Carpe Diem 11/16/84

This week (unbelievably) marks 25 years since I tragically lost my mom in a plane crash on November 16th 1984
 
My life since then has been blessed with a beautiful happy family, a dream career, health and sobriety...the only thing missing from it has been the joy of being able to share it with my mom...
 
Please learn the valuable lesson that I learned on the afternoon of 11/16/84 (the afternoon of the accident which happened later that night) and tell your loved ones how much you love and cherish them while you still have them...
 
Carpe Diem indeed...
 
 
Andrea "Andi" Held Leone 1944-1984
  
 
"Seize The Day I heard him say
Life will not always be this way
Look around and hear the sounds
Cherish your life while you're still around...."
 
MP
 

Wow, didn't realize it was 25 years ago. My thoughts are with you Mike.
 
Coincidentally I was watching the LSFNY version of ACOS yesterday and the Carpe Diem section gripped me hard, not knowing at all it was the 16th.

I would like to say "my prayers are with you", but I'm not really into that....

so I guess I'll second the above comment, my thoughts are with you Mike, sorry for your loss.


I'll be spinning ACOS tonight

Bolus - I play keyboards, in a band, we make music, it's good when you hear it, ya.

Time And Tension - more delicious prog! yum!

Her spirit carries on...

"When you feel like a fool eating pasta and fazool...you can fu%k off!!" MP 

<------------ Here's the most quoted MP Forumer of all time

Mike I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I didnt know that you lost your mum. I lost my mum in 1999 to pancreatic cancer and I have always felt a small part of me was incomplete. She never saw me graduate, or come to my 21st and I miss her heaps. Somewhere in Heaven they are both happy and healthy and listening to your music. God Speed!!!!

"GIVE ME MY DETONATORS"

Hans Gruber: Best Bad Guy Ever!

Nothing comes to mind that's better than:

"Carpe Diem indeed..."

Sometimes you just don't know what to say.

Ohh wow, I didn't know about this.  You sure deserve the dream career and beautiful family that you now have Mike.  You're an awesome person and please... never change!  

It's easy to forget to call people that we care about, but doing so only takes a couple minutes and really does make your and their day/week/month better. I'm going to go out of my way to call some family and friends this week. Thanks Mike.

It was time, I felt, for an Agonizing Reappraisal of the whole scene.

If somehow somewhere lost mothers and all the loved ones could hear that, they'd be smiling.

Space Station One: your first step in an Odyssey that will take you to the Moon, the planets and the distant stars.

Mike, she would have been SO proud of you !
Maybe she's the angel on your shoulder.....guiding you your way through this life.
 
You're in my thoughts Mike
Caroline

Last saturday it was 15 years (11/14/1994) ago since my mother past away (a rare accelerated form of Alzheimer/Parkinson)... she was only 58.

So yeah, the lyrics of ACOS will always have a special place in my hart because she also died in november. This may sound a little bit strange but your lyrics to ACOS helped me get me through my pain and loss. Another song I always play on 11/14 is Anathema's ''One last Goodbye''. To me still one the best songs Anathema has ever written.

How I needed you
How I bleed now you're gone
In my dreams I see you
I awake so alone

I know you didn't want to leave
Your heart yearned to stay
But the strength I always loved in you
Finally gave way

Somehow I knew you would leave me this way
Somehow I knew you could never stay
And in the early morning light
After a silent peaceful night
You took my heart away
And I grieve

In my dreams I can see you
I can tell you how I feel
In my dreams I can hold you
And it feels so real

I still feel the pain
I still feel your love
I still feel the pain
I still feel your love

And somehow I knew you could never, never stay
And somehow I knew you would leave me
And in the early morning light
After a silent peaceful night
You took my heart away
I wished, I wished you could have stayed...

Carpe Diem

 
  
 
 

Carpe Diem, Mike, from one Motherless (and Fatherless) son to another.....

Some great ´new´ Dutch melodic/symphonic metalbands:
 
http://www.anewdawnband.com
http://www.magionband.com
 
 

thank you, mike. i needed to hear this!

Carpe Diem Mike...her spirit will have guided you and she would be very happy for you.

Hi, my name is Jon but you may call me Frank and I am an alcoholic.

I know how it feels to lose someone in a tragic accident, having watched my 3 year old sister bleed out on the car seat next to me when I was 4 after a drunk driver slammed into us doing 75mph. 

