honky tonk hockey
… one tradition I simply can’t embrace is the chorus of “You suck” and “It’s all your fault” chants that erupts across the arena when Nashville scores. Like most people who grew up playing sports, my coaches taught me the value of good sportsmanship. You cheer for your team—not against your opponent.
got any gum?
We’re on the eve of the inauguration of a new president whose name people like to invoke with that title about as often as the kids at Hogwarts use the name Voldemort. I have to say I’ve been mostly entertained by the bitching between my blue and red friends, neither color of which I can fully relate. I like purple. Especially the darker shades.
i admit it… i’m afraid to drive
I never thought I’d say that. When I was 14 I couldn’t wait to get my license. I drove all the time. Yes, I said 14 and no it wasn’t completely legal. My friend Kevin and I went to the DMV as soon as I turned 16 so I could take the exam for my permit. I scheduled my driver’s test the same day. Hell, I even taught a few of my friends to drive.
make way for a true free spirit
So now that I’ve finished my rambling intro, let me introduce you to the reason for it. I went to high school with Marie (Nikodem) Loerzel but, sadly, our paths didn’t cross very often. Marie seems to have understood then what it took me much longer to absorb. As she so eloquently writes, “being respected is more important than being accepted.”
men’s league hockey and politics
Hey friends. It seems the more I get into this politics game, the more I find comparisons to hockey. Especially men’s league hockey. It’s really weird how our sport—the sport we all love and respect—would draw close comparisons to something people generally hate and don’t trust. But if you look at it through the newly enlightened and somewhat twisted mind of someone like me, the connection is there. Let me ‘splain. No. There is too much. Let me… sum up.
is it bad politics, or are all politics bad?
I don’t really want to write about politics. It kind of makes me angry.
This subject seems to suck the sense out of what otherwise would be intelligent people. At the very least, I think politics short-circuits the part of our brains that stops our mouths from saying stupid shit. Or our fingers from typing similar nonsense. Need proof? Just click your Facebook app and you’ll see a flood of it.
retired
I was five years old and didn’t own a pair of skates, but that didn’t stop me from bundling up in my snowsuit, big boots, stocking cap and gloves to join the game each morning with my cousins. We’d pull the nets—a homemade “product” my uncles made from narrow piping and chicken wire—onto our rink and just like when we played in the driveway, I’d tape on some foam rubber or strap on the plastic Mylec pads and pull my white mask (made famous by Jason in the Friday the 13th movies) right over my hat.