Hockey tonight… the Edmonton Oilers have come from a 3-0 deficit to the Florida Panthers to tie it 3-3. Tonight, on June 24, the world awaits the champion.
Hockey is the only major sport which plays in all four seasons. That’s striking if you really think about it. When is hockey “season?” Who really knows?
I grew up kind of separated from hockey. I was just far enough south not to give a crap about hockey growing up. There were no teams I could play on.
My cousins Brian and Eddie haled from Chicago suburbs. Now those boys could play. That part of the family is truly special. My Uncle Bart was a firefighter. He ran the show at a Chicago area suburb. My Aunt Lottie was a Chicago housewife. Side note about brother George who also became a firefighter, back in the day George was fixing to go into the moving business. Some goombas from a “competitor” had a talk with him.
“So we thinks you oughta be outta da business.”
“Yeah? Well I think there’s enough work for everybody.”
“You might be right. Ting is, if you’re wrong… well…”
“Well what?”
“George, an Irish fellow like you, …you probly be more comfortable… in another line … where yous can make a living …”
“Living is everything… right George?”
So it was.
So it is the case that Game 7 is tonight. I think I am going to require odds to bet the Panthers. But I think I would take calculated risk on them. Four wins in a row is quite a lot. This is the same team that won the first three. That said, I’m partial to the Oilers. There’s a lot of talk about Connor McDavid.
I wonder how my hockey fam handicaps the outcome. 🤔
Instead, I prefer to write about my first ride in two years on my bike. It was pretty cool. My man Rob B texted me a day or two after my latest running conniption. I got my well-tuned bike, ironically enough, off the rack, put some air in my tires, found my bike shorts and I was off and running … or riding as was the case.
Rob’s a good dude. He hadn’t heard about my stroke. I was glad I told him, after a few minutes out there. I couldn’t help but find it aggravating to share. He hadn’t heard about it.
It was an ordinary adoption. The man had been married for two years. They had two other kids. One was a baby just nine months old. The other boy was maybe two.
The people in the jury box were an ordinary crew of onlooking supporters … family members. There were some kiddos amongst the observers.
The lawyer was an ordinary adoption lawyer. The ceremony went perfunctorily. I turned to the boy. He was four and he already wore glasses. I remarked that I wore glasses very young too. We snapped pictures. He was a cute little boy. I made my way back to my office. Everyone was happy.
Then something changed. The boy wanted to come back to my office. I stammered around for a few more words. Then I asked him, “So what’s on your mind?”
He looked at me, “So is he gonna be here?”
”I’m sorry… who?”
”My Dad.” Tears started up. I didn’t know what to say. The little gentleman in glasses just asked a very profound and pointed question. A question that I could not answer.
His grandma gathered him up. Now he was crying. “I’m sorry,” she said. “He hasn’t seen him in over a year.”
The clock in corner tocked slowly. The afternoon sun shone through my windows. It was four o’clock. It was time to go home.
When I was first selected/elected twenty some years ago, I inherited a smaller desk that itself was over forty years old. I wanted something bigger, so I scurried about in the Courthouse basement and found this. It took five employees to wrestle it upstairs to my office. They must’ve wondered how long I’d be here!🤣
When I was indisposed… onacconta my stroke … the desk was presided over by a very capable senior judge. I wasn’t sure, for awhile at least, whether I’d ever return. But, with a little pluck and determination I now have. For more than a year!
I hope to remain at this desk … for the foreseeable future… as they say. It is a very old desk!😊
I don’t know what to say … and I don’t know why I’m bothering my … “community” … about this … I am anonymous from most of you and my ramblings probably are irrelevant… but a man just two years older than I, and in remarkable health to my knowledge, just died. There is no mention of the cause of his death. I would say that I’m most morose by assuming it to be suicide. But, I can’t help but so assume. It’s the only thing that makes any sense … perverse as though that sounds.
Anyway, I would pray for his family, and his wife, and for him for whatever it’s worth. Whatever the cause, it’s a sharp and terrible loss.
SSW
PPS… As an aside what a jolt to see my prompt for the day “What Notable Things Happened Today?” This was not what they contemplated.
Very Old Desk
I would say probably … my desk.
When I was first selected/elected twenty some years ago, I inherited a smaller desk that itself was over forty years old. I wanted something bigger, so I scurried about in the Courthouse basement and found this. It took five employees to wrestle it upstairs to my office. They must’ve wondered how long I’d be here!🤣
When I was indisposed… onacconta my stroke … the desk was presided over by a very capable senior judge. I wasn’t sure, for awhile at least, whether I’d ever return. But, with a little pluck and determination I now have. For more than a year!
I hope to remain at this desk … for the foreseeable future… as they say. It is a very old desk!😊
SSW
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Tagged dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1970