Monday, March 18, 2024

Take 95 South

 

New Jersey Turnpike this morning

STEDMAN, North Carolina -- I know this drive.

Greenwich to Stedman, which is just outside of Fayetteville. 

Or Mahopac to Stedman.

I've done it -- what? -- 12 times over the last decade?

It's right around 600 miles and, if the fates align, can be done in nine hours in probably the best-case scenario.

With stops, Sean and I were here in just under 10.

Stops. Just three. All Wawa's.

Kearny, NJ. Abingdon, MD. Fredericksburg, VA.

The one in Maryland was foolish. Sean asked for a restroom break. I didn't need to veer to a Wawa for that but it's a habit in the "land of the Wa" to go to one.

But that's it. We just kept moving.

We hit some traffic.

Washington, DC. As I told you we might.

We hit some construction traffic here in North Carolina also.

But every time we're here I am reminded of why we're here.

It's family who get us and who we get. It's quirkiness and fun. None of us take ourselves too seriously.

Plus there are cats. And a dog. None of that hurts the appeal.

My alarm went off at four. Yes, 4 a.m. As it was, I didn't sleep that great and I often don't, especially before traveling. Mostly because I'm mentally afraid I might miss my alarm.

To that end, Seans' phone was doing some kind of update and turned his alarm off. He was less than thrilled when he discovered it was 4:40 and I was dressed, packed, and ready to go.

But we left at 5:09. It's hard to be annoyed at that.

The miles then began to move. As New Jersey reached its conclusion, I prepared myself to conquer the beast that has lingered in my mind since last November: a bridge.

To be clear, it's the kind of bridge that rises to a peak. This isn't the bridge over the Tappan Zee or the Bear Mountain Bridge. 

This is the Delaware Memorial Bridge in this case. 

Last September, I came home from Virginia via Pennsylvania and into New Jersey on the Commodore Barry Bridge. At the apex, I felt somewhat lightheaded and the makings of a panic attack. I safely got to the bottom despite the lunatics in my brain and immediately found some food, figuring I was too hungry.

A few weeks later, I experienced similar things on three bridges to and from calling softball in Staten Island.

I had not been over that kind of bridge since and knew today was the day.

Despite the buildup, I'm here to tell you I made it across without any incident. I'm hoping my prognosis of making sure I'm adequately energized is correct.

Washington Crossing the Delaware
Emanuel Leutze, 1851 (Public Domain)

I can't tell you how good it felt to cross the Delaware. I felt like George Washington.

It had been weighing on me for months. I was truly worried that I couldn't drive across bridges like that. That's not to say I won't be conscious of it in the future but it was a relief for today.

I relaxed after that and we carried on.

As content as we are here in North Carolina, we will be back on the road early tomorrow morning. 

We will be in the Florida sun before it sets.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Wearin' O' the Green

 

My dad (center) with his parents, Sep 1957

I finally put something green on.

I've been working around the apartment all day and, as I put a load of laundry in, I popped on a pair of green basketball shorts.

There. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Mere steps away from our place was the annual Greenwich St. Patrick's Day parade. Given Sean, Chris Erway, and I were going to host it on the radio at one point, I didn't have much of a drive to walk over to it.

WGCH had a car in the festivities but I was bummed there was no broadcast.

So, I kept myself occupied on this day of mixed emotions.

I could hear just a little of the hoopla as I bounced in and out of the apartment all day.

We're getting ready to leave for Florida and the last day before traveling is always hectic. At least, it is for me.

So there's the aforementioned laundry to do, cleaning up the car, staging things the way I want for the drive, cleaning up and making sure everything is in place for Rascal while we're gone, and so on.

Plus, with the warmth, I allowed myself a break by grabbing the reclining chair that I use on the balcony. I sat out there and ate lunch. I even gave myself a moment of "sláinte" by grabbing a cold beverage.


It wasn't Guinness but it would still do just fine.

I even created next week's "Meet the Beatles" by recording it here in my studio. I will post it in the archive after it runs next Sunday.

Basically, we could almost drive away now. We won't but we could. Sean has something going on so he told me if I considered leaving I'd be going alone.

So, no. We'll leave tomorrow morning.

I also caught up with my sister today, who wished us well on our trip. She just got back from Florida. 

I realized after we hung up that we didn't talk about our father.

It was 35 years ago tonight that I came home to the news that Dad had died at 59.

In an instant, life changed completely. There's no way around that.

Such a thing is impossible to calculate but exactly what would have changed had he lived longer?

"Everything" is too easy to say but it's not entirely wrong.

It goes without saying how much he is missed. I truly think of him every day and I suppose I try to live up to standards that would make him proud. I think we all do that.