My thoughts are with you, Mike.  Believe me.

Carpe Diem... Seize the day!!!

I'm sorry 'bout your loss! All my good thoughts and energies are with you, Mike! May the peace be with you!!!

  

She is watching you Mike, you know that. She shared every minute of your life with you since she has gone...

"The Lost Voyager" Music project: http://www.myspace.com/thelostvoyager

 "And I know what is like to loose someone you love, and they spoke just the same"

 You have our support, Mike! I lost too many friends this year, and I know what it's like ... It's hard but we need to move forward, and let the ones we love know that we love them, as you said.

 : )

1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 ...

Sending my good vibes your way Mike.

I didn't know the facts about your mom passing either, I can't imagine what it must have been like losing your mother.

I don't know what I'd do without my mother...:-(

  

Carpe Diem, Mike...and thanks for the advice...I'll do it today.

Carpe Diem !

Carpe Diem!

Vegetables and I have a great understanding. I eat them and they come out my asshole a little while later.

-Frank Zappa

All the best Mike, having lost my own Mother I feel your pain and it never gets easier.
Much Love
weez x

http://www.liamgaughan.com/    lost the game?
Production / Performance / Tuition

Carpe Diem

Palpatine's  behind it all!

Didn't know I have the same family name of Mike's mom.
My name's Rafael Machado Leone. Maybe this make us cousins, right Mike?!
Carpe diem!

If I'm a guitar god, then my son would be Jesus, right? That means on the next tour, he'd have to walk on water. (Eddie Van Halen)
http://www.myspace.com/rafaleoni
http://www.twitter.com/rafa_leoni

So true Mike. I lost my mom when I was 17 (32 years ago!) and at the time had a 3 yr old brother and a 2 yr old sister. It was VERY tough. BUT, through all the years after that, I never once missed the opportunity to tell a loved one that I loved them, and still do to this day.
 
all the best,
Mike

I hear ya Mike. My Mom died an astonishing 17 years ago this coming February, and I've often wished I could share my current life with her. She never met/knew my wife, for example. I wish the two of them could get together and make fun of me together, like I know they would. In some ways, I remain resentful at life for not allowing me to spend any time with her as an adult.

And now I watch as my father ages considerably from visit to visit. :(

Carpe Diem indeed.

Like Siamon_1928 wrote, she's still with you Mike, and always will be.

Portnoy

tell your loved ones how much you love and cherish them while you still have them...

Truly words to live by.  Having lost my Mom earlier this year to a battle with cancer, I find myself much more at peace with it knowing I was one of the few family members that was a major part of her life in her final years and telling her how much I loved her every single time I saw her.  Although the rest of my family did get to say their goodbyes before she went, I know they will always regret not being around enough to enjoy what a wonderful, loving person she was.  Life is short, live every day like it's your last - one day, it will be...
 
Positive vibes are with you on this tragic anniversary, Mike!

Portnoy

and tell your loved ones how much you love and cherish them while you still have them...

Indeed, very wise words.

Words to live by, indeed.
 
I can't help but think Asia's song "Extraordinary Life" was influenced by more than John Wetton's sickess in 2007.  I could imagine he had previously listened to A Change Of Seasons.  The liner notes of Asia's Phoenix CD convey how Wetton now lives with a "Carpe Diem" mindset.
 
 
A perfect day
Or so I say
From where
I'm standing
This rollercoaster ride
Fate will decide
The ending

Love everlasting
Or lost on the way
The smiles
And the frowns
The ups and downs
Of fortune turning
The twists and turns
The lessons learned
The bridges burning

Nights to remember
And never forget

Go, seize the day
Wake up and say
This is an
Extraordinary life
Enjoy today
Come what may
This is an
Extraordinary life

I gave it all
My cards have fallen
But I'm still alive
And in the end
Believe my friend
I will survive

Glory and heartache
And some of the joy

Go, seize the day
Wake up and say
This is an
Extraordinary life
Enjoy today
Come what may
This is an
Extraordinary life

All of the good times
And all of the bad
Responsibility is totally
Mine I know
I rightly stand accused
But I believe
That I can change
Yes
I can change my world

Go, seize the day
Wake up and say
This is an
Extraordinary life
Enjoy today
Come what may
This is an
Extraordinary life
 

I think Ill go home today and see my family. Thanks Mike.

