ONE YEAR AGO

self portrait
this tues the 28th marks the one year anniversary of my first Chemo treatment. i cannot believe a year has gone by. i re-read the blog and comments of that day and was, as always deeply touched.....i am feeling better but different....people always ask me "how are you feeling" and i seem to always say...i will be better soon.......it seems that i still am in someone else's body and i am on the outside looking in......i am sure that will pass as my strength returns and my spirit lifts me past all this......my weight is up and my energy comes and goes.......and i do get by......but like i said....it is something that i still cannot completely understand all the love and support that i received during this difficult yet amazing year........i will celebrate many anniversary's in the years to come......landmark days and events that marked this "walk in the park" i celebrate them with you.........always ........tom

THANKSGIVING

hi my fellow americans.............next week is going to be a special holiday...........i mean it is a holiday without all the b.s that comes with most of them.............i mean no hidden agenda......just to be thankful for what we have...just be thankful for our families and friends....pets and music.....food and air....water and love..........health and happiness.....mets and jets.............toilet paper and chocolate (not in any order) memories and forgetfulness..............nieces and nephews..........ice cream and beer........bikinis and beer........doctors and medicine.....gleevec and neo-bladders.....rolling stone and relix ........hippies and well just about everything that makes up this world on the peaceful side...........oh yeah that would be the best thing to be thankful for if it were possible......peace this holiday season....my friends......let me offer you at least that..........peace and love to all i know...i know it is something that is always said............but i really really mean it .....i love you all so much.............. may your homes this holiday season be filled with all that is good in this life.............oooooxxxxoooooo TOM

PART OF THE PLAN

thinking about the past year......still feel like i am one of the lucky ones..with all the support and love i had...i mean this has been such an incredible journey full of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows......but isn't that what most people have to deal with everything they do .....look i am not saying i recommend that everyone gets their bladder removed and replaced with their intestine
..that my friends might be a little extreme.....what i am saying is i think coming through all this and seeing what an inpact it has had on so many people has lead me to believe that it was all part of the "plan"...i mean really how many of us took this "walk" together.....how many of us rode the "wave" of emotion together....how many people have taken "stock" of what they have and love........I was thinking about closing out "WALK IN THE PARK" AND CONTINUING THE JOURNEY maybe call it " a run through the jungle" or something like that....maybe share some insight on what it is to live with my new body...my new mind....my bladder.... i mean my story is really not over and can never have an end ...... i hoped that i have made an impact on other peoples lives that i will be apart of this world for a long time.......my mom has been gone since 1970 and she lives in so many of us still....i decided a long time ago that i wanted to have that same impact on this world as she has had ..... i just wanted to say that all that are in the sound of my blog....i will carry you in my heart and soul.....and feel you touching my shoulder ...as my Journey Continues....... i will take it easy ....but take it (words of woody guthrie)..........TOm

WORLDS GREATEST DAD

From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly] hey i think i am a good pops...but you have to read this story and watch the video with sound....i was deeply touched..take the time...amazing
But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.'' But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. "Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.'' Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. `` That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!'' And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. ``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?'' How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried. They did 212 of them.
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. ``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life. ``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once
watch th is video...with the sound up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4B-r8KJhlE

HOPE ALL WAS HAPPY THIS HALLOWEEN

Blogs Birthday

well it was exactly one year ago I started this Blog.....now they say most blogs peter out after 3 months.....they say ( i have no idea who they are) most blogs never even get people to comment......well we certainly broke that mold................yOU HAVE BEEN SUCH AN AMAzingGROUP OF PEOPLE...........i know now that my words have reached hundreds of people.....but what you also must know that your comments also have reached so many and in many times were just as entertaining as i tried to be.................i have saved every e-mail to my business account tcheffo@yaleet.net, my personal account thunderbyd@aol.com and to this blog and i have to tell you i still am amazed by the support that i was given.....i mean i know it was not your everyday,run of the mill, slam dunk kind of situation...i mean you all stood by me as the chemo entered my veins...you all sat right beside me when my bladder was removed and replaced with a piece of my intestine...you all held my hand when i took those first few steps to the computer in the hospital to tell you all i was gonna make it........you all stopped any tears from flowing before they even tried to leave my eyes (although a few drops just managed to escape just now)......i cannot even begin to thank all of you but i have to try..........to my wife, casey and chris your humor and love got me through the toughest of times......... you guys rocked...to all my cousins i love you so much and feel like i was so blessed to be part of this family , to my friends ,brothers and sisters of the road....... ....... i could not have made it without knowing we would all be together again......to my dearest friends what can i say....i tried listing all of you all but was to choked up so i just have to tell you something..." i have been to the darkest place a man could ever go, i have looked through these eyes and saw what never should be seen, i have been lifted from my dream to become whole again and you have been part of the reason why.........i will spend the rest of my life never ever taking our friendship for granted.................your hearts were so giving,caring convincing.......i had no other choice but to survive."......to everyone within the sound of this blog.....THANK_YOU from the bottom of my new bladder......................................tomstrong..........