I liked most of those standards.

Let's be honest, this trip is a tribute to him in many ways.

He taught me to hit the road early on trip day and to make every moment count. He gave me a wonderful sense of direction.

He taught me to be weary of Washington, DC traffic and to keep things on the entertainment system that keep a driver alert.

Conversely, I don't sit at meals for long to have extra cups of coffee. Plus, I don't smoke so there's that.

We'd pull into a Howard Johnson's in somewhere like Roanoke Rapids, NC and you knew you'd be off the road for at least an hour.

"More coffee, sir?" he'd get asked and, well, you knew the answer.

I can easily take my coffee in the car and I'm sort of content to eat and drive.

Incidentally, I miss Howard Johnson's but that's a whole different topic. He'd be amazed with the grab-and-go life of Wawa's and Sheetz and Bucc-ee's.


But I know him. He loved being "Uncle Don" and stopping at his niece's house would have been a no-brainer.

That's where we'll be tomorrow night. I love being "Uncle." I always have.

The hurt of his passing will never subside and I've accepted that. I still choke back too many tears on that topic and his fingerprints will be all over this trip. I'll see the sites that I saw with him. Places that he taught me to love.

The last time I drove towards the bottom end of South Carolina, through Georgia, and into the Jacksonville, FL area was in 1989. It was six weeks after he died. I'll likely stand on the same beach that I did on that trip when I looked at the water and pondered what the hell had happened. Still, it was the first moment of serenity during that time. To clarify, I was there for the funeral of my grandfather.

My dad's dad.

And so I had the right approach today. I did a radio show and then recorded a second radio show before going to the grocery store. Plus all of the other things that I did to stay busy and not be preoccupied with St. Patrick's Day.

It was another day, even if it took me hours to come around to put something green on.

Happy St. Patrick's Day if that's your thing.

It's still mine. Within reason.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Behind the Scenes

 

Yup. Hockey.

The Vipers have just finished a 14-4 win.

Yes, that's a hockey score.

I'm sitting in the rink while players meet fans and families.

The drive will follow as I've already packed up.

My throat hurts, my voice is tired, and the drive will be a drag.

But I spent most of the day in the mighty Hudson Valley.

Stop one was with my road friends -- Dan, Laura, Connor, and Doug, plus Laura's daughter Rainey.

I hung out with them as they prepared for a presentation on YouTube about Austin, TX.

I don't have much to add about Austin but I'm sure I could have survived had they asked me to talk. At the very least, I'm a decent moderator at that point.

But I hung out and watched the preparation of PowerPoints and pictures.

Plus there was food, with Doug making meatballs, wings, and corned beef and cabbage. It's St. Patrick's Day tomorrow after all.

They're good people --  all of them -- and I like being that fly on the wall as we talked and laughed.

We road types talk about more than just, you know, roads. OK, sure, we talk bridges and other infrastructure items, but we also talk sports, kids (Rainey is too cute, and she was climbing all over me), and life in general. Plus Dan's a big Beatles fan with an impressive collection of music.

Including things I don't own. Yes, I'm a touch jealous, but he'll be on "Meet the Beatles" eventually.

I left them and made my way to Poughkeepsie in plenty of time for puck drop.

Kris, Logan, and Danny were among those in the crowd who joined me.

Fun times as the Vipers poured the goals in the net and the penalties in the box.

There were numerous fights and, let's be honest, fans love that stuff.

Me? It's fun but it also adds to the length of the broadcast.

Which is now complete.

I have to get home and get at least a little sleep.

Tomorrow is a big day with "Meet the Beatles" live at 9 a.m. plus a recorded version to play next Sunday and laundry, packing, shopping, etc.

Time to go.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Two More for the Right Reasons

 

Norwalk High School gym

Two more games are in the books for me.

Tonight was the FCIAC Freshman basketball games. The girls played first and the boys followed.

It's the third time I've called these and it's a volunteer effort. Spearheaded by Glen Colello, there is a DJ spinning music all night and a three-piece band playing at various breaks in the action.

Plus me. Or, tonight, us, as Chris Kaelin joined me for the call. I haven't worked with "Kato" in a few years so it was great to see him.

These are a different kind of broadcast and, frankly, a little bit of a different kind of game. They play 20-minute halves and players can't foul out. Defense is generally minimal, especially in the boys game.

The rosters weren't put in our hands until just before game time because confirmation was needed to make sure the players all showed up and, to that end, there were a few changes.

While I do get to call the play-by-play, it's also a showcase night for the coaches, players, and the conference so we work in a lot of interviews, specifically with coaches from the FCIAC.

