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Gentlemen like him are rare, just as brothers being brothers in the true meaning of life

Commentary by Arnie Leshin

COMMENTARY By ARNIE LESHIN, Santa Fe Today

A brother should be just that, a brother. That’s how Mike and Tom Manning lived, as brothers. Sadly, Mike, at age 74, passed away on Sept. 26.

It was a few days before that when I attended a high school volleyball match at St. Michael’s, where Tom is the athletic director. I saw principal Sam Govea at the gymnasium entrance and asked if Tom was there. He told me that Tom had gone to Albuquerque to see his brother.

That’s all I knew. But I did know that Mike hadn’t been doing well. He had health problems for years, a kidney failure was one of them. And poor Tom had gone through a lengthy recovery from knee surgery. But if I was to guess what he was most concerned about, what mattered most, it was his knee and Mike’s health.

They were brothers until the end. Nothing else mattered. Tom’s children, Lisa, Dave and Mark, were devoted to uncle Mike.

It was at his home that Mike, while chasing a lizard in his bathroom, slipped, and broke his hip. He was taken to St. Vincent Hospital. He was later transferred to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.

Basketball coach Ron Drake knew the Manning brothers since he arrived in New Mexico in 1992. When he last saw Mike, it was at the UNM Hospital. It was four days before he died. He and Tom said prayers for Mike.

I knew Mike as a nice man, smart, friendly. He would always extend his hand when we would meet up. When Drake first introduced us, he told me that Mike was the good Manning. It might have been said in jest, but Tom agreed every time Drake mentioned it.

It was Saturday morning, when as usual, I checked the front page of the daily newspaper to check out the obit list. I was stunned when I saw Michael C. Manning, 74, Santa Fe. I then turned to the obituary page to see handsome Mike in shirt and tie and with a long obit that I read from start to finish. I texted my sincerest consolation to Tom. He thanked me.

For as long as I knew him and brother Mike, the scene was familiar. It was the Manning brothers, Drake, Ed Velie, and their friend, Randy, at the Pantry Restaurant. It was coffee, iced tea, breakfast or lunch, laughter, friendly arguments, and whenever I joined them, it was a treat to be in their company.

On the weekend, it was 10 a.m. when they arrived at the reserved Manning table. Hardly anyone went by without saying hello, shaking hands. It was a popular table and Tom always introduced Mike.

They would also gather together on Thursdays, but in various restaurants, not just the Pantry. Back when Drake was girl’s head basketball coach at Santa Fe High and Tom was the athletic director, they would sometimes meet up with Mike after a game at Carrow’s Restaurant before it burned down. Mike was a big fan of Drake’s Demonettes.

Drake is indeed sadden to lose his friend. To know someone for 25 years is a long time. He said that Mike always defended him when something was said. He said that Mike was totally loyal to his family and friends. He said that Mike was special.

Velie, the long-time girl’s head soccer coach at St. Michael’s, as well as Tom’s assistant until he retired, said that Mike was a very bright man, that you could talk to him about anything, just pick a subject. He said he last saw at him at St. Vincent, that Mike, Tom and Drake were the best of friends, and to me, it lasted a lifetime to the brothers.

When my book, The Best Damn Sports Stories, had been published, I sat at the Pantry with Tom, Mike and Mike’s wife Amy, and let them know how they could obtain my book. I remember Amy writing it down and going home to order it. She told Mike she was going to do that, but he didn’t mention it to me.

When it arrived, he said he read several chapters and we spoke about some of them. For a former coach and sports fan, he was familiar with all my different sports chapters. I signed the book to both him and Amy.

These are commentaries I don’t like writing, but then again, I find the time to do so because of the importance of remembering and paying tribute to people I was associated with, and in regard to Mike Manning, I’m saddened by this as anyone would be for brothers who were truly brothers.

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