594 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 80 PART 4 JULY 2022
see who could be first, while Mike, only five years old, hung back a moment
and then said, “Jesus Christ, that’s a lot of stairs for such a quick ride down.”
Dave engages life to the fullest, and from an early age had only one volume
and one speed: loud and fast. He therefore demanded the most attention
from his parents, just to keep an eye on him. Competition for attention
became tougher when Mike and Alison arrived. The two were frequently
referred to collectively as “the twins” and embraced this singleton vision of
themselves wholeheartedly. This coupling suited Mike just fine, as he preferred
a quieter existence and loved to read and had a great imagination. He
was the brains and planner of the duo, and Alison was the spokesperson.
With this arrangement, Mike had no need to talk, as the two were convinced
they were one person and did everything together. It was not until grade 3
that the teachers became concerned that the apportionment of responsibilities
might be affecting Mike’s learning. After much testing, it turned out
that he was actually quite intelligent and well above average in all categories;
he just had not seen the need up until that point to demonstrate his
knowledge or to talk, for that matter, as that was Alison’s job. With this newfound
information, Mike and Alison were separated at school, and Mike has
not stopped succeeding, or talking, on his own terms since.
As mentioned before, the members of the Thomas family were highly
competitive, constantly trying to best each other. Rather than having a
friendly tennis match, it was a Thomas Family Tournament. Dave and Alison
embraced the competition, usually organized by Mary, wholeheartedly.
With his calm and measured wisdom, Mike, so much like Howie, preferred
to use his brain rather than his brawn to win the challenge at hand. He was
drawn toward books and reading, and often when he got tired of the antics
and loudness of the family and the endless frenzied competitions, he would
retreat to the bathtub to read his books in peace, for hours in his sanctuary.
Mike has never really come to terms with the limitations of his physical
being. No stranger to plaster, he would break a bone, continue skiing for a
week, finally get his injury investigated, and find out he had been skiing
with a broken thumb for a week. With dogged perseverance, he liked to push
his body to the limits while trying something new, such as an off-piste ski
trail, a new mountain bike route through the mountains or a cool run in the
wilderness. He spent the summer between his undergraduate and graduate
studies mountain bike racing on the National Off-Road Bicycle Associate circuit,
where he gained the nickname “Rhino” in recognition of the path of
destruction left behind by his downhill charges. Often his recreational activities
would lead to some unexpected mishap or misadventure, usually
immortalized in stories that got wilder and taller with each telling. His resist-