital "C." Thanks for the kind words.

LEARNING FROM HARRY!! A first-grade teacher, Ms. Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Harry, what's your problem?" Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd grade too!" Ms. Brooks had had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office. While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he would give the boy a test. If he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the 1st grade and behave. She agreed. Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test. Principal: "What is 3 x 3?" Harry: "9". Principal: "What is 6 x 6?" Harry: "36". And so it went with every question the principal thought a 3rd grader should know. The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go to the 3rd grade." Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions." The principal and Harry both agreed. Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?" Harry, after a moment: "Legs." Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?" The principal wondered, why would she ask such a question! Harry replied: "Pockets." Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps into?" Harry: "Pants" Ms. Brooks: What's starts with a C, ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid? Harry: "Coconut." The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open. Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?" The principal's eyes opened really wide and before he could stop the answer. Harry: "Bubble gum" Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?" Harry: "Shake hands." The principal was trembling. Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'K' that means a lot of heat and excitement?" Harry: "Firetruck" The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry in the fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong......

Thanks, Alaska. I sincerely was happy just to have the opportunity to write and publish the book. The fact that it's selling so well and touching so many people is truly just sweet icing on the cake.

He stayed until 2 PM and I only saw one or two people turned away as he was packing up. I'm sorry that we didn't have a chance to meet. I'll be at the Pittsburgh game and hope to meet some more TBDers there.

All of Marv's signings here were with Waldenbooks and Barnes & Noble. If you contact your local outlet they will be able to let you know if he's scheduled for Rochester.

For Marv or for me? In both cases, it's very well. My book has just about sold out of the initial printing and is set to go to the second printing just after the new year. Marv, of course, is doing really well. The scuttlebutt that I heard was that his publisher greatly underestimated the popularity of his book and ran far few too copies. I know that I spoke with many people today who wanted a copy and couldn't find one any where in WNY.

Hey Everyone, I just got back from my book signing with Marv at the Main Place Mall. I'm happy to say that both Marv and I sold out of all stocked copies of our books (Of course for Marv that was quite a few more books than it was for me.) It was quite a spectacle to see so many people lined up to see Marv. Most waited in line at least two hours. I got some of the overflow by telling people that I was "the lesser well-known of the two authors signing today" and by guaranteeing no two-hour waits for my book. I was able to talk with Marv before the signing and present him with a copy of Buffalo Soul Lifters. I told him that he was sure to enjoy the chapter concerning Gus and TBD. He was very affable and wished me continued success. Marv signed for an extra hour until all copies were gone; just as I signed the last copies of Soul Lifters. For me it was an early Christmas present that I'll cherish for a long, long time.

The basketball team from Niagara Falls won the "City Of Palms" tournament in Florida last night. Along the way, they beat the top-rated team in Florida and the #4 team in all of the United States. The teams that they beat are heavily financed prep schools, while they are a public school. Congrats to all of the players and coaches. Western New York will have something else to crow about when the new national rankings come out in USA Today. Wolverines Win Title

To make a long story short, I have been scheduled for weeks to sign copies of Buffalo Soul Lifters tomorrow afternoon at the Waldenbooks in the Main Place Mall. Due to the overwhelming popularity of Marv's signings, the store scheduled him for a repeat signing at the same time that they had me slotted. I probably would have bailed from the signing, but my newspaper had already run full-color ads touting my appearance. The end result is that both Marv and I will be at the store signing at the same time. As I'm sure that I will be wholly ignored, I hope that any of you showing up to see Marv will stop and see me as well. I plan on giving Marv a signed copy of Buffalo Soul Liftersso that he'll be fully aware of the good people on TSW. Hope to see you there.

I had to bump this because there is one more point that I wanted to put in the original post. Nate Clements should change his nickname from "Playmaker" to "Nobody." That's the only way that Chad Johnson's claim that "Nobody can contain me," still makes any sense!