MOURNING FOR MY METS

photo one 2006 ..... photo two 2005.. exactly one year apart photo was taken wednesday night going to the QVC BREAST CANCER FUND RAISER.......(MORE ON THE EVENT LATER)...... as the saying goes ...you can't win the all (BUT IT LOOKS LIKE I WON THIS BATTLE i fought over the last year)...but all us mets fans wanted was to win 4 out of 7 and advance to the center stage......well i want to thank all my pals for pulling for my mets...........even though your loyalty was to other teams..red sox...atlanta..seattle.etc....but you all wanted my mets to win for me....it was suppose to be our year,....but as chris said to me in the top of the ninth..."dad at least your alive to see this"..ya gotta love him.....ok the event wednesday night was amazing....our industry raised over 3,000,000 for breast cancer research...we got to hang with carmen electra,stephon marlberry (Knicks) meadow from the sopranos... and many more.........we had a blast....it looks like October is officially CANCER AWARENESS MONTH IN THE CHEFFO CIRCLE and i am so glad all of you are a part of that circle.......together we will make a difference....i swear............... there is a really special shout out to the birthday blogger extrodinair susan k (oct 14)...casey and i and a bunch of friends surprised her (a party was given to her by mike her husband) in myrtle beach and we danced the night away....casey got to sing with the live band the zen tricksters and really stole the show with her version of "me and bobbie McGee"...it was one of the top ten moments of my live..you see casey was celebrating her 5th years from being diagnosed (we are one day apart) and she really shined i mean really freaking shined up there.....the house just roared for her.........oh well i cannot end this weeks wrap-up without wishing karen m a happy birthday and my dear friend bob good luck with his "walk in the park" that started this week... let's get them next year......................love you..official member of the "soggy bottom boys"..tom

ANNIVERSARY & BIRTHDAYS

well today i celebrate my one year anniversary from being told "houston we have a problem"....i of course i said "what you mean we"....those words echo in my head..."tom your gonna have to lose your bladder"...i said" did you just say i gonna have to loose my bladder?" and the rest is history....i hope i set an example to those who will follow in my footsteps.....and for those who are up against the "trials of life" i can only say if you have the family,friendship and support that i have had....it truly will be a "WALK IN THE PARK"........ 5 years ago this weekend was also the "day the earth stood still" casey will celebrate her 5th year after being told she had CML.....5 years ....wow......casey i know how hard it has been but you have been my inspiration through my ordeal...your strength and courage has been amazing........ mom and dad love you so much..............LAST but NOT least...it is queen of the bloggetts birthday today SUSAN K..(karen m is next week ).......she is off fishing somewhere so post your birthday wishes...and anniversary wishes here........where the news keeps coming....27/7. thanks for coming along on my journey.........it has been a "long strange trip"......full circle.....think you should re-read yesterdays last comment it is a tribute to us all,,,,,,,, i will try to re-print it...TOM....good luck bob in your treatment

A WEDDING ,A BABY AND TWO KITTENS....(THREE UNRELATED TOPICS)

