Remembering Herbie
The bookmark handed out at Herb’s funeral.
I glanced up at some pictures of my boys in my office this morning and noticed also the bookmark hanging near by that Tim gave me for my birthday a few years back. What caught my attention was the date on the bottom- August 11, 2003, six years ago today our family was heading to Ireland. As our plane touched down in New York the phone on the back of the seat in front of me turned on and there was news headlines scrolling on across the screen; “1980 USA Hockey Head Coach Herb Brooks killed,” is what I thought I saw when struggling to get our bags and Coleten who was just turned one at the time, together to get off the plane. I turned my phone on when in the airport and noticed the countless messages left, what I saw was true. As we were waiting for our connecting flight to Dublin, I told Blake about my encounter with Herbie a few years before. I found myself at the Royal Lube Express in White Bear Lake getting an oil change, I walked into the lobby and there was Herb sitting in the chair talking on his cell. I thought, do I say anything or not? He folded his phone up and grabbed the newspaper, I greeted him, and asked if he was still scouting. He was polite, to the point and moments later they called for him as his car was ready. That moment became very significant to me when I learned he had died.
I have read two books written about Herb since then, in fact one book sits on a coffee table at the funeral home and is often picked up during visitations, and of course Coleten & I have watched “Miracle” together. I didn’t realize the impact Herb had on people, the Hockey world, and I can’t wait to tell my boys more about a Minnesota Legend, and of course by brief encounter with Herbie.
