I don't think anyone who got to see the press conference Travis held today either in its entirety or in pieces could not have been moved by it. Travis showed a great deal of courage and heart as he made his first public appearance since October. He began by reading a statement for about 6-8 minutes and then he answered questions for nearly a half hour. One of the questions dealt with what he remembered from the accident, and he went into great detail, taking perhaps 10 minutes to recount all of his memories and feelings. At times he was overcome by tears, especially when talking about what Jack Parker has done to support him and his family, but his girlfriend was right there to wipe the tears away and he moved on. What struck me was the way in which he was quite honest about what has happened and is clearly aware of what lies ahead of him and what challenges face him. Never once did he display any kind of resentment or anger. He didn't make any excuses or ask "what if" or why it happened (although no one could blame him if he did so privately). Rather, he sounded like he is a person who has accepted his situation and intends to move forward and do everything he can. He really is an inspiration, because he is so positive and upbeat. One of the news clips showed him eating a donut and he turned and made a face to the camera, showing that as he said in his statement, one thing that hasn't changed is that he is still the same person he was before the accident. Also, several times he thanked all of the people in the family of college hockey who have helped out and supported him. He said that the cards, notes and letters all helped and that he appreciates them. He went on to talk about all of the negative things that you see when you turn on the news and that you never hear about the good things, and it clearly means a lot to him that people expressed their support for him in all of the ways that they did. Travis also mentioned once or twice that he hopes to do whatever he can to raise awareness about spinal injuries and he knows he can and wants to be involved. If what we saw today was any indication, he will be a great spokesman and will do a lot of good. We are lucky to have someone like him as a member of our college hockey family. Let's make sure we always keep him in that family. --- --- Mike Machnik [log in to unmask] *HMM* 11/13/93 >> Co-owner of the College Hockey Lists at University of Maine System << ***** Unofficial Merrimack Hockey home page located at: ***** ***** http://www.tiac.net/users/machnik/MChockey/MChockey.html ***** HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.