cASEY...MICHELE...SUSAN K..KAREN........well we sure had a great time this weekend...michele (from work ) got married and we let our hair down...(well whatever hair i got left)...she invited everyone she has ever met in her entire life.....we danced the night away..... she did the most wonderful thing you could imagine...joe and michele in lieu of favors donated in everybody's honor and in honor of the Cheffo family......money to sloan kettering hospital (best cancer care anywhere)...we were blown away and mr and mrs meier (michele and joe) we are forever grateful for what you did ........I wish them an incredible ride throughout their lives.....enjoy hawaii you guys......ok the second part of this post..stephine and jason of loose lucy's fame had a baby this week....beautiful baby boy..jackson is his name......good luck in life jackson.....your mom and dad are the cooliest people around........ TOPIC THREE......... CASEY BECAME A grandma yESTERDAY...her cat rockstar had two kittens....(that means sue and i are great grandparents...proud to say mother and kittens are doing fine..........enjoy the weddiing photo and it was so good to see everyone and some of my bloggetts in person...the doobies,the cartwrights..rockmans..grossers... larris & larris....krypels ....candy girl....kaminsky and murphy........tina.....everyone form work......old and new.......i had a blast seeing you all............lots of good memories......lots of good times......smiles....tom...................................................................ps.....coming up on one year ....oct 14th.....the day i was told....."tom we got a big problem"......I'm still standing.............better than i ever did....first on the dance floor...one of the last to leave........

WALK FOR THE CURE

PHOTO OF TEAM CASEY ...... we had the most excellent time at the "light the night " event thursday night..the event was put on by the leukemia/lymphoma society to raise awareness and funds for all blood cancers ..it was packed with special events and survivors and supporters everywhere....we raised thousands of dollars and walked a few miles to raise awareness ..i do not have to tell you how thankful i was to all of the people who donated and walked...it also was my "first" walk as a survivor.....yeah that's right i am a survivor..and dam proud of it.....survivors carried white balloons and supporters carried red..all the balloons were light up ..it was a sight to see and feel......i was never one for fundraiser and these types of events until we started doing the breast cancer event and the leukemia walk once a year "oct 18" is the day to raise money for breast cancer research (OUR COMPANY DONATES $120,000 worth of footwear to be sold on QVC ALL PROCEEDS for BREAST CANCER research ) WE JOIN OTHER FOOTWEaR COMPANIES TO FIGHT THE FIGHT .....it has made a world of difference in my life to do these events.........it kinda makes you feel that you are making a difference.......we know TEAM CASEY made A DIFFERENCE LAST THURSDAY NIGHT ON THE CAMPUS OF HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY...............................................oh yeah..forgot to tell you i had my ct scan results last week...looks like you gonna have me around for a while...all systems are a -go..... new bladder is taking a liking to me.....think i will keep it for a while...........next test in three months.......they are keeping an eye on me i guess............tom ......micheles (from work) wedding is this week.....saturday is going to be a blast.......

LIGHT THE NIGHT

This is a week for us to help join the fight against blood cancers....casey had a fund raiser at a local bar (beau's in greenlawn) and raised thousands of dollars to be donated to the leukemia/lymphoma society ........several bands ( even my old band blackhorse played there) see photo.... along with rob seiler my dear friend and neighbor who is now an official member of Blackhorse...we were missing kevin ward who is still slowly recovering from hip replacement........ but enough about us even though with casey singing with us we rocked the house...or should i say bar...other people donate raffle prizes and the bands included gun barrel city and the man himself peter toh and the royal tease.....marc opened up with some brilliant piano work.....we had a blast and i thank all who attended or donated so far.........we will be taking this fight againt blood cancer to hofstra university on thursday night for an incredible walk around the campus with surviors and family's & friends carrying balloons white balloons for survivors and red for supporters......it is an amazing night for a tremendous cause.....i know you will all be there in our hearts.....the cheffo's ......special thanks to beau's bar & all who attended a really special thanks to loose lucy's ,huntington village leather,fad of huntington,station coffee,body and sole,naot sandals ,denise hubley & the leukemia society for their incredible raffle gifts..........the fight continues.........

FLORIDA PART II

What a fantastic trip......two trade shows... biz was real good.....visiting stores....kissing babies and shaking hands....my victory tour was in full swing....then all my buddies started to arrive......smiles all around......music seeping in.......beer started flowing......jokes started flying........and that was just in the first 5 minutes.....seeing stewart, mo and kev m, all my surf expo friends and the beautiful loose lucy gals was all that it should be....good friends and no bull.....hearing kev martin play the mandolin to our songs is something everyone should hear......i mean he just nails it every time.....to see tears in the eyes of the people i love is humbling at best..........sitting by the pool playing music after a long day smoozing shoe-people is i quess what pools are made for...even the security guard thanked us for playing and breaking up his night..... even told us where we could continue the jam after the pool had to be locked up........i reprinted the comments that were directed at part II take a look ....please send more...it is always a pleasure to hear from you'all......oh yeah try kissing the wind....you never know where it might end up.......all the peace you can handle.......tom....congrats to my Mets.........all the way boys

