Joseph Barsky, lead forest researcher for the experiment station, said the failure wasn’t due primarily to the summer’s drought or insect infestations or diseases. It found there was a widespread acorn crop failure throughout the state. The station’s staff surveyed the zones for two weeks in August. In total, there are 300 red oaks and 275 white oaks in those study areas. The agricultural experiment station monitors the acorn crop every year, looking at 12 deer and turkey management zones throughout the state. “We’ve known about it since people started studying oaks,’’ said Jeff Ward, forester for the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven. Still, seeing Bob confined to a hospital bed, having to ask his family to wipe the tears from his eyes, is a hard reality.It’s part of the natural cycle that’s been going on since the first acorns took root in Connecticut. Bob has some sensation in his forearms, and he can move his shoulder ever so slightly. Shannon sees his dad growing more encouraged with each sign of progress, however small. Already, they've raised more than $15,000. The family set up a GoFundMe page, soliciting donations to help with medical bills that likely will reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. "Now," he says, pausing to collect himself, "I'm thinking, 'God, I wish I could get those emails again.' " And the other day I'm looking through them thinking, 'Man, this guy doesn't stop with the emails!' "He was sending me four or five articles a day. "With the election going on, my father's always emailing me this political stuff," Shannon says. He kissed Shannon on the forehead before every fight. Later, when Shannon and his brother, Shawn, started their own boxing careers, Bob often was in their corner. Shannon remembers travelling with his dad almost every weekend to fights in Atlantic City, N.J., and going to the North Country on hunting excursions. If I could be a 10th of the person my father is, I'll have succeeded." "I have a bigger house than my father had. "A lot of people value life based on material things," Shannon says. Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. They've told stories of how Bob - hardly a wealthy man scratching out a living as a promoter, trainer and cut man in a hardscrabble sport - would find rooms for homeless teenagers or slip cash to kids who needed to eat. Shannon has fielded hundreds of messages from friends, boxers and even people who remember Bob from his days working as a hall monitor at Shaker High School. The next night, he was able to sleep a while. He had hope, at least - a reason to fight.Ī day later, he took a sip of Coke. When Bob first heard he had at least some chance of using his hands again, he cried tears of joy. Since that devastating first day, there have been small, but significant, victories. For him, on a level of torture, this is about as bad as one can experience." this is worse than life support for him, because his mind is completely conscious. "I went online and was looking up where you go for assisted suicide," Shannon says. A man who always had prided himself on taking care of others had told his son in the past that if he ever faced a serious illness, he wouldn't want to be a burden on the family. When Shannon first saw his father after the accident, Bob asked his son to lean closer to him and whispered, "You gotta take care of this." What's certain, though, is that the 71-year-old who once was a promoter for a young Mike Tyson faces a long, painful recovery.Īnd right now, his family is praying that Bob can summon the strength for such a daunting fight. He believes he dozed off at the wheel, causing him to veer off the road and hit an embankment.ĭoctors initially said he almost certainly would remain paralyzed for the rest of his life, but they later gave him a 30 percent chance of regaining some use of his hands and legs. Ĭontact Pete Iorizzo at 51 or email See More Collapseīob isn't entirely sure what happened. The Miller family is raising money to help pay for Bob Miller's medical expenses.
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