It's August. It’s Hot…muggy…dirty…and I hate it. Hate is a very strong word but when it comes down to the month of August, I hate it with all my heart. Don’t like to use the word “hate” but in this situation I have to. Why do I hate August? August was the month when Officer Michael Ceriale was killed in the line of duty. On August 15th, 1998 Officer Michael Ceriale was working undercover conducting narcotics surveillance at the Robert Taylor homes. During the surveillance, Officer Ceriale was spotted by the offenders who entered a nearby apartment building and informed one of the gang's "security guards," a 16-year-old juvenile. Michael chased this 16 year old gang member through the yards of the Robert Taylor homes. He chased the kid through a couple of bushes. The moment he got out, the young punk pulled out a gun and shot Officer Ceriale right below his bulletproof vest.
“Officer down, Officer down” was yelled out on the police dispatch. Officer Michael Ceriale was brought to Chicago Memorial Hospital where he was in a coma for 6 days. Family members and fellow officers hoped and prayed for a quick recovery. Almost the entire city of Chicago donated blood to the fallen Officer. It was a long and tough battle. But on August 21st 1998, Officer Michael Ceriale passed away at the age of 26. The Battle was lost.The City of Chicago lost a great police officer that day. Over the years, streets, softball tournaments, parks, horses just to name a few have all been dedicated to Michael’s memory. Speeches have been made on how great Michael was as Police Officer. He was someone who wanted to be a cop ever since he was 5 years old when his mother took a picture of him in front of a Chicago police car while pretending that he was driving it. He was the guy who would put his life on the line just to make this city safe. He was a great officer.
But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. All these tributes and speeches only talk about how great Michael was as a police officer. He wasn’t just a cop…he was my cousin. No wait, I take that back, he was my brother. Or at least that’s how I’ve seen him as. He wasn’t your typical cousin who you would see around the holidays. He was someone that would come over every weekend and hang out the rest of the day with you .I remember every time he would come over to my house, he would always wrestle with my Dad in the living room. It was so fun watching the two wrestle. It was like watching a bunch of WWF wrestlers. I can’t remember who would win but it would always end with someone having a nasty rug burn.
I remember when lil Mike…oh yeah, let me explain that. In my family, we would always refer to Michael as lil Mike. I have two cousins that are named Michael. To avoid any confusion and since lil Mike was the youngest, we decided to call him…well you get the idea. I wondered if being called “lil mike “ever bothered him. Actually as a kid, I thought that was his legal name, lil Mike Ceriale. I don’t think that bothered him at all.
Going back to what I was saying, I remember he took me, my sister and brother to Brookfield zoo after a little league game. I can’t remember the little details when we were at the zoo but I do remember the car ride home…kind of. My brother Nick, sister Steph, and I fell asleep at the back seat of the car on the way home. He took a picture of all of us sleeping. Both my head and my sisters were resting on my brothers shoulders. My brother’s lips were all blue from eating a Popsicle that day. It’s was a Kodak moment and it was all thanks to lil Mike.
Lil Mike had great character. He was someone that you could depend on no matter what. He was lovable that’s for sure. I can’t help to think that he had a little Robert De Niro in him. Every time I watch the movie, The Deer Hunter, Lil Mike always reminds me of De Niro’s performance in that film. Is it because the character was named Michael? No that sounds idiotic. Is it his mannerisms? Maybe. The scene that reminds me of Lil Mike the most was the wedding reception scene. It was when Michael is smiling at Meryl Streep’s character while she’s dancing with Christopher Walken. Plus, it was one of lil Mike’s favorite movies of all time.
The last time I saw my cousin was at my brother’s baseball game. I was 11 years old and I was playing with a bunch of kids that I just met. Mike stopped by to watch the game for a little bit. He didn’t stay long because he had to go to work. I was in the middle of playing some game with the other kids that I quickly gave my cousin a hug and ran off. I remember telling him, “Hey mike, what’s up? Sorry I’ll see you later, playing a game”. And that was the last time I’ve seen my cousin. If I would’ve known that was going to be the last time I’ve seen him, I would've said something like,“I wish you didn’t have to go. I’m going to miss you”.
When I see that picture, I look back at my Jack Daniel’s wishing that he was still here so I can have a drink with him. We would sit at the bar and talk about work, girls and family. But that’s not going to happen…at least not at this lifetime.The one thing that I miss about lil Mike is his voice. I wish I can hear his voice right now saying, “Hey what’s up, everything is ok”. When I get older, I’m afraid that I’m going to forget on how his voice sounded. And that just breaks my heart. It seems strange to say that but hopefully you’ll understand one day of what I’m talking about.
Many people think that I don’t show my emotions or didn’t care about lil Mike’s passing. They’re right, I don’t show my emotions. I try to keep my emotions myself as much as possible. Sometimes I would feel that showing any type of emotion would show weakness. When lil Mike died, I cried every night, knowing that I will never see him again.
I did my best at writing this blog about lil Mike. Cliche as it sounds, words can’t describe on how much I love my cousin Michael. A button that says, “In loving Memory of Officer Michael Ceriale”, doesn’t show how much I love and miss him. Words can’t describe it. I know I’m repeating myself and this blog is all over the place but I don’t know what else to say at this point. It’s hard to write something when you can’t stop crying.
One day I will die and leave this earth. My casket will be lowered six feet under while they play the song “Well Meet Again” by Vera Lynn. When I’m finally buried, I will reunite with lil Mike. We’ll talk about family, girls, movies etc. I want to spend hours talking to my cousin, Officer Michael Ceriale. But not yet….not yet…..
