A nice tribute to a set of RPI parents.  Porbalby applies to every  school in
the country.


From the Albany Times Union:

<<RPI parents go extra mile to see sons
Picketts fly from  California to all games

By JON PAUL MOROSI, Staff writer
First  published: Friday, February 25, 2005

TROY -- Visit Houston Field House on any wintry weekend and you'll meet
proud hat-and-ribbon wearers, two by two, who traversed snowy roads -- sometimes
international borders -- to see their on-ice brood.

Jim and Denise Pickett resolved to attend every RPI hockey game this  season.
Their son, Blake, is a senior. A hardly profound commitment, you might  say.
But check the roster. There, beside "Pickett, Blake," beneath "Hometown,"  are
two words worth noting.

Temecula, Calif.

More impressive than the Picketts' promise is that they've stuck to their
word. Blake has been scratched 10 times this season. They haven't. The only
disruption came when Jim was too sick to fly for the home weekend against
Colgate and Cornell. He was told his eardrums might burst if he did. So Denise  went
alone. The Streak surged on.

Saturday, the Engineers celebrate Senior Night. Notwithstanding the
tornadoes, rainstorms and assorted acts of God to befall their hometown in the  past
week, the Picketts will be there.

"It's our schedule," Jim said from home this week. "Thursday nights, we're
outta here."
Other families can't come as often. Distance, money and work  are always
factors. Co-captain Nick Economakos of Lockport, Ill., said his  parents are able
to come for big weekends, such as the Big Red Freakout and  Senior Night.

"They can take time off, but money's tight," Economakos said. "Plane
tickets, time off work, it adds up. My dad would be here every weekend if he  could."

Three seniors have parents within driving distance: Cody Wojdyla (Rome),
C.J. Hanafin (Burlington, Mass.), and Matt McNeely (Almonte, Ontario). Those of
the other four -- Economakos, Pickett, Andrew Martin (Plano, Texas), and Vic
Pereira (Abbotsford, British Columbia) -- must fly.

Hanafin travels the best, to use the hockey parlance. "When we play in
Boston, he's got 150 people in the stands," Economakos said. "Ridiculous."

One factor working in the Picketts' favor: Jim is a real estate lawyer who
can work on the plane and in hotel rooms. He jokes that his clients "don't even
 know I'm gone." And for him, every weekend feels like a trip home. He grew
up in  Cobleskill, earned his bachelor's degree at Hamilton College and law
degree at  Cornell.

The Picketts' itinerary involves flying into Albany, home or away, and  using
Blake's Chevy Tahoe to get around. ("You can't get the hockey smell out of  a
car," Jim observed.)

Blake, who spent four years at Cushing Academy (Mass.), sees his parents
more now than at any time in college or prep school.

"I love it," he said. "I've been away for so long. It's great to see them
every weekend. It's always a plus to have family in the stands."

Coach Dan Fridgen, a father of two, reflected on his travels to those
parents' homes, as he asked their sons to come to RPI.

"These parents have entrusted you with their most important possession for
four important years of their lives," he said. "That's a real honor.

"It's something you, as a parent, want to cherish. And the one way you can
make sure you cherish those moments is to be at every game."
>>