What (or Where) is Home?

 

In the booth: Mahopac (top); Brunswick (bottom)

The hometown voice had returned. It's just that nobody knew it.

I was in the booth at Mahopac High School's football field last night for the New York Class A Regional Final. It's the booth I guess I wanted to work in nearly 40 years ago but such opportunities didn't exist at the time.

I last worked there in 2004 (not including baseball, which is played down the hill at Mahopac Falls School). The bleachers and press box were different back then. They were much closer to what they were when I went to school there.

I got a room to myself with heat, though I left the windows open for the natural sound as Somers throttled Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake. Despite having to frequently open the door to let people in and hearing about how the broadcast wasn't on the air, it was a pleasant situation to be in.

Funny thing about those games in 2004 was that we recorded broadcasts on cassettes on WGCH at the time. On that night, we had no cassettes and thus I don't have any audio. 

I'm happy to say that I have last night's broadcast.

Those 2004 games (there were two) are lost to history.

It was on that site that I graduated from high school. I played pickup football games there and did various activities on the track. I probably rode my bike around it also but don't tell anyone.

Behind that press box was where I'd climb on the bus to go home. The field where I played a lot of baseball also sat quietly, closer to what used to be known as Mahopac Junior High School. Now it's Mahopac Middle School.

I was treated well by everyone.

Still, I was a stranger in my own town. The commute home took -- no exaggeration -- five minutes.

I'd love to call more events from there. It's my hometown but, at this point, it's where I sleep.

*****

I went to Brunswick today. If you don't know, the Brunswick football field is in Greenwich, CT, right next to Westchester County Airport.

Mike Harris -- the man, myth, legend, and, in this case, PA announcer, welcomed me with a hug and a combination of strange, funny, and bizarre things. There was plenty of laughter even in the result wasn't to the liking of the Brunswick fan base as Deerfield Academy beat the Bruins, 35-28 in the Mike Silipo Bowl.

Oh, for the record: I have some of today's broadcast. For whatever reason, roughly an hour didn't air on the audio side and I was completely unaware of it. So, yeah, I'm pretty unhappy about that. But I digress.

With that, the season is over. I have at least one other football game -- on Thanksgiving morning -- Greenwich hosts Staples. I might have a second on Friday morning if things come together.

It's been an odd season. I'm truly crestfallen about WGCH not covering football or any other sports for that matter. I feel like, somehow, I've let the town down as sports director.

And, as such, I find myself feeling like I'm in a true transition period. Being nomadic -- personally and professionally -- gets tiring I suppose.

I've said it before: I'm going to go where I'm wanted and I mean that in literally every facet of my life. Oh, I'm not trying to say that Mahopac was some horrible experience. It was anything but. Everyone couldn't have been nicer. Same goes for Brunswick.

In reality, not many know me in Mahopac. 

As for Greenwich, I can assure you that many people said, "Who?" when I was introduced at the Greenwich Old Timer's Dinner on Thursday night.

I guess what I'm talking about is that I want to settle down. Not a bit. A LOT. I don't mind being the freelancer and hired gun. I love being able to adjust to calling literally any game at any time. Someone asked me how I do it the other night. I don't know how I do. I just do it. I wake up, collect notes, and go.

I'd just like a more permanent base.

I don't enjoy uncertainty.

I've long thought I'm patient to a fault but also quite impatient. It's hard to explain.

Who am I? Where do I belong? Who's going to be there with me?

I'm tired of waiting.

I'd like to find out.

It's time for me to take charge where I can.

Some things I can control. Some things I can't.

In those cases, it's time to know when to walk away.