FLORIDA

well spending a week in fla (working ) mostly has been a real eye opener......i have seen more people traveling around with rolling walkers than i care to admit (not in south beach where a different kind of wheels was the norm) mainly roller blades....i say if there would only wear our sandals the would not need walkers.....except for my dear friends gene and gladys....they retired down here 5 years ago and the look younger than ever......i loved seeing them and had a good time as always......in orlando now heading to tampa to sell some shoes ( i kinda just show them ...they sell themselves..heehe) then back to orlando for a national trade show.....it is great to be on the road...my body is saying what the heck i thought we were through with this travel stuff....not in a million years...although as fogelberg says..the audience is heavenly ...but the traveling is hell...........big music jam planned for friday night.......will be missing kent.... a card carrying member of possum but will rock on.......as the saying goes...if the room is a rocking......please come a knockin........please be safe you'all....good luck barry & bob with your surgeries

HELLO WORLD

I still cannot get over the feeling of the wide open spaces of the mid west....it always stays with me for a long time...........i am heading on my first extended road trip (9 days) heading to miami saturday and doing a trade show in south beach fla......(lucky me)......then heading up to orlando to the surf expo show..gee all the new bathing suits for next year will be shown...(even luckier me).......best of all will get to play music with the 'VANSMAN' himself....kev martin....one of the card carrying members of 'POSSUM' and hang with the best group of people a man could ask for...........................friday night kev if your reading this,,,,,,....all is well internally...different but well.....if i have one thing to say to you today.......embrace it...whatever it is embrace it.......love ...music....work...friendship.........the latest issue of playboy........embrace it........take nothing for granted....for as quick as a sting-ray to the heart it could be over.........(somehow it was a fitting death for the croc-man)...god i hope i don't go in the middle of selling shoes ......i could see it now......yes we have this in a size uggggggg..........but if i did it would be doing what i love to do .......playing with ladies feet... errrrr no i mean working with people..yeah that's it working with people...............................TOM.........good luck lucy...we are pulling for you...................

THEY LIKE ME...THEY REALLY LIKE ME

ah shucks you guys are making me blush.....or is that still the after effects of the chemo.......i really don't think i could ever stop completly.......it is such apart of my being these days.....my trip through the corn fields of iowa has reinforced to me how beautiful this country is.......seeing those cows munching on the grass was so peaceful to me.......( the fact that i wanted a omaha steak after passing my 2,000 one had nothing to do with how i felt)......seems to me that everybody should take a ride through iowa someday..........it smells so clean (except around the cows).........oh yeah speaking of cows...sold a heck of alot of shoes while i was there ...well brad did most of the work(get it our footwear is made from cows) .....great job brad....a pleasure to hang with you.........gotta go ..steaks just about done .......p.s has anybody not seen what an amazing team the mets are this year..............

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CLOSER TO MYSELF

i am still feeling real good from last week and i left that photo up to keep me smiling.....went to the met game tues night and they won with a walk off homer.....chris and my bros were by my side and i thought my son was gonna crush me after the hommer to win.......i realize in those moments i am still not 100% and have to turn it down a little......i dragged all day wed and was in bed early wed night........don't know why i am telling you all this but i guess it stll hits me sometimes as to what i went through...and where i am going......when i think about it only being about 4 months ago that i had the surgery it boggles my mind...it also boggles my mind that i used the word boggle......oh well off to trade show on sunday...beautiful downtown shendoah iowa...corporate home of brown shoe fit,,,,,if you sneeze you drive right past it........(if your lucky)......anywho still need to post the rap song and poem that was written in my honor....but that is for another time.....coming up on 1 year anniversary on being diagonsed....oct 13th........i was thinking i will end my "walk in the park" blog then ............but who knows what i will begin that day.......stay tuned my beautiful friends and family

