Writing About The Last Minute

 

Toscano Family Ice Forum, UConn.

There are days when I am just so tapped out in this strange exercise of trying to write something.

I saw myself as more of a columnist and yet I hit these lulls when I'm doing nothing more than writing a diary.

Like today.

I was asked last week to keep today open for a deposition. I'm happy to work (of course) and had nothing planned for today, so I did as asked. I was assigned a job and was ready to go on time.

As I recently wrote, if it's on the calendar, then that's it.

But Jeff Alterman reached out with an opening to call basketball in Stratford with him. I had hoped my job wouldn't be long today and I could still go to the game.

It didn't work out. Jeff had to fly solo and didn't try to do anything more than dutifully call the game. It's a wonderful lesson to learn.

I was also asked about taking another job tomorrow. I had checked my calendar and saw that Brunswick hockey was playing a game at the new UConn rink but since I normally don't cover road games (except for football), there was no need to keep it on the calendar.

I deleted the note about hockey and prepared for another assignment tomorrow.

Then the texts began. Tomorrow's Brunswick game is actually significant and they'd love for me to be there.

With great thanks to most parties involved, we decided that I could be a game-time decision.

However, the assignment has to go on as scheduled. The job might be short but given how today's went, I'm not holding my breath. If it ends early enough, then I'll jump in the car.

Again, the key to all of this is that I'm happy to be working. 

But I'd just prefer to have a home base with some kind of normalcy. Oh, I don't need a 9-5 job. There are just days like this where the last-minute ch-ch-ch-changes (turn and face the stranger) get a bit exhausting.

So, tomorrow, I went from having a game in Norwalk to working from home to working from home to working from home and maybe barreling up to Storrs for a hockey game.

You can probably begin to understand why I need a calendar.

But I'm grateful to be wanted. I also went from nothing on Thursday to the honor of calling the Section One Girls Hockey Championship in Brewster.

Girls sports -- and especially girls hockey around these parts -- are woefully under-covered.

As you know, I've called a few of those title games in Connecticut over the years. I was the play-by-play announcer for the game that famously ended in a tie for a variety of reasons, with rink time being the biggest issue. My voice wound up being on a few major channels as a result. 

But it's about the players most importantly.  That situation has not happened since then. The game was moved to where time would not be a problem. I've called a few more of them but conflicts have pulled me off of it.

So I'm thrilled to have the chance to do one in New York on Thursday.

I'm also getting to add wrestling to the schedule again with the Section One Championship at the Westchester County Center on Sunday.

So, yeah, I'm going back to the County Center after basketball last week. It's the first time the County Center is hosting the wrestling championships. The only thing that is missing is Chris Erway next to me. 

Everything has settled down now. Until tomorrow.

I've prepared for a game I may or may not do.

I'm working on preparing for a girls hockey game on Thursday.

Then I have hockey and basketball on Friday.

Then hockey in Poughkeepsie on Saturday.

Then wrestling in White Plains on Sunday.

Oh and there's some football game on Sunday. A girl might be involved with that.

(Side note: people are allowed to be sick of that. People are also allowed to like it. I personally find it harmless, fun, and no worse than seeing Jerry Jones on TV. Opinions are OK. Isn't that sort of the point? Or does it require some kind of passive-aggressive posting of a picture every day for 13 days or whatever? Oh, wait, that's because people like that want to make it political. Shame on them and those who enable them.)

My brain is a bit overloaded.

And thus I write posts that are more like a diary.