 |
| Remembering Teddy Balkind at The Hartong Rink |
I mentioned that Thursday was quite the adventure. The heavy rain thrashed me around as I drove from Mahopac to Greenwich. The return trip wasn't as haphazard but still gave me grief.
Then, after discovering water in the basement (since cleaned up) I found a leaky tire (aka "flat").
While not ideal, Friday's sleet/ice storm allowed me to stay home and not stress over it. I only had an appointment made for my booster shot on Saturday.
As for fixing the tire, before you ask, I have an appointment on Monday. I will have four brand new tires and the drama will shift to something else, I'm quite sure.
So, with that said, I had to somehow survive the weekend. Let's face it, even if I didn't go out today or tomorrow, I'd still have to get to BJs on Monday morning for the mounting of the new tires.
OK, so I'll just stay home. No need to go out, even for the booster, right?
Then I got a text. Friday's storm had already cost Brunswick a game against Albany Academy. their head coach Mike Kennedy told me that there's a group message of coaches that stays active for anyone seeking a game where there's an opening.
Trinity-Pawling was looking for a game.
Brunswick now needed a game.
Bingo. Match made, even though they'll also meet on Feb 25 at the Hartong Rink.
I got the text from Wayne McGiullicuddy and my heart sank.
On the one hand, "Game? Broadcast? SURE!"
Plus, well, employment. Always nice.
On the other hand...the tire.
So now the conundrum was fully in place. I woke up this morning and decided to see how it all played out. I felt risky and irresponsible if I went out.
The first decision was to postpone the booster shot. One look at the white driveway told me that it wasn't necessary. I was going to let the morning go a little longer to allow the sun to hit the road.
So I prepared as if there would be a broadcast. That is to say that I went through the motions. Just in case. I gathered the Trinity-Pawling roster and my scorecard (patent pending) and went about my morning.
Then I saw the road was dry. I decided that, at the very least, I'd drive to the local AutoZone* to get a lug wrench (the one with my car is shamefully awful), price a jack (my father had one that mysteriously disappeared years ago), and, for laughs, buy a Fix-a-Flat-type of product to have with me.
*Ever since Sean was little, he would hear the AutoZone commercials with the line, "Get in the Zone..." and he'd whisper "AutoZone." I can't hear it any other way and, oh, by the way, he still does it if I say the first part of the line.
So, as I did on Friday, I used my air pump to reinflate the tire. It held well enough to gingerly back out of the garage and hit the road for the five-minute to ride to AutoZone.
While I didn't buy a jack, I did buy the lug wrench and the Fix-a-Flat. Hopefully, I wouldn't need either of them.
I put just a little more air in the tire when I left. So far, so good.
I grabbed a wrap at the nearby Stop and Shop (in, again, Baldwin Place). Me, eat a spinach wrap? Desperate times, friends. The last thing you want is a disoriented, exhausted, hungry broadcaster.
With the first two stops out of the way, I took a deep breath and began to move towards Brunswick. For those new to the party, Wick's athletic facilities are located on King St. in Greenwich near Westchester County Airport. I often joke that if you wander into the woods on the west side of the campus, not only will you be in New York but the TSA might want to chat with you.
In reality, you'd probably encounter the public access terminal road, but still, it's a risk.
The rink and gym are in a building between the Pre and Lower Schools. The Upper School (the high school) is actually in downtown Greenwich while the Middle School is on the former Tudor property across the way on King Street. The new soccer field is on that property, with a tunnel connecting the two campuses.
I made my way through Westchester County, taking it easy along I-684. The "low tire" alert eventually came on in the car but I was able to reach a parking spot outside the rink without incident. I was safe and put more air in the tire.
I had made it. The broadest went off mostly without problems, save for something with my audio via Mixlr for a chunk of the first period. Proving my point how audio matters, especially for those in the car, I've noticed an uptick in listens on Robcasting, even if it's a very minor number.
Audio matters, people. So does the ability to call a video broadcast and make it a hybrid audio description.
Brunswick won an exhausting, hard-fought (literally) 6-5 contest. The Pride from Trinity-Pawling roared back (yes I went there) with two goals late in the third to tie the game before sophomore Sean Gibbons sent the crowd home happy.
For the second time in a couple of days, there was an injured player on the ice. Putting my money where my mouth is, I delicately deflected until the player was back on their skates. I'm careful with any injury during a game but you can probably imagine where the sensitivity is heightened at The Hartong Rink and will be for some time.
To that end, without fanfare, a small number five now hangs just inside the entrance in honor of the late Teddy Balkind. A classy gesture for sure.
After the game, I packed, returned to the car, reinflated the tire, and drove away.
Another trip to Stop and Shop awaited because I needed dinner. I would have preferred Wegman's but wasn't going to risk going anywhere that wasn't on the way home. With food procured, I returned to the home of Squeaky the Cat.
The broadcast happened. I didn't need to call it off the computer from home (I considered that). I was safe, I was smart, and I made it. In the end, it wasn't as dangerous or irresponsible as I had feared.
You know me by now. I skip games only when I simply have to. Today wasn't one of those days.
I'll get the booster. In fact, I checked for times today before I came home and it didn't work out but there are plenty of other appointments.
Another day is done.
Another game called.
The next broadcast is scheduled for Tuesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment