Unknown Childhood Friends

Published

I met Thompson “Tommy” Smith in 2015 when I was told about an amazing guy that had founded this thriving hockey group called the Mallards. I then found out that this same fella had built Argus Event Staffing from the ground up, married a Bronco cheerleader, had a beautiful home and two great kids. And I also learned that this beloved man was battling an autoimmune disease that was threatening to take his life.
I visited Tommy in his home, we talked about life, family, friends, and of course hope. To signify that hope, I gave my new friend a hockey stick signed by the players from the Survivor Game. It was a powerful conversation and I was moved by Tommy’s courage, resiliency and will to fight.
Tommy’s health has improved since that initial meeting but he still continues to have some serious health challenges. Despite that we have enjoyed lunches, meetings, and have even played hockey together. One of my favorite moments came in 2018 when Tommy took the ceremonial face off in the annual Survivor Game!
Over the years I’ve gotten to know the Smith family well, including Landon, one of Tommy’s sons. Landon went on to become quite a hockey player and even played in an NCAA final as member of the 2016 Quinnipiac squad. And most recently actually played on my Top Dawgs squad!
Now here’s the “no coincidence” part. This afternoon Tommy and Landon were cleaning up Tommy’s basement when they came across Tommy’s “Bell Junior High” yearbook. Landon flipped to the page to check out the image of his 14 year old dad when to his utter amazement the same page had a 14 year old image of yours truly!!!! That’s right, until today, Tommy and I had no idea we knew each other 45 years ago!! Landon shared, “it was so wild when we found it, we were both blown away!”
Life is full of surprises, sometimes when you least expect them! Here’s to you Tommy, Bell Bobcats forever!
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