Kenneth Paul Salvini was a typical young man until February 11, 2004.
He was 23 when he flew off a defectively designed and constructed
ski jump in the terrain park at Washington state's Summit at Snoqualmie.
While this new life is one he was not looking forward to, it led him to
many people and experiences he might not have otherwise come across.
Kenny landed an agent and completed a writing workshop.
He hopes to one day publish a book about his life.
Kenny Salvini's Blog
Kenny on Video (at 14:40)
Brief Time, Long-Term Effect
"go big or go home." If something seemed a little bit crazy, Kenny was
your man to do it. I began skiing at the tender age of three years old,
and by the age of 23, I had long since surpassed the label of expert.
On February 11, 2004, my dad and I, along with a few friends, went out night
skiing as we did every Wednesday. The place we go to is a group of four
different resorts. The night began at one, but a chairlift broke forcing us
to relocate. The place we ended up at had one of those x-game-type
terrain parks. I had ridden on it a few times that year,
and felt completely comfortable with it. more
Clarification
that once-in-a-lifetime? That one true love of my life? Looking back...
I would say that it's EASILY possible. Where to start? The beginning,
I suppose. I knew I wanted to keep her in my life forever the first night
we met... and she felt the same. We had each held respective crushes
for one another for some time, and once we met... fireworks. We instantly
became "that couple." You know those couples. The ones that make everyone
equally jealous and nauseated simultaneously? That was us. She was the most
beautiful, passionate, and full of life person I had ever met. She brought
out the best in me, ALWAYS. She made me feel invincible. Five and a half
months after our first kiss, disaster struck. more
Because Everyone Else Has One...
And I Want To Be COOL!
college named after my favorite SNL Celebrity Jeopardy skit of all time.
2. When I was in eighth grade, I landed TWO supporting roles in the final play
of the year for my drama class: a belligerent cowboy in the hospital, and a
senile old man in a wheelchair. I shit you not. Talk about some serious
foreshadowing... more
Crosses to Bear
And although mine is a rather heavy load, I try to carry it as quietly as
possible. But sometimes you buckle under the weight, and just want to scream.
This is me screaming/venting... They say that everything happens for reason.
Is this my purpose? Is this going to be my job for life? A muse?
An inspiration to the masses? Am I just a web site that reminds people to
appreciate their lives? more
Realness and Weakness
Yes, there's the argument that we all need a higher education, to get better
jobs, to be more successful, and blah blah blah. That's crap. Yes, it's good
to learn a thing or two about a thing or two, but the most important thing is
the experience. The freedom to find out who you really are. The hundreds of
people you meet that otherwise you may have never had a chance to.
For me, all it took to make my college experience worthwhile was making
one particular friend. more
The Best Man
my sophomore year as I wandered in to Hebeler Hall on the southwest corner
of Central Washington University. My mission? To apply for acceptance into
the Electronics Engineering Technology (EET) major. My motivation?
Not exactly academic: I was about to enter my third season of wrestling and
needed to have a major declared in order to maintain my NCAA eligibility.
When my dad had mentioned electronics, it seemed just challenging enough
to keep me from sleeping through the rest of school.
more
Make Your Mark
high on a cocktail of morphine and Ativan (breakfast of champions), when
my buddy Big Jim walked in. Yep, you read correct... my hospital room.
Around 11 o'clock one Saturday last month, I started to get the chills,
but didn't think much of it. Just wrap me up in some warm towels, and call
it good, right? Wrong. An hour later, I was rocking a fever of 104° with a
mean case of the shakes while throwing up like a champion. Sweet.
The last time I had similar symptoms, it was 5 a.m. on Christmas morning
two years ago, when Santa, the bastard, left a nice, neat little emergency
kidney stone surgery in my stocking (not to mention three more scattered
over the next few months). Good times.
more
Whiskey and Burgers
rancid taste out of my mouth. I silently curse Jack Daniel's and In-N-Out
Burger simultaneously, because they were equally responsible for my little
rendezvous with the porcelain gods. Yeah, like both were forced down my
throat the night before. Why had I drank so much last night? And who in the
hell thought it was a good idea to make our flight home at six in the morning
on Sunday? The single thing that frustrates me most in that moment, is the
fact that I barely have a recollection of the fun I had the night before
that warranted said hangover... more
Reason to Believe
happened this past week, so please excuse my upcoming long-windedness.
George Carlin once said that, "inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist."
Well, after spending the near entirety of my adult life in The Bush Era,
governed by the politics of Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, it should come as no
surprise that I have viewed government, and our system as a whole, with a
cynical pair of LASIK-corrected eyes. But after witnessing what went down in
our nation's capital on Tuesday, it's hard not to be slightly buzzed on a
cocktail of pride and optimism over what took place. more
Well, Well, Well...
sign everyone! Oh yeah, that's right... it's boycotting time! It's nice to
see that I'm not the only one noticing how out of hand things are getting
on this thing. I've tried and tried to suppress that alter ego of mine
from spouting off about things, but I just can't hold him back anymore.
