Hockey Excursion

 

This weekend (Friday November 25th and Saturday November 26, 2011) Richard and I attended the back-to-back home series between the NY Islanders and the NJ Devils hockey teams (NHL). Each team won one game (as the visitor).

Richard and I usually attend at least one Islander's game a season. From my apartment, it is a 70 mile drive to the Islander's home at the Nassau Coliseum. To get to the Prudential Center, the home of the Devils, was about a 75 mile drive for me.

I picked up Richard on Friday morning (I took a vacation day from work)-a 55 mile drive each way) and drove directly to the 3 p.m. game (we did stop at Arby's for a small lunch on the way).

We arrived early enough to watch the Islanders warm-up. We were able to stand right near the glass for the warm-up.

Although our seats were in the upper bowl, we had a good view. The nearly sold-out crowd was quite enthusiastic and vocal. It was an exciting game and close to the very end. Unfortunately, the Islanders were not quite able to pull it off and lost 1-0.

Richard spent the night with me at my apartment. We got a meatball pizza from Paradise Pizza, one of our favorites. Richard caught up watching some old "Three Stooges" shorts.

On Saturday, we had to get an early start because the game started at 1 p.m. Again, we arrived early enough to watch the Islanders warm-up.

 This time our seats were WAY up. Still, we had a good view. It was our first time as visitors at an NHL game. Interesting to sit surrounded by fans of the Devils. To our delight, it was "Dollar (hot) Dog Day." Even nicer, the Islanders won 3-2 (although the potentially tying goal by the Devils with 2 seconds left in the game was nullified after review by officials in Toronto).

The Prudential Center is a new and very nice (but rather expensive) arena. They have a large sculpture/statue of hockey player in a plaza outside (see picture of Richard at the left).

As we waited to leave the parking garage, a woman wearing a Loomis Chaffee jacket approached us. She noticed the LC decal on the rear window of my car. Her son remembered Judy (Lynn's mother) fondly and even recalled Judy's stories of Richard playing ice hockey. That was a nice contact.

We then drove back to Lynn's and then I drove back to my place. Wow. What a lot of driving. I don't know how people can afford to go to these professional sports on a regular basis. But it was an interesting experience and an enjoyable time with my son.

The Wright Book

I have been reading this book (Black Boy by Richard Wright) because Richard's high school English class has been studying it.  Both Lynn and I have been using the edition pictured above.

Frankly, I am enthralled with this book and am finding it very relevant and inspirational. However, as one might presume, the subject matter is rather delicate and mature. I'm pretty sure that many of the middle class high school students do not have the life experience necessary to grasp many of the key points of the book. Nonetheless, it is a book that they will hopefully return to in the future to glean its finer points that they may have missed during their initial harvesting.

Richard told me this weekend that they are finished with this book despite only having read about half of the first part (note: the first part of this edition was a separate best seller when it was originally published in the early 1940s.). I still have a few more chapters to go to get through the whole thing.

I highly recommend this book!

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you came to visit me, the picture above is what would greet you at my apartment door: "Happy Thanksgiving."

Lynn hosted the traditional Thanksgiving Day meal at her apartment even though she doesn't eat meat. She went for a walk while we ate.

I picked up Lynn's aunt, Sr. Pat, who cooked the turkey and stuffing and gravy. Lynn made shoe peg corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots; she also bought a pumpkin pie and small apple pie (from Stew Leonards) and vanilla ice cream. After dinner, we did the dishes so that Lynn returned to a clean kitchen.

Book of Job

I attended the last session of the Men's Bible study at St. Mark's RC Church on Tuesday November 15, 2011. The study lasted eight (8) sessions. The group consisted of five other men besides me. The group will resume in late January 2012 for another 8-10 week session (depending) on the subject.

We used the Little Rock Scripture Study program which consists of the old Collegeville Bible Commentary Old Testament Series #19 and a "Study Guide" (see picture at left). The "Study Guide" is typical for LRSS: merely a series of 15-17 questions for each session. The questions deal with a combination of fact, feeling, and theology. There is also a DVD with a video lecture (15-20 minutes) for each session.

While I have enjoyed attending these sessions for the past few years and the members of the group are great, I have been frustrated with the LRSS format, the lack of interest by the parish, and the meager number of sessions.

Eight weeks is barely enough to scratch the surface of the Book of Job. I think it is typical of a RC bible study to go quickly so that the people don't have time to think about what is really there. The fact that only five (5) men of this large suburban parish participate is a telling indictment of the interest of this community to learn the Word of God.  It is not very attractive that this "faith community" can only devote about 16 weeks a year to Bible study.

Even though the group has ended their study of Job, I am continuing my own study. I have resumed a slower, more careful reading of the (RC) New American Bible translation of Job, along with Marvin Pope's Anchor Bible edition, and the Bible Net translation. What's missing is the interaction with other men and their important and provocative insight.