1.) If I'm the Bills coaches, I'm rethinking the decision to switch Jason Peters to guard. With that combination of speed, size and strenth I think that I would wait out his learning curve at Tight End. I know the guy only scored an 8 on the Wonderlik, but if he can learn the playbook he'll be a demon in the passing game. 2.) Lee Evans is already a far superior reciever than Peerless ever was or will be. I know many here poo-poo'd my comparision to Frank Lewis but he still reminds me of that great 80s receiver. I'm not talking about height or physical attributes, it's more his smooth gait in route-running and the way that he catches even the hardest balls with his hands and not his body. Sure doesn't resemble a rookie in any fashion. Give TD an A+++ on this selection. 3.) If Brian Moorman dosen't go to Hawaii they should cancel the game. He may not have the best net yardqage stats in the league, but he's the best clutch punter since Ray Guy. 4.) Speaking of special teams, give Bobby April his Christmas bonus right now. To take what has been a woeful unit for years and turn them into the cream of the NFL is nothing short of miraculous. If they gave out an "Assistant Coach Of The Year" award he would win hand's down. 5.) I think that AVP is a little overboard on the radio telecasts. Maybe Van Miller just spoiled us for so many years, but there is a way to root for the home team without sounding like a memeber of the pep squad. 6.) Will Bills fans ever enjoy a victory? The postgame calls to WGR sounded like they came from Cleveland. This team just put together the best 5 game stretch in franchise history. Give yourself a break and allow yourself to enjoy it fer crying out loud.

Here's my latest column. It concerns the top Christmas specials and movies of alltime. When I was in the process of writing the piece I took to heart some of the postings here on the subject. Thanks! Top Christmas Specials Feel free to let me know the ones you agree or disagree with.

I caught that. He has also referred to former Bill Antoine Winfield as Antonio at least twice this season.

I was in TOPS yesterday fueling up for the game and saw a display for the Bills bobble heads. Earlier in the season they were $14.99 each or you could get one free by racking up a bunch of points with your bonus card. They're now marked down to $.99 each with a bonus card. If you don't have a card, either the cashier or the person in line behind you should be able to help you out. They have Drew, Coy and Travis. All are now on display in my rec room. Would make a great stocking stuffer for the Bills fans on your Christmas list.

Now that is an onion - an a$$ so perfectly beautiful that it brings tears to a man's eyes.

In honor of the man and his legacy let's just make peace over the whole issue. The avatar is a painting by Rich Gaiti entitled "The Last Buffalo." You can view it and some other of his great work here: Artwork

That's a really horrible statement to make. I'm no fan of Yoko's singing, but John loved her with every ounce of his being. He professed his love for her every opportunity that he got in front of a camera or microphone. To suggest that she had him killed is just plain ugly. Go back and listen to the man's music because his message of peace, love and tolerance went way over your head, brother.

Hope you enjoy! Friday Night Lights

I pledge right here and now to acept whatever happens over the next month with nary a complaint. Just to even be discussing the playoffs this late in this season is an early Christmas present that I'm going to cherish. I sort of feel like I've been allowed a trip back in time to the early 90s. Somewhere in my brain a light has gone off that says, "Hey I remeber this feeling and it's really cool."

Emmet Otter is available on video and DVD - Media Play carries it. I have a copy and we play it each year. Another great line is in the song that the Riverbottom Nightmare Band plays: WE KNOW WE'RE A MESS OUR KIND DOES NOT LIKE TO BE CLEAN WE DON'T BRUSH OUR TEETH CAUSE OUR TOOTHACHE CAN HELP US STAY MEAN Here's a great page about the movie: Emmet Otter Also, I have a video of Wil Vinton's Claymation Christmas. The "Chiming Bell" segment is worth the price of admission alone. I bought my copy at Amazon.com. I can't understand why this all-time classic still isn't aired.

Oh yeah, what a terrible thing for a defense to have to do, to have to stoop to relying upon turnovers to win a game. Do yourself a favor and just enjoy a win fer crissakes.

I played in band in the early 90s in Syracuse named the Bar Stool Pigeons. I always liked the linking of two familiar phrases using a shared word to make a third, hence Chevy Van Miller.