I was going to write something sarcastic about the way things have blown up
on this thing anyways because of the fact that I crossed a half a million
hits tonight at 7 p.m. (isn't that insanely absurd?) This just gives me
more ammunition. It's gone on long enough, it's time I spoke up. more
Bad Side of a Great Sport
search for the snooze button. Never a morning person, he has to set his
alarm extra early each morning, hitting snooze a few times before finally
rising. Just one more day, he thinks to himself. A little over seven pounds
left. His stomach churns, voicing its displeasure with him for being empty.
Why do I do this to myself again? Because you want to be the best, his
subconscious answers. Yeah, that and you are too short for basketball,
not to mention a terrible shot. Even his subconscious was a smart ass
in the morning. more
Stumbling Around in Time
capacitor with 1.21 gigawatts. Theodore Logan and Bill S. Preston Esq.
commandeered a magical phone booth, with George Carlin as their tour guide
no less. Hell, all Peggy Sue needed was a bump on the head. Since the dawn
of speculation, great thinkers and morons alike have contemplated the
possibility of time travel. Though we all make our best efforts to live a
life without regret, it seems that everyone has at least one moment that,
given a second chance, we would do differently. And of course, there is
always that partial criminal idiot in all of us that would do exactly what
Biff did in the second installment of Back to the Future. more
Two Years
without actually moving. Now, it's understandable that people might assume
that this particular day would be one of my worst. Not really the case, though.
I'm not sure about anyone else in situations like mine, but the actual
anniversary date doesn't mean a whole lot to me. It's not as though I woke up
this morning and said, "Holy balls! I've been paralyzed for two years!"
Not so much. Just because I crossed two years today, doesn't mean it didn't
feel like two years two months ago. I don't need a certain date to remind me
of how long it's been. more
When You Sleep Just to Dream...
It was only a dream? But it seemed so real! Every image so clear.
Every smell distinct. Every feeling so intense. You try to will yourself
back to sleep and continue dreaming, because you know it has worked on a
few occasions. You just need a few more minutes inside that moment. But
this morning sides with the majority, and you just can't. You lay there
in bed, savoring the echo of another perfect dream... more
An Evolution of Faith
I was 16, I think I had MAYBE been to church on a Sunday half a dozen times.
The only reason I went those times was because I made the mistake of
staying over at a friends house on a Saturday night. So pretty much, I grew
up without God, and I think that was downright instrumental in the way my
faith would come to evolve. Because I had never been force-fed beliefs as a
child, I was able to be completely objective when my crossroads with God
came to a head. more
What's in a Name?
doesn't really have a particular ring to it. Remember growing up when it
seemed like your name just wasn't cool enough? Didn't matter how different
your name was, it was never different enough. If you were a Travis, you
wanted to be a Jake... Lindsay's wanted to be Amber's. Everyone wanted a
different name at some point... everyone but me, for many reasons. more
Stealing Someone Else's Words
spent the last couple days (without sleep) trying to find the right words to
commemorate today. I never would have thought they would show up secondhand in
an e-mail my mom sent out to friends and loved ones this evening. Enjoy...
more
Paving the Way
umm... err... rephrase: Raise your eyebrow if you are a younger sibling.
There, that's better. For those of you that raised... something (like me),
you know exactly what I speak of today. You were always the "Little (insert
last name)." Always referred to as " So-and-So's little brother/sister."
No matter where you went, people already knew who you were. And nine times
out of 10, these people would have already formulated opinions on you, based
on the person that came before you, right or wrong. Depending on who it was
that came before you, these opinions could be positive or negative.
Lucky for me, the road ahead of me was paved with love and gold. more
Intensive(ly) (S)care(d)
begins to fade. Just before going, you catch yourself wondering if the
sign above the door read Emergency Room, or Torture Chamber. Most of the
next week or so is blurred by a morphine haze. Everything flashes in one
minute intervals. Intubation tubes down your throat making you gag.
Your entire college wrestling team in your hospital room, cheering
you on as you fight to get off the ventilator, and ultimately fail.
Your best friend from elementary school, and his wife you had never met.
A teammate from high school. You only remember a few people, but they
later tell you that more than 350 people came to see you, something the
hospital officials had never seen before. more
Not Just Another Day
to myself, the helicopter blades beating their rhythmic cadence all around
my lifeless body as the medevac carved its way through the night sky on its
way to Harborview Medical Center. Barely able to breathe and slipping in and
out of consciousness, I was sure that I had broken my back at the very least.
There was no brightly lit tunnel or lifetime slide show presented in
lightspeed, just an overwhelming sense of peace. I didn't need some dramatic
review of my 23 plus years to be confident I'd done my best the whole way,
so as the wind howled in my ears I mouthed four inaudible words:
okay God, I'm ready. more
Happy Birthday
(I mean, of all the saints that could be honored). Most of us think it
has something to do with snakes in Ireland, anyhow. It's mainly the day
that gives that annoying kid in class an excuse to be even more of a nuisance,
and the party crowd a reason to drink themselves EXTRA retarded off
odd colored drinks. For me, however, March 17th means something else
entirely. It represents a birthday that was never celebrated...
a person I'll never meet. more
and family every day exactly what they mean to you. Enjoy the smallest things
in life. Give someone a hug. High five somebody. Go to the beach. Walk under the stars.