No Roller Hockey Today

This Saturday (November 12, 2011), we had a rare break from roller hockey (but 2 games next weekend).

After going to the bank, I picked up Richard for lunch. We first tried a "Jake's Wayback Burger" that just opened in his town. However, the wait was too long for Richard's taste. So we moved on.

We tried a 2nd new burger place in town, BGR the burger joint. It turned out to be a bit more expensive than Jake's but Richard seemed to really like it. They use a tasty, buttered sesame seed bun and fresh beef. We also tried the fries (but nothing too special about them).

The inside was kind of cheap and simple - sort of like "Five Guys." These burgers, while more expensive than a fast food place, definitely taste a lot better.

The sodas were expensive ($2) but they have a new, high tech soda machine (Freestyle). You can get a lot of different flavors. Richard got Mr. Pibb and I got Fanta Orange (I passed on grape, cherry, lime, etc.).

AN EXCITING FINISH

Today was also the last home football game at Richard's high school (next week we play away at our cross town rival). Richard wanted to volunteer again to help at the refreshment stand. It was a beautiful day for football: sunny, pleasant temperature (50-60F).

We got to the field about a half hour before kickoff. Richard worked at the stand along with his friend Micah. Somehow, I ended up helping again with grilling the hot dogs. I helped out a couple (Joe & Claire) whose son is a freshman and plays in the pep band. We sold close to 200 dogs.

This time we paid attention to the game since both teams had identical records; the winner advances on the route to the playoffs. There wasn't much scoring and the game was tight. In the 4th quarter with about 6 minutes to go, our team scored a touchdown but failed on the extra point to make the score 14-13 in favor of the visitors. However, we got the ball back with about 2 minutes to go and marched down the field and scored with about 24 seconds remaining and ran to get the extra 2 points to make the score 21-14. And that's how it remained.

Back to School

Notice that there is no snow or downed tree branches in this picture? Today, after 7 lost school days, school has resumed for Richard. And it is a usual "short" Wednesday. There was no power in his town since the big snowstorm Saturday October 29th. Power was restored to most of the town only by Monday evening. Tuesday was Election Day (schools typically closed) and the School Administration used the day to make sure the grounds were safe (e.g., no downed wires, etc.).

Election Day

Today (November 8, 2011) is Election Day. I voted at 6:45 a.m. before going to work. I was the 27th person to vote at my polling place.

There really weren't many issues this time; just local, town offices: Council Representative, Constable, Planning & Zoning; and Board of Education. I didn't think there was much of a choice, so I didn't vote for anyone (but wrote in "Bill Collector" for council).

I think it is important to participate in the election process even if there is nothing to support. I believe that if everyone voted a blank ballot, the results would send a strong message.

The voting process in my town is weird and clunky. We have two different voting locations, depending on the type of election (local vs. federal) based on representative districts. The only way to confirm the correct voting location (other than showing up) is to call the town hall. Nothing on the Internet.

This time, I voted at the local high school. In past elections, flags were posted at the entrance to the parking lot, sign on door, and politicians outside for a last plea for support. This time, there was nothing-no flags, no people, no signs. I had to ask if I was at the right place. But I did get a sticker (see above) after I voted.

Guy Fawkes Day-Fall Back

Saturday, the 5th of November is celebrated in England as Guy Fawkes Day. I first heard of the holiday years ago via a John Lennon song.

As usual for a Saturday, Richard had a roller hockey game this morning. His team won, 6-4. Richard had a pretty good game, scoring 2 goals and has 1 assist.

We weren't sure where to have lunch today since most of the West Hartford area is still without power from last Saturday's storm. Lynn's apartment still has power but they lost cable (TV and Internet) last Sunday.  No school all week. As we were driving around, there are still an incredible amount of trees down.

We ended up eating lunch at one of our favorites, Angelina's Pizza. We split a meatball grinder and a Caesar salad.

After lunch we drove around trying to think of what to do. We decided to drive to my place and play ping pong. We hadn't done that for a long time because the table had broken. But the Condo Association got a new table recently. So we played 3 games. Richard won the first game and then graciously let me win the next two.

After ping pong, we went up to my apartment where Richard got caught up on the Internet (mostly hockey news). We then played a long game of (cards) War. Richard won.

While on the Internet, we realized that the (AHL team) Sound Tigers was playing at home (Bridgeport) tonight. After checking with Lynn, we went to the game. Sat in one of our favorite spots, Section 100-right behind the goal. The Sound Tigers won 3-2.

By the time I drove Richard back to Lynn and then turned around and drove home it was nearly midnight. However, "today" (actually Sunday at 2 a.m.) is the change to Daylight Savings Time. "Fall back."