That took us off of the "nuts and bolts" of play-by-play details. Admittedly, that's not easy for me since these are radio play-by-play calls where details matter but it's part of the adjustment of the evening.

The coaches love talking about their players and that's coverage I'm happy to give.

I think it all works just fine even if I'm being my own worst critic as I worry about the broadcast.

"Kato" begins making his way up to our spot

If you listened then you heard the band and the DJ, who kept up a running play-by-play of his own all night. That was a bit of an adjustment for me but the crowd seemed to enjoy it.

It's a night to shine a light on all of it and I'm thrilled to do that.

Glen was kind to include a picture of me and the Robcasting logo in the program, and that's certainly good for the coverage, but it's not about us at all.


With that, save for the Hudson Valley Vipers, the winter season is over.

I know that Connecticut will wrap up the basketball season tomorrow and Sunday at Mohegan Sun, while hockey wraps up early next week in Hamden.

We would be happy to jump on those state championship calls but our talents will be utilized elsewhere.

Then, as soon as we're back from Florida, it's onto Brunswick baseball and lacrosse.

Ah, yes, baseball.

I mean no disrespect to any other sport when I say this, but I got into play-by-play because of baseball. That's what I've wanted to talk about since I was old enough to talk. The fact that I developed the skill to carry all of these other sports has been a blessing.

I love the challenge of bringing them all to you.

But baseball will always be that first love.

Soon. Very.

But, tonight, I was happy to be at Norwalk High School.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

They Can't Stay Young Forever

This is "Junior"

I was looking in my memories today when I saw a reminder of some of the work I did at the HAN Network.

From time to time, I would get a hotel room out of the deal, especially if it involved a night game followed by a day game in the same area. There's no question I was grateful to not have to do the amount of driving from Shelton to Mahopac and so on.

However, in this case, it was a weekend in which I was supposed to have Sean. And, let's face it, what kid doesn't love crashing in a hotel?

Especially one with a giant indoor water slide?

That's what the Hampton Inn had in Shelton.

So I picked up Sean and drove him back to Fairfield where I called the Fairfield Ludlowe/Fairfield Prep on Friday night in a state playoff basketball game.

It was a chaotic night with a huge crowd and poor internet service inside Alumni Hall. It was just one of those nights.

Regardless, the waterslide was closed when we got back to the hotel. We'd have to get up first thing in the morning to enjoy it.

Sean was still at the age where he had a few stuffed animals to keep him company.

Though they wouldn't always travel with him, he had "Big Kitty" (a stuffed cat that was actually mine) and an Elmo at his mother's. Among the "guys" he kept with me was a small Pillow Pet that was called "Junior," named because he had a larger Pillow Pet. Both were black cats with white on his face.

It wasn't so much that he was looking for them to sleep with but they were sort of a running gag between us. Sean's inventive mind created a whole personality for Junior, including a small box that he made into an airplane.

It was "The Junior Jet."

And so I made sure to pack Junior to bring to the hotel, just as you see in the picture on the AC unit in the room.

These were the little things that made us smile and were part of the bond of this father-and-son unit.

We also bonded on the water slide early the next morning as we were down there when it opened. We did several runs on it with our laughter reverberating off the walls. We'd also jump into the adjacent pool as well.

Oh, keep in mind it was March and quite cold outside as I recall. That always adds to the joy of the situation.

We enjoyed this for a bit before getting dressed, grabbing breakfast, and heading into Bridgeport for two ice hockey games.

It was Sean's patience in those situations that were recorded with things like staying in a hotel, with him learning that Daddy's job was different than the average 9-to-5, even though I also did that at the time.

They were crazy days, nights, and weekends that produced wonderful memories.

They're long over now as HAN is gone and Sean is 22.

Oh, he still has his guys but he doesn't travel with them anymore.

No, I don't have to keep space in the backseat for them when we drive to Florida.

Junior, in fact, will stay put in Sean's bedroom while we're gone.

He and Rascal will be our guard cats.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

No Clubhouse Tonight

 

Gale Sayers (40) addresses the Chicago Bears locker room

"The Clubhouse" was supposed to return tonight but we had a hiccup, so we'll begin the show in April.

I'm home watching TV instead. Not ideal, but so it goes.

The four of us -- me, Mark Jeffers, Dave Torromeo, and Bob Small -- have bonded over all kinds of things that keep us laughing and talking each time we get together.

You're not allowed to join us, for instance, unless you're ready to sing a TV theme song.

Yes, that's our initiation.

But we talk old TV and movies and pop culture and, of course, sports.