TYE DYED SUPRISE

..................let me start by saying that i have the most amazing family a man could ever ask for....kindness was bottled by these relatives and always ready to be served...chilled or warm it is all i would ever need to drink.......what started out months ago with trying to figure out a date that all the "cousins" could get together to the actual drive to new jersey (getting lost again even with a gps sytem and two extra humans to guide the way)......to driving up the driveway of my beautiful cousins loraine and donny..(ok donnie is handsome) home.......thinking it was our typical family get together....i knew this would be special because most of them read my blog every day and lived the journey with me and it was going to be "good for the soul" to see and feel their hugs.....as we turned the corner of their driveway i heard my favorite grateful dead song playing (ripple) i knew we were going to have a real good time....but never did i expect to see the sight i saw that day........it was a sea of pink tye dyed shirts...cousins wearing afro wigs...all in my honor.......all out of love......all for one...truly one for all.......( turns ou all the hand made ..hand dyed shirts did not start out pink but when they washed them to stop them from bleeding thay kinda ran together) it was like a flaming breast cancer awareness moment only it was for me......the photo above only tells half the story ..the day was filled with music i love.....( not a single complaint from the sinatra crowd)....food i really love knishes..chicken....bean salad.....home made italian ices....cookies...cake......beer.....pulled pork..beer......brownies........ice cream...beer.................i know i forgot something oh yeah everthing except the beer was made by one of my relatives......the highlight of the day is when you have a pome written about you from my uncle vinny..... i am honored to have one written for me ( i will post it this week)...man oh man did he nail it on the head....my writing pales in comparison to his and was honored to have him think of me so fondly,,,,,,,,ok just when i think i cannot be suprised anymore my nephews luke and gabe (who are next to me in the photo) wrote and sang (and played drums) a rap song to me........it is the highlight of the day...........thank you family......aunts and uncles thanks for being great role models growing up .........i only hope i have been able to be the same for all your grandchildren whom i love and hold so dearly............barbara......loraine...diane......steph.......jan...christopher.....anthony........you have the most beautiful familes and "continue to bless me with your undying love and support throughout my journey.......you have made my "walk in the park"...........remarkable......you all are park of my "post-op" recovery......saturday i was the "luckiest man on the face of the earth".......tom

TODAYS MAIL

just received a letter from my hospital asking me if i wanted to attend classes on post cancer seminars........i thought about it for a minute and was thinking about how everyone i know has been there for my post cancer treatment and i have the greatest support team anybody could ever have..so i passed....i will try to offer my support to anyone who needs it.......on sept 28 our family will be walking in the "light the night walk" at hofstra university that supports the research to help find a cure for leukemia if anyboby wants to join our team in this walk i will post the sign up sheet soon......we march as surviors and friends........we are so close to getting rid of certain types of leukemia that i could taste it...imagine that ....in my lifetime my beautiful daughter Casey with be free of this burden...........i will live to see that day.........we will live to enjoy that moment.................drinks are on me when that happens........peace for now.........can't wait to see my cousins this weekend......................enjoy the concerts casey and chris.........out for now

HOME ON THE RANGE

i like to consider my home like a ranch only without the cattle,rolling hills,big fences,a place to tie up my horse, a well on the property (you get the picture)....but a place to ride up upon after a long road trip and a place to settle in after landing in the sunrise.....getting onto my horse...errr car and riding through the rolling road called the southern state parkway.......pullin up when i turned onto my block it was almost like i rode under the big wooden sign posts that used to identify the big ranches of the old west.......i felt like i was bringing the cattle home (billy crystal quoted curly in city slickers "there's nothing like bringing the cattle home") only that cattle was only me getting back to the ol homestead and into my bunk to settle down and shake off the jet lag that our cowboy of old never really felt.....i am sure as i sit here and type to hundreds of people at once that some of those old cowboys are sitting up there watching us run around this planet, getting from salt lake to nyc in just under four hours and are wondering how i could possibly not stop and sleep under the stars tonight and watch the most natural light show in the world...that sun that has now set and melted in the sky.....and will rise over us to offer us the light of a new day...........a new day for peace on this planet..........lets keep the rockets asleep for a little while .............to all i know thank you for all the love and affection as i slowly get back to where i once was and thanks for the prayers to my family in one of the most difficult times we have had..................tell someone you love them today.......it's good for the soul..... tom.."the last of the brooklyn cowboys"

trade show heaven

we are having a great trade show....this is an amazing market......everyone is into a healthy lifestyle......but everyone has a beer in their hand around 4 pm......show party had the band flock of seagulls..(80's) party band and they were a blast..........michele decided not to eat and had a liquid dinner last night and got vip passes to g-love.......kent and i ended up playing guitars in his room and had a magic night......we ended the set with a song called satisfied mind.........fitting ending to a great day......errr night.................peace tom....oh yeah craig still has not shut up............love ya