[BobbyB]

Disease hasn't stolen Mike Blanton's spirit


Bill Kirby



Blanton
Brittany Blanton says there is no one quite like her Uncle Michael.

“He has helped me with so much,” she says, “and is leaving such an impact on my life.”

She describes her uncle as wonderful.

She describes her uncle as inspirational.

“So many people of all ages have been affected by him and all he does,” says the 17-year-old senior at Reid Ross Classical High School.

Something else, she says.

“If you haven’t heard,” Brittany says, “ he has been diagnosed with ALS — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. From what I understand, you know my uncle.”

Yes, dear, I know your uncle and have for almost 45 years.

You love him.

And I can assure you, Brittany, he loves you back.

And, yes, I am honored to tell the story of this good man, the oldest of six children born to Nathan “Bill” and Evelyn Blanton 60 years ago. He was the older sibling that younger brothers David, Durant and Mark looked up to and the big brother who would always be there to watch out for sisters Dyann and Marilyn. He was the grandson who would mean so much to Lattie Blanton, who lived just up the way from Mintz Mill Road.

Growing up
Mike Blanton grew up in a red-brick house with a flat roof, near the U.S. 401 Bypass, where he came to love horses almost as much as jumping in the back seat of the family car and heading to the Dairy Queen for the soft ice cream with the twirl on top.

He attended Seventy-First High.

He was a football player.

He was an attentive student.

He was popular with his friends, and a lowly freshman or sophomore was as important to him as those in his 1965 senior class. He married Renate Stamey, his high school sweetheart, and they had two sons.

I lost track of Mike Blanton for close to 30 years.

I knew he worked with a heating and air company, later with the telephone company and eventually got into real estate.

I knew that he and Renate went their separate ways, but that they remained the best of friends, and I and others knew they would be.

I began running in to Mike Blanton again in the late 1990s, when we’d see one another at the local dance club, where he could Carolina shag with the best of ’em.

He was confident.

He was smooth.

His footwork was precise.

“I remember that I used to dance with Mike some,” Chris Hilliard says. “I’m short, and when he would pivot with me, he’d just pick me up and my feet wouldn’t even touch the floor. He was so much fun to dance with.”

Cathy Jackson would win his heart.

She liked to dance.

She liked to dance with Mike Blanton.

“We took lessons from Don Bunn and Beverly Lewis and AC and Cathy Williams,” Cathy Blanton says. “Our annual trip to the Grand National Shag and Swing competition — just to watch, not compete — in Atlanta was a highlight of each year. We competed in several amateur contests, even winning one.”

They married in 1999.

They found their dream home in the Country Club North/Hillendale neighborhood and staged their wedding in the backyard — his favorite place.

He planted Japanese maples, hostas, roses and day lilies, but the maples were his pride.

He enjoyed watching the ducks and the geese that would roam around the Koi — the pond where Clyde and Evelyn, his beloved swans, delighted Mike Blanton.

“Most people have dogs or cats,” Cathy Blanton says amusingly. “We have swans.”

Life was good.

Until January of this year, when a neurologist suspected ALS, and three months later confirmed Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Today, Mike Blanton is confined to a wheelchair.

He has lost the use of his arms.

His ability to speak is impaired.

He lives by a feeding tube.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a mean-spirited disease, one without a conscience.

It has taken the lives of Lou Gehrig and Jim “Catfish’’ Hunter, the baseball hall of famers; actor David Niven; boxing champion Ezzard Charles; golf caddie Bruce Edwards; and Steve Carlin, the Fayetteville native who fought so bravely to bring attention and hope for a cure.

“Throughout all of this,” Cathy Blanton says, “we have been blessed with the wonderful support of family, friends, church, co-workers and our beloved Fayetteville Area Shag Association group.”

Friends such as James McLamb, Dwayne Baggett and John Wheelous are often at their friend’s side.

“Our four sons have worked diligently to make sure their dad is taken care of,” Cathy Blanton says, “and even Mike’s former wife has come to stay with him during the day while I work full time.”

‘We’ve got your back’
Reluctantly, I took on a community responsibility in March, and my friend Mike Blanton was there.

“I’ve taken on a lot of financial responsibility, Mike,” I said. “I hope I can pull it off.”

Mike Blanton looked up from his wheelchair, where he was surrounded by his wife, family and friends.

“Don’t worry, Billy,” he said. “We’ve got your back.”

Mike Blanton kept his promise.

Mike Blanton kept his word.

I knew Mike Blanton would.

Miss Lattie, his grandmother, would have had it no other way.

“Throughout all of this” Cathy Blanton says, “we have come to realize just how precious life is and how precious family and good friends are. This has been a long ordeal for us, but our friends and family have remained constant with their care, love, concern and support. You truly come to know who you are and who you can count on. The comment that I hear repeatedly from friends is, ‘no matter how hard it gets, Mike always greets them with a smile.’ They are truly amazed at his attitude. He still wants to go and participate in whatever we can. We are truly blessed.”

And all of us are blessed because Mike Blanton has taken the time to know our lives, our hopes, our dreams ... and call us his friend.

Columnist Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at kirbyb@fayobserver.com or 323-4848, ext. 486.
http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=279144