Piccolo (James Caan) and Sayers (Billy Dee Williams)

In that marriage of sport, movies, TV, and masculinity is Brian's Song.

The movie -- a TV movie -- tells the story of Brian Piccolo and his friendship with Gale Sayers. The two were members of the Chicago Bears from 1966 to 1969.

Interspersed in the movie is a story of two men of very different backgrounds coming together to make each other better and become close friends.

Piccolo was a white man from the East Coast who attended Wake Forest. Sayers was a Black man from Kansas.

Piccolo was boisterous. Sayers was quiet and shy.

Brian Piccolo

Sayers was a superstar and would ultimately become a Hall of Famer despite playing just seven seasons. He played in over nine games just five times. But he was magnificent.

Piccolo was a grunter. He was a fine college player, finishing 10th in the Heisman Trophy in 1964, ahead of Sayers.

But the movie depicts Piccolo as an underdog, coming off as a beloved teammate more than a great player.

Piccolo struggled to breathe during the 1969 season and was sent to the doctor. 

He had cancer -- embryonal cell carcinoma. 

Piccolo underwent rounds of surgery but the cancer returned.


Brian Piccolo died on June 16, 1970. He was 26.

A month before, Sayers was given the George S. Halas Most Courageous Player Award, in recognition of his returning from a knee injury. In his acceptance speech, Sayers insisted that nobody was more courageous than Piccolo.

"I love Brian Piccolo," Sayers said, "and I'd like all of you to love him, too. And tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him."

The scene is portrayed in the movie as it begins to pull the heartstrings.

The movie has sat near the top of the list of tearjerkers -- especially for men.

Of course, for me, it's Field of Dreams.

Even now, 53 years after its release, Brian's Song still evokes tremendous emotion. The performances, led by Billy Dee Williams (Sayers) and James Caan (Piccolo) strike the perfect notes of humor and sadness.

The end is gut-wrenching. 

The football action uses real NFL footage and that adds a level of authenticity.

Let's be clear: it's a TV movie and not a documentary. It's not 100% accurate.

Among my "The Clubhouse" colleagues, we do the typical man thing: we laugh. As such, "I love Brian Piccolo" has become a badge of honor among the four of us.

And so, friends, as I sit home on a Wednesday night when I was supposed to be hosting "The Clubhouse" what do you think I found on TV?

Brian's Song, of course.

And did I watch it? You bet I did.

Yet, even as my eyes moistened, I soothed myself by...

BY?

By writing this post.

I love Brian Piccolo.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

There Is Rarely A Perfect Time

 

The goal

Our trip to Florida is rapidly approaching.

I sort of agonized over picking the dates to go.

We flew away on Mar 8 last year and had a great trip. It was the chance to introduce Sean to the Gulf Coast of Florida. 

It served as an inspiration to come back and, so long as Kris and Lori want us there, to make it a regular thing.

Not long after we got home last year, we began talking about going back.

But this time, Sean wanted us to drive.

He was into driving last year but I pushed for us to fly.

In the end, it didn't have anything to do with a fear of flying or anything like that. If anything, it was that he didn't like the airport process.

I'm right there with him on that. Westchester Airport was overcrowded that Wednesday morning.

But, in truth, I think Sean wanted to know what this drive was all about. He's heard me talk about it so many times since my family never flew to Florida.

He's an outstanding driving companion even if he mostly keeps to himself under his headphones.

He's driving to North Carolina many times with me. In the end, he wanted to complete the drive to Tampa Bay.

I think he felt it might allow him to honor -- and feel closer to -- my parents.

He loves traditions and that's a lot of what this is steeped in.

But, to be honest, I suppose we should have scheduled this for mid-February. We normally drove to Florida over the mid-winter break which was a sweet spot.

Among the many things I loved about those days was getting in the car in pitch black on a freezing cold morning in New York.

By the end of that day, we were in the Carolinas, shedding coats and feeling more comfortable. A day or two later, we were in the warmth of Florida.

In this case, the temperature is likely to be in high 40s or low 50s when we drive away. Oh, it will still be great but just different.

My concern was making sure I didn't miss work while I was away but that hasn't quite worked. 

This week might have worked, I suppose. Even then I would have missed last night's Luadlowe/Waterford game and Friday night's FCIAC Freshman All-Star Games.

There was no stretch in February when I wouldn't have missed work, so I remained committed to being at all of the Brunswick events.

Their winter schedule was set to be completed on March 2. This year, I kept the calendar open to have some cushion for any other jobs.

And that all turned out to be prophetic.

And here we are.

So we'll revisit it again next year, based on the availability of when we can all make the dates work.

For the record, I haven't packed yet.

At least, not completely.