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Wrigley Night 2 - Please play "Man of the Hour" for Eric and his Father
robertlane99
Posts: 14
Hi Everyone,
This is my first time requesting Pearl Jam to play a song, but this is request is not for me. I am requesting this for my best friend, Eric Phelps.
During the spring of 2010, Eric’s dad struggled with ongoing pain in his chest and stomach. He spent months taking antibiotics, meeting with doctors, and undergoing various tests to try and determine the cause of the pain. Eric began to notice his dad grimace in pain during every meal. He would hear him get sick after the meals he could eat. Despite all of this, his dad, a retired Sergeant in the United States Air Force who served his country in Vietnam, refused to complain. He would instead turn the focus to his son, Eric. Asking him about his day. Talking about the latest sports news. Offering words of advice such as “you need to go back to college and earn your degree”.
On July 17, Eric and his family would finally receive the diagnosis on his father. The doctors found a sizable, inoperable tumor in the esophagus that had also spread to his stomach. They had determined it was Stage 4 esophageal cancer and he would likely have only a few months to live. The family decided on in home hospice care to make sure he was comfortable in his remaining days.
3 weeks later, on August 7, 2010, I visited Eric’s house to be there for him, as he was there for me when my brother passed away 8 years prior. Eric’s mother and two sisters were leaving for church and Eric decided to stay back to sit with his father. I stayed with him for support. 20 minutes later, at the age of 61, his father....his hero....breathed his final breath. It was as if his father waited for the family to leave so that he could “pass the torch” to his son. He now had to be the man of the house. It was time for him to now grow up and become the man he knew he could be.
One night, a few months following his father’s death, as Eric struggled with the pain and sorrow of losing the man he looked up to, I played him a song by Pearl Jam - “Man of the Hour”. As the tears streamed down his cheeks, he nodded to every line that Eddie sang. There was a visible connection. After the song ended we hugged and I explained how the music of Pearl Jam helped me through the grieving process when I lost my brother and I hoped it would help him as well.
Soon after, Eric re-enrolled in college and at the age of 30 he finally received the degree his father always wanted him to achieve. Eric continued on and now has a very successful career in real estate and takes care of his Mother. He married a wonderful woman. And this November, just before what would have been his Dad’s 70th Birthday, Eric will become a father for the first time. He too credits the music of Pearl Jam for not only helping him deal with the grief of losing his father, but also giving him the strength to persevere. I am so proud of the man Eric has become and I am so thankful for how much Pearl Jam has helped him. Every year, on the anniversary of his father’s death, Eric listens to “Man of the Hour”.
In just a few short days, Eric will attend his first ever Pearl Jam concert at Wrigley Field (night 2). Although he just played the song last week on the 8th anniversary of his father’s death, I ask that Pearl Jam please play “Man of the Hour” on Monday Night at Wrigley Field. In honor of my best friend, Eric Phelps, and his Father.
Thank you and God Bless,
Rob Lane
P.S. Here's a recent post from Eric:
This is my first time requesting Pearl Jam to play a song, but this is request is not for me. I am requesting this for my best friend, Eric Phelps.
During the spring of 2010, Eric’s dad struggled with ongoing pain in his chest and stomach. He spent months taking antibiotics, meeting with doctors, and undergoing various tests to try and determine the cause of the pain. Eric began to notice his dad grimace in pain during every meal. He would hear him get sick after the meals he could eat. Despite all of this, his dad, a retired Sergeant in the United States Air Force who served his country in Vietnam, refused to complain. He would instead turn the focus to his son, Eric. Asking him about his day. Talking about the latest sports news. Offering words of advice such as “you need to go back to college and earn your degree”.
On July 17, Eric and his family would finally receive the diagnosis on his father. The doctors found a sizable, inoperable tumor in the esophagus that had also spread to his stomach. They had determined it was Stage 4 esophageal cancer and he would likely have only a few months to live. The family decided on in home hospice care to make sure he was comfortable in his remaining days.
3 weeks later, on August 7, 2010, I visited Eric’s house to be there for him, as he was there for me when my brother passed away 8 years prior. Eric’s mother and two sisters were leaving for church and Eric decided to stay back to sit with his father. I stayed with him for support. 20 minutes later, at the age of 61, his father....his hero....breathed his final breath. It was as if his father waited for the family to leave so that he could “pass the torch” to his son. He now had to be the man of the house. It was time for him to now grow up and become the man he knew he could be.
One night, a few months following his father’s death, as Eric struggled with the pain and sorrow of losing the man he looked up to, I played him a song by Pearl Jam - “Man of the Hour”. As the tears streamed down his cheeks, he nodded to every line that Eddie sang. There was a visible connection. After the song ended we hugged and I explained how the music of Pearl Jam helped me through the grieving process when I lost my brother and I hoped it would help him as well.
Soon after, Eric re-enrolled in college and at the age of 30 he finally received the degree his father always wanted him to achieve. Eric continued on and now has a very successful career in real estate and takes care of his Mother. He married a wonderful woman. And this November, just before what would have been his Dad’s 70th Birthday, Eric will become a father for the first time. He too credits the music of Pearl Jam for not only helping him deal with the grief of losing his father, but also giving him the strength to persevere. I am so proud of the man Eric has become and I am so thankful for how much Pearl Jam has helped him. Every year, on the anniversary of his father’s death, Eric listens to “Man of the Hour”.
In just a few short days, Eric will attend his first ever Pearl Jam concert at Wrigley Field (night 2). Although he just played the song last week on the 8th anniversary of his father’s death, I ask that Pearl Jam please play “Man of the Hour” on Monday Night at Wrigley Field. In honor of my best friend, Eric Phelps, and his Father.
Thank you and God Bless,
Rob Lane
P.S. Here's a recent post from Eric:
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