Dickinson was later expelled from Oundle for urinating in the headmaster's dinner.
from Bruce Dickinson's Wikipedia article

Portnoy


This week (unbelievably) marks 25 years since I tragically lost my mom in a plane crash on November 16th 1984
 
My life since then has been blessed with a beautiful happy family, a dream career, health and sobriety...the only thing missing from it has been the joy of being able to share it with my mom...
 
Please learn the valuable lesson that I learned on the afternoon of 11/16/84 (the afternoon of the accident which happened later that night) and tell your loved ones how much you love and cherish them while you still have them...
 
Carpe Diem indeed...
 
 
Andrea "Andi" Held Leone 1944-1984
  
 
"Seize The Day I heard him say
Life will not always be this way
Look around and hear the sounds
Cherish your life while you're still around...."
 
MP
 

Oh my God... I didn't even know that! I thought ACOS was about your grandmother! Good God...
 
My thoughts are with you. There's a big layer of dust on ACOS, but I'll be playing it sometime today.

I bet you wherever she is right now, she's prouder than anyone alive is of you.  You've done a marvelous job leading your life and inspiring others as well as shaping yourself to be the wonderful person that you were and continue to be which is something im sure she strived for and obviouslly succeeded in.
 
She's never gone until you forget about her, and i doubt that'll ever happen because you love her about as much as she loves you.  You're family, one of the very few things that lasts the test of time.
 
I have not heard ACOS in a while.  Today's a great day for that  =)

Carpe Diem indeed. Thanks for sharing the story Mike.

It's difficult when your parents can't share in the important moments in your life. I have personally experienced that as well. I'm sure she would have been proud, but it doesn't change the fact that she is not around to participate. My way of dealing with the situation has been to focus on being there for my family and being the best I can for them. I prefer not to look back, but it is certainly difficult sometimes.

I would imagine that it makes you feel somewhat better to share the story with so many people and have the cathartic release of performing ACOS to relive her memory. I know that would be a pretty cool thing if it were me!

I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Francis Hopkinson, March 13, 1789

Pursue your loves in life and carpe diem!

Niek_pas

Portnoy


This week (unbelievably) marks 25 years since I tragically lost my mom in a plane crash on November 16th 1984
 
My life since then has been blessed with a beautiful happy family, a dream career, health and sobriety...the only thing missing from it has been the joy of being able to share it with my mom...
 
Please learn the valuable lesson that I learned on the afternoon of 11/16/84 (the afternoon of the accident which happened later that night) and tell your loved ones how much you love and cherish them while you still have them...
 
Carpe Diem indeed...
 
 
Andrea "Andi" Held Leone 1944-1984
  
 
"Seize The Day I heard him say
Life will not always be this way
Look around and hear the sounds
Cherish your life while you're still around...."
 
MP
 

Oh my God... I didn't even know that! I thought ACOS was about your grandmother! Good God...
 
My thoughts are with you. There's a big layer of dust on ACOS, but I'll be playing it sometime today.

Not sure why, but I thought this too when I first heard the song. Sadly, of course, it's about Mike's mom who passed in a small, private plane crash. I once read that the pilot suffered a heart attack as the plane was close to landing (not sure of how true that is). Four people, including Mike's mom, perished that night. May they all rest in eternal peace.

Having lost both my folks and my youngest son, I know all too well.
A person lives on  for as long as one carries their memory.
My thoughts are with you Mike.

If there ain't no gold at the end of the rainbow, I'll settle for the pot

It seems boring to me to write another "My thoughts are with you"...but with this kind of things I never know what to say.....so.....
My thoughts are with you Mike!

and clearly I'll hear the masterpiece ACOS one more time tonight

Gluten-free power!!!

That's why Carpe Diem is now tattooed forever onto my forarms. To tell everyone that you have no idea what's going to happen next and to live for today, not the past, or future.

www.youtube.com/GonzoDrummer27

And you are older now than she was when she passed

Very sad

Ebay listings http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/thefunkygibbons/
Silver bootleg and other sales www.thefunkygibbons.net

Yeah... 40 years - she'd live and live(((

MP tells right things. Unfortunatley, almost everyone of us forgot about this(((
 because we realize value of something only when we lost it(((((

Carpe Diem!!!!

Carpe Diem man! I couldn't be more on the mark this month Mike.