Walk in the rain. Make a snow angel. Play a board game. Make someone a CD.
Take a road trip. Go to a ballgame. Have a drink, but don't waste time being wasted,
life is better experienced without an altered state of consciousness.
Be a crying shoulder. Play with the little ones in the family. Tell a joke.
Give someone a piggy-back ride. Play outside. Be early. Run late. Sleep in.
Get dressed up. Take long showers. Watch movies. Go out to dinner. Order out.
Watch a sunrise. Marvel at a sunset. Go to the ocean. Learn something new.
Spend some money on yourself. Spoil a kid. Make time for you. Go to church.
Write down your thoughts. Meet new people. Laugh at yourself. Go camping.
Travel the world. Don't hold grudges. Go bowling. See a show. Feel the grass under
your feet. Take a swim. Play on a swing. Never stop learning. Wear pajamas all day.
Complement someone. Smile. Say hi to someone you don't know. Read a book.
Go for a drive. Build something. Tell a secret. Spoil dinner.
Have a slurpee. Surprise someone. Surprise yourself.
The person that gets you in every way imaginable. The person that,
when you're with them, the whole world disappears.
Be open to finding them in the place you would never expect.
Once you find them, give them your heart. Cherish them for who they are,
and don't try to change them. Stay up all night, just talking.
Don't ever fight dirty, it only leaves things to be regretted.
Be honest with them always. If they know your deepest, darkest secrets and
still love you, that means they are the one. Never go to bed angry.
Keep them on the front of your mind, and the tip of your tongue at all times.
Talk on the phone for hours, like in junior high. Open up to them.
Make love, anytime, anywhere. Make them the most important thing in your life,
and they will reciprocate. Always, ALWAYS carry yourself in their absence
as you would in their presence. Never give up on them. Stay at their side, through
thick and thin. Never be complacent in your relationship. There's always something
new to learn about the person, and a new way to show them you love them.
and inside than anyone on the planet. And tell her you think that of her.
Make her feel like the queen of the world. Give her flowers, not on Valentine's Day,
not on her birthday, on some random Thursday when she won't expect it.
Never miss a chance to tell her what she means to you. Pull her close at night.
Remember what she wore the night you met. Study her eyes, they could be the softest brown,
or the most electric green, but they are unique to her and are beautiful regardless.
Tell her that you miss her. Hold her face when you kiss her. Brush her hair.
Pick her up and swing her around when she hugs you. Find the most unthinkable way to
show her that you love her. Pay attention to everything she says. Cook for her,
mac'n'cheese or fillet mignon, she won't care. Surprise her with something she always
wanted but never got. Do not get jealous. Trust her completely. Always pay.
Don't back down from showing her affection anywhere. Complement her on the way she looks,
every single day. Take her dancing. Be her rock. Give her the life she always dreamed of,
no matter what the cost. No matter how tough she is, always treat her as the most fragile thing ever.
Make it so all girls are jealous of her. Give her space when she needs it.
Take note of everything she likes, and dislikes; favorite food, favorite song, favorite place, etc.
Bring her breakfast in bed. Plan ahead, the more thought she sees that you put into something,
the more she will appreciate it. Go shopping with her, and pretend you like it.
Come to terms with the fact that she IS more important than your boys.
Think before you speak. Tell her "I love you" like it's going out of style.
Let him do all of the above. Realize, that to an extent, all guys are the same.
We are all dumb, clumsy, insecure, jealous idiots. So don't settle for just any one of us.
But, when you find the right one, he will treat you right. Even though we tend to fumble through
our words, try to keep sight of our good intentions. Jealousy and insecurity come quickly
and naturally to us, so find ways to make him know that he is your one and only.
But understand that our hearts are probably even more fragile than yours are. Call him
"your man." We love that. Greet him with a big hug and a kiss every time he walks through the door.
Only dance with him, and no one else. Help him shop for clothes, we don't care how we look,
and whatever looks good to you, looks good to us. Make him feel more important than anyone else.
Come up behind him and give him a hug. Wake him up with a kiss.
Let him do little things for you, like hang a shelf or work on your car, it sounds dorky,
but he lives for it. Be patient with him, because he is kinda like a little kid.
Laugh at his jokes. Pretend to be interested in his stupid stories. As tough as we are,
we really depend on your support. Bury your face in his chest.
Tell him what you need, we are terrible at figuring that out.
Spend time with him. Tell him you love him EVERY day.
More Than Eyes
They always told me that my eyes came from you.
I will readily argue that I got so much more.
I say I got your humor. Dry at times, sarcastic most, we both have the
ability to bring laughter to all we meet.
I say I got your looks. I mean, come on, couple of handsome devils here!
Always a success with the ladies. more