Bret Michaels Is Pretty Inspirational

So Bret Michaels did an interview with Parade, and I feel weird about it because I don’t understand how I teared up at a Bret Michaels interview.  I guess my idea of Bret Michaels is forever tied to the Poison posters my sister used to have in her room, but he’s gone and turned into an eloquent, inspirational musician.  Well, there was “Something to Believe In,” but let’s just focus on the here and now.

On his health and how it’s affected him:

“I’m feeling pretty good. Each day I feel a little bit better. As the chemical meningitis from the bleed starts to dissipate, it gets a little bit better. The bottom line is, I got really sick and it all had a domino effect for me, from the appendicitis to the brain hemorrhage. And then I had a warning stroke, and now they found out I got a hole in my heart, which I’m going to go get an operation for that in the late fall, early winter. But I just said to myself, you know what? Whatever it is, I live my life passionately. And music is a powerful healer for me. I’ve learned a lot of it is mind over matter. Once I knew that I had a chance to survive the brain hemorrhage, I was taking life and grabbing it for everything I could.”

On the importance of balancing his family and his career:

“I absolutely love my family. I’m a very hands-on father. I’m close with my kids and we have fun together. Kristi and I love and respect each other. But in the same sentence, I also love what I do. I love being on the road and I’m passionate and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. The trouble is finding the balance of making both work.”

And then there was the closing quote of the article that sealed the tears:

“I hope that my legacy is this: I’m a fighter, a survivor and I rocked the world. That would be it.”

Bret’s solo album comes out July 6th, so I guess I’ll just go ahead and pencil in “music-listening and uncontrollable weeping” on that day. And I’m ok with that.