MP, your strength is an inspiration.

My teeth taste funny today... They seem more jagged than normal...

Thanks for the reminder.  A good friend of mine is about to lose his father to cancer any day now and it does make you pause and think about the ones you love. My friend's father hired me and I worked for him for about five years. I spent a lot more time with his father in the those five years than I have with my own father in the past 25 years. It's going to be a sad day indeed. 

http://www.cyberrentals.com/rental/p120774

Hey Mike, I don't know how far you'll make it down this thread, but I just wanted to tell you that this year marked a milestone for me too.  Fifteen years ago, my brother was killed in a car accident at the age of 17 on 10/11/94, which was exactly a week to the day after "Awake" was released, (which was still enough time for him to figure out Space Dye Vest perfectly on the piano)   You were one of his biggest drum heros and inspirations.   He even played "Ytse Jam" in a band at a church carnival in the spring of 1991.  We first discovered your music through a family friend who was a student of JP's...  I love being a Long Islander sometimes.  The few short years we had together enjoying your music helped bring us close together, and to this day whenever I listen to DT, I feel his presence.   Long story short, thanks for everything.  

"Death is but a door, time is but a window. I'll be back" -Vigo The Carpathian (1505-1610)

I didn't know she was so young.

I still have my parents so I wont pretend to know what it's like.

I´ll be listening to ACOS as soon as I have a chance though.

That was a very powerful post Mike. Thanks for reminding me that I shouldn't take my loved ones for granted.

All the best.

And she couldn't have been more proud. Guaranteed.

"He's such a perfectionist. Such a fucking monster musician."  - Geddy Lee on Neil Peart

thanks a lot for saying this words to us Mike, your Friends and Fans... 

in my personal situation, im a Fan and a i appreciate a lot how you share your life with us... most of us apreciate this a lot, because almost all of us we know you first are a HUMAN like us, then the drummer of our favorite band... 


Thanks for your words and for trust us your memories, very deep memories, very beautyfull memories...

Thanks for all mike... its true... i have my two parents alive and i need to share more time with them because, we dont know how much time we or them have... THANKS BRO!!!!

HENRY MELKOR

My thoughts are with you MP...

Thank you for the inspiration!

CARPE DIEM!

I went on a short grocery run yesterday and knew it wouldn't take more than about 20 minutes, so queued A Change Of Seasons on the ol' iPod, not knowing the significance of the date.  First time I'd listened to it in ages and I just happen to pick yesterday.

It's very sad that such beautiful music finds its origins in such a tragic event. 

Mike, thank you for being such a inspiring ugy and wonderful person, I appreciate so much your music, but I even appreciate more this kind of ocasions where you show us humanity, love and your inmense willing to share with your fans what you've learned among the years.

Thanks Mike, and I'm so thankful to know about you, Dream Theater and all of the things you among your music have taught us. 

Carpe Diem!

Mike Portnoy on "The Best of Times" :

"Remember Seize the Day!"

Gravy


And she couldn't have been more proud. Guaranteed.

Quoted for truth.

Im sorry Mike. Im lucky to have both parents still. But Im sure when it's their time (or mine...) They wont want to me to be saddened by their departure. Remembering them with a smile.


I hope that whenever you remember either of your parents, do it with a smile because Im sure that's what they wanted for you to be happy.


I know it sounds corny, but my sincere thoughts.


"Move on be brave don't weep on my grave just because I'm no longer here"

My deepest sympathies on a sad anniversary.

Baldrick, what begins with "Come here" and ends with "Ow"?

Great words Mike, thank you.

Carpe Diem

Thanks Mike. Ever since ACOS came out and I got the message from the song, I never leave my wife and kids without telling them I love them.
Now, with TBOT, we are reminded to communicate with loved ones before it's too late. Realize Mr. Portnoy, that you have changed many peoples lives with your wisdom.

eviljake360


MP, your strength is an inspiration.

I wish I could be as strong as you, MP!

4 - 8 - 15 - 16 - 23 - 42 - Are you lost??

Damn , you were my age when you lost you mom ..I don't knwo what I would do if something like that happened ..Glad that you wrote the best Dt song about her : it's the best tribute you could do .
Glad also you're one of my favorite drummer and musician ever , and that you're such an inspiration for a lot of things in my life .

