Solitary Big Apple Diversion

My Wife in New York City Yesterday

My wife is weaning me off her presence in small doses preparing my psyche for the two months of cold turkey that starts on Wednesday.  Yesterday she, the PanaGal, and two members of the Panamanian Mafia took off for a couple days in New York City.  I quickly found myself devolving into my routine from last winter’s separation when Sunday became a serious work day where I’m required to do all the things she always does for me in preparation for the work week.  As always I’m left a little stunned by just how much she does for me without adequate gratitude.

Early Morning Fun

The snow that the PanaGal enjoyed so much on Saturday night turned into a real pain in the ass for their early Sunday departure.  The snow turned over to rain as the temperatures rose overnight but not enough to get rid of the snow.  I was out there at 6am with a snow blower that seemed equally as reticent about waking up early on a Sunday as I was.  I eventually got the severely underused (this winter so far) piece of equipment working (much to the delight of sleeping neighbors I’m sure) and the snow moved as the icy rain continued to fall.  The early morning effort turned out to be a good thing as my neighbor tried to clean his driveway at a more civilized hour and the rain soaked snow was just too heavy by that point and he had to push the whole mess with snow shovel.  My back hurt just watching.

I finished the grocery shopping, lunch, and had the first load of laundry in before kickoff for the first NFL playoff game and checked in on the Panamanian invasion of New York.  Not only had they arrived, checked into their hotel but I caught them in mid-ferry ride on their way to see the Statue of Liberty.  They were blessed with some warm if not clear weather for their day in the Big Apple.  This is in stark contrast to the last time my wife squired some visiting PanaGals around NYC.  I think my wife is trying to set some kind of record for seeing the play Momma Mia which was their evening destination.

Two Beautiful Ladies - My Wife and Lady Liberty

NYPD Kept a Close Eye on Them - Obviously

Yest Another Showing of Momma Mia - Audience Dancing Was Involved

Buddy and I watched the entire afternoon of football although the first game was so boring that I spent a lot of it inspecting the underside of my eyelids.  The second game between Dallas and Detroit was a lot more entertaining – coming down the last few seconds.  I’m left with one thought from yesterday’s results – it must really suck to be a football fan in either Cincinnati or Detroit.  The best part of the day were phone conversations.  First with my son who was gearing up for his first day of work at his new job today.  The my daughter who scored a new haircut to adjust to her California digs - enroute to her hair appointment she passed through a fake snow storm staged for a movie shooting in the area; a real L.A. moment.  I also had very ice conversations with my sister and later with the ABFA's parents where we shared congratulations on producing a fantastic joint Christmas as well as excellent children.

The California-do

I'm Sure There'll Be a Few Pointed Comments About this Non-Call in Detroit Today

Stuart Scott, the longtime ESPN broadcaster, departed the realm yesterday.  I wasn’t sure what to make of him when he first started with ESPN because he was so brash and I was afraid the rap music “culture” was invading my favorite sports show.  I eventually grew to understand he was just expressing a shared joy of the spectacle of sports and I thought of him as a kindred spirit – “as cool as the other side of the pillow” – one of his many signature lines. 

Over the past few years I’ve gotten away from watching Sportscenter as they’ve cut back on actual highlights to pulverize us with “analysis” so I wasn’t even aware Scott was ill until last summer.  The tributes poured in yesterday and were obviously heartfelt.  I was impressed by the number of people in the industry that Scott had touched in a very personal way.  In accepting an award last summer, when he knew he would eventually, and all too shortly, die from cancer he left us with some very wise words - "When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live."