FIHL & Friends Urged to Keep Wayne in their Thoughts

Wayne Barrett of the Ratz Undergoes Serious Operation Nov. 21, 2008Group Picture from November 2007

Blacks Harbour, NB - It was almost a year ago to the day that the FIHL and friends of the FIHL gathered at the Fundy Arena to offer their support to Ratz star Wayne Barrett. Now today he is faced yet another obstacle that is just another in a series that he has gone through. He is undergoing an operation to remove the cancer that has plagued him for a long time. The players and friends of the FIHL are once asked to keep him in your thoughts and prayers and help him fight this powerful enemy. An enemy that wins too often and hopefully, with help Wayne can slay it once and for all.

Here is the write that FIHL alumni member Neville Crabbe wrote in the Saint Croix Courier a year ago.

Hockey buddies support player in cancer fight
Fundy League unites to help Barrett

By NEVILLE CRABBE
sports@stcroixcourier.ca

BLACKS HARBOUR – Players and supporters of the Fundy Industrial Hockey League rallied on Tuesday night in support of an original Bonny River Rat, Wayne Barrett, who was scheduled to begin cancer treatment on Wednesday.
All players signed a giant card emblazoned with pictures of better times that was presented to Barrett by longtime teammate Mark Taylor as part of a care package that included $1,100 pooled together from the five teams and a bottle of Rat Poison, the original Bonny River fightin' wine.
The Blacks Harbour Silverkings, of whom Barrett is a dedicated fan, attending all home and road games, have announced they will donate a portion of their weekly 50/50 draw to ease his trying situation.
Addressing the crowd, Taylor said cancer is something that affects everyone and read an original poem, Hockey Buddies, which appears below. Later, in an e-mail to all FIHL personnel, Taylor praised the collective effort toward this worthy cause.
"I have always said that sports are an excellent place to meet people and to forge new friendships. That was very evident last night. People from all over, young and old, stood united to show Wayne they cared and would not let him go it alone."
After an ovation of clattering sticks slapping the ice the dozens people present lined single file and went past Barrett shaking his hand and wishing him luck in the tough fight that lies ahead.


Hockey Buddies
By MARK TAYLOR

Your hockey buddies are always around,
Whether you’re on the ice or cruising in town,
Sometimes you think they’re all half-baked,
But they’re always there with a roll of tape.

There’s no finer place to get a laugh,
It’s better than a fart while taking a bath,
And now that we’re all super-sizing our gear,
It’s time to sit and swill a few cold beer.

Nobody cries when we don’t win,
Now it usually gets a great big grin,
Because it’s not awards that we’re all after,
It’s all about the sweat and laughter.

When you get involved in a great big fight,
And you are going at it with all your might,
And you think that life just isn’t fair,
You just reach out and we’ll all be there.