Gab

PEW-PEW-PEW! Bing-badang! Slabadapatow-sling-bing!

Unbelievable indeed how time flies. Sometimes it feels like (sad) events like these just happened yesterday… The more time passes by, the more you need to tell the people you have been missing for so long. I hope your mom somehow witnessed your happiness & success after she had passed, Mike.
I know you dedicated this to your dad, but ‘Your Spirit Guides My Life Each Day’  really means a lot…
 
~ Carpe Diem ~

Congratulations on being able to overcome this and live such an awesome life, Mike!

  Sad anniversary. Thank u for sharing this with us.

 I still have my parents but  I have lost all my grand parents and the
two grand aunts that were 4 me like my grandmothers (my
father´s mother died when he was 10 years old while
giving birth to my uncle) I miss them still.

 My father remembers little of his mother (a friend of
mine that is a psycologist told me that maybe his brain
blocked the memories to block the pain of her loss).
I see that sometimes when he looks at us hugging  my mother
he has a sad look in his eyes.

I´m a woman and I L O V E Progressive Rock (in all its variants) by my own volition, thank you...now back to our regular programming.
"Music needs to be loved, music is art, without love it is meaningless and meaningless art is not art." Perttu Kivilaakso.
"OH MY GOD! This is way more intense than a G3 and much more sexy" Me at Apocalyptica concert.

My thoughts are with you Mike.

Played ACOS today, Carpe Diem indeed.  I wish I could instill some Carpe Diem into my father.  He appears to have given up on living after my mom got breast cancer.

I've been having trouble trying to schedule a trip across the country to visit my mom with things so crazy at work, using up a lot of sick time already, heading into winter, etc.
 
This thread has helped me reset my priorities.

Never got to ACOS yesterday, but just fired it up. It's funny how a personal connection to a song (through the writer's relation of his experience) can enhance the listener's experience. ACOS was my favorite DT song before I had a clue what it was about, and learning about the details just makes it that much more intense, especially since I lost my Dad at 16. so I can relate.

Even cooler is that my 9 year old son just walked into the room, heard ACOS and started air drumming and rocking out. He's been getting into a lot of DT lately and exploring other music as well. It's neat to see your kids learn to appreciate the things you hold dear and enjoy them as much as you do.

I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Francis Hopkinson, March 13, 1789

Mike,

Thanks for your message.  I'm taking your advice and I'm going to go spend the rest of the evening with my wife and kids instead of working all night like I usually do.  I think I'll call my mom as well.  But first, I logged in to write something very specific so here it is:

I just wanted to say how much I enjoy the documentaries you've been attaching to your products.  In the past few years I find myself buying DT cds and dvds not only for the music, but for the entire experience of being "let" into the studio or backstage through your film footage.  When I see the logistical and managerial efforts put in by you, the rest of the band, and your entire team it is inspiring to me.  When I'm feeling overwhelmed or stressed, watching one of your tour documentaries makes what I need to accomplish in a day seem easy and trivial.  It also makes me appreciate the music that much more.  I'm sure you work hard to produce and direct these things so I just wanted to let you know that it's not going unnoticed.  The commentaries, documentaries, stage tours, studio tours, etc., are very educational and enlightening about what it takes to do what you guys do.  Thanks for adding those little bonuses to your products and thanks for sharing your life and experiences with us here on the forum.               

Thoughts and prayers are with you, Mike.  She lives forever in your heart.

My thoughts and prayers are with you Mike!

on the way to and from footy training tonight me and 2 friends listened to a change of seasons in the car... and i logged onto the forums to read this thread.

I lost my mother that very same year, Mike.  Granted, I was only 7 at the time, but the loss still hurts me.  A Change Of Seasons is easily one of my favorite DT songs of all time.  Not just musically, but lyrically as well.  One of the most inspiring songs you've ever written.  My heart goes out to you, sir.  Thank you for making music that has touched me in my life.  I can't thank you enough.

"Move on, be brave,
Don't weep at my grave
Because I am no longer here.
Please never let your memory of me disappear."

Death has done her work this morning Cutting me back down to size. Frozen in this winter warning Gentle in its own demise.

WOW I didn't realize thanks for the great advice!!!! Its so true....!!!

EPOCH  The Ones  ME
Heavy is my heart but it's alright

A bit late, but Carpe Diem indeed and R.I.P. She would be proud of you.