In the time since the creative part of my brain once again regained the wheel from the analytical section…and I started a new blog…I have been reading what other folks have been up to in the interim through their prior posts.
It occurred to me as well all of you…many of you…some…OK, perhaps ONE of you may actually be curious as to what’s been happening with me since I last lived on WordPress. So…in chronological order:
February 4, 2018: The Super Bowl
The hometown Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl, which was also the franchise’s first championship since 1960. It was oh-so-hard-to-believe then…and I STILL can’t quite accept this really happened. In a season where Carson Wentz (playing at an elite level) suffered a season-ending injury in mid-December, they still managed to win it all. This one really snuck up on me, as I feared the worst when Wentz’s knee exploded all over Los Angeles. But Nick Foles, who was considering retirement during the prior off-season, crafted a magical underdog story which ended in a Super Bowl MVP nod.
April 2, 2018: The NCAA Championship
The hometown Villanova Wildcats won their second national title in the last three years. This one was a shade easier to believe because of winning it all in 2016, but I wonder if everyone who lives outside of our region understands just how small a community the Wildcats reside within. It’s positively surreal to see how Villanova has become an annual national championship contender over the last few years. Of course, with Head Coach Jay Wright’s retirement, time will tell if they can retain their lofty standing in the college basketball community. Wright was always a great dresser and recruiter. Eventually, he put all of the X and O pieces together, and will likely be adding Hall of Fame Coach to his resume in the near future.
March 13, 2020: The Pandemic
My wife and I were sent home from work. Our positions converted overnight to remote work. We were/are blessed to a) have a roof over our heads, and b) have a house which allows us enough space to each have our own mini-home offices. It has also been a blessing no one in our family has had – to the best of our knowledge – this illness as of this writing.
October 28, 2020: The Roof
Even though we did not experience any issues with our roof, it had been in place at this point for enough years we judged it would be a solid, pro-active move to replace it. Prior to getting it installed, and having never been a part of such an event, I went online to research what one could expect from a replacement roofing install. There were several comments recommending you get out of the house for the day because it can get quite noisy. My wife and I figured there’d be a decent amount of noise, but felt we would rather stay in/with the house while it was being worked on.
Good Lord, GET OUT of your home if you are replacing your roof. The hammering started at 7 AM, lasted until 4PM…and to this day I still think I’m hearing tiles being put into place.
December 20, 2021: The Barber
This greeted me 5 days before my pre-Christmas haircut. Bill was my barber for approximately 30 of his 58 years in the business. He had two dogs in my time visiting his shop, and they were always with him while he was busily cutting away. Bill is truly one of the nicest people on the planet, and after finding this posted on his shop door, I made it a point to send him a thank-you card for his service…and friendship.
I have since found a great barber shop fairly close to home. It started operating a few years ago, and I always figured if Bill ever did stop working I’d wind up…at none other than “The Grumpy Barber.” As soon as I saw their sign go up, I figured I had to go there at least once…and they are not grumpy at all.
April 29, 2022: The Cold Brew
A long-time Caramel Macchiato drinker, Dunkin’s commercials touting the Cold Foam Cold Brew finally wore me down. Figuring I never would enjoy cold or iced coffee, I finally gave in and tried one…and another…and another.
At this point, hot coffee is in the rear-view mirror. A medium Cold Foam Cold Brew with three pumps of Caramel start my day each day. That being said, I do need to fire off a letter to Dunkin’ to ask them to get some part-time traffic police to manage the area surrounding the one establishment of theirs I most often frequent. Due to the Pandemic, not only this location but a couple of others nearby have not re-opened their doors, continuing to only serve thru drive-thru. With the price of gas these days, maybe that will knock down those lines a little going forward. In any event, it can get crazy when there are multiple pathways to get into one line.
June 1, 2022: The Next Chapter
So…when Bill The Barber hung up his shears in December…that got me thinking…
June 1 became the first day of my first retirement. I refer to it as such because who the hell knows what the future holds for any of us. For this moment in time, it seemed like the right time.
The “honey-do” list is of such length, I figured I’d better get started on it now…
Picture Courtesy iStock
walkingoffthechessboard 