A Little Housecleaning
It seems that I try to remember to do the following every year but inevitably forget. Or at least try to remember to do it in a timely manner. Whoa, wait a minute! Peter, is that you? What's up, Boss? Where the hell have you been? An ode to George Washington and before that a few thousand e-mails accusing you of being Hitler towards transgenders and you disappear? Really?? Hey, Sancho! You know I've been right here the whole time trying to type, but sometimes life gets in the way. The body doesn't heal like it used to and, well, you know. I feel you, boss. Just promise me that this time you'll hit the "PUBLISH" button! Deal. Now can I get back to my ineptness? Feel free.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah...my forgetfulness. A huge and heartfelt and humble "Thank You" for the birthday wishes a few weeks ago. For the Facebook crowd I understand that it's what Facebook friends do, but for me, it's huge. At the risk of repeating myself, if I have more than one friend it's more than I deserve. As for Sancho's somewhat brazen attack on some readers, trust me when I say I enjoy the give and take. I understand that when I broach a serious and emotionally charged topic, I'm gonna take a lot of heat. That's okay. While I admit some of the vitriol caught me a little off guard, I'm a big boy.
But this has nothing to do with anything like that. It has everything to do with the surprising joy that can happen when the completely unexpected appears. And it is those times that can clear the writing block...at least for me. And if you will indulge me, dear reader, I'd like to give a shout-out to a few friends. For example, a number of weeks ago an old friend and I somehow had a reason to contact each other. To be honest I can't remember the reason right now. But that contact ended in a tee time at a local golfing establishment with Ric Flagg. While not known to all of you out there, some will remember Ric as the John McEnroe of Pennsbury High School in the late 1970s! I also remember Ric as a basketball teammate and friend whose heart was huge and whose friendship was strong. Those who know him don't need me to tell you that he hasn't changed one bit. As we walked together down the first fairway on a beautiful morning, the years melted away and the conversation ranged from topic to topic as if we had been talking for decades. Sadly, the shooting in Uvalde, Texas had just recently happened and the pathos that was felt and talked about made the day that much more poignant. I think we both realized how the passage of time had made both of us much more appreciative of life. It was a wonderful day. By the way...Ric's a helluva golfer! Thanks for a memorable day, my friend. By the way, the recent photograph on my Facebook page was Ric and I after the round. I know, I know, he hasn't gained a pound! Thanks for the reminder.
Back in March, I got a call from another old friend from high school...the wonderful and crazy...your favorite linebacker and mine, Mr. John Dardes. He asked me to accompany him with 100 or so of his best friends to Ocean City, Maryland for a golf outing. "I'm in!" was my immediate reply. Sun and fun in Ocean City, Maryland! Golfing, seafood, and Dardes! Peter, you hate seafood. Whatever...what could go wrong? Well, nothing went wrong, so to speak. You roll the weather dice in March and it was brisk! Kind of like Cape Cod in February! But you know what? Didn't matter. There was occasional good golf, and there was DTV; All Dardes, All The Time! John has been the game-show host for a lot of us for many years, and I mean that with all due love and respect. He's the guy that keeps things loose, and moving forward, and making sure that people don't get too full of themselves. We need more people like that in this world, even if they are Cleveland fans! And to top it all off, JD did all of this after recent hip replacement surgery. Didn't whine once! Well, he kept begging for more strokes but he'd have probably done that anyway. I mean, it is Dardes. People don't change THAT much! John, I was honored to bring your dinner up to the hotel room for you. Thank you very much for the invite and for a great weekend.
Last but certainly not least, a shocking and wonderful sighting just the other day. As is customary when I'm not golfing or making the trip to Tyler State Park, I'm taking a walk in the adjacent neighborhood. Back and forth through the side streets and main drag, it's peaceful and I even run into an old friend on the odd occasion. This time as I was making my way back home, that old friend flagged me down and pointed out someone standing beside her. Remember how I said the memory isn't what it used to be? Well, the eyesight is just as good. As I walked closer, this person suddenly morphed into the Warrior-God, Rich Applegate...another dear, old friend. We had not seen each other in a long time. But just like with my friend Ric, you wouldn't have known that. Rich and his brothers strode across the Bucks County football landscape back in the 70s like the gods of Olympus. And now, again like talking to John and Ric, the appreciation of wisdom and age-experience and the realization that time is fleeting led to a wonderful, albeit short, reunion. But in the brief time standing there on that sidewalk, the laughter, full-blown bear hugs and the genuine desires that we get together again soon were just what I needed. And a heartfelt thank you to Linda for flagging me down!
I understand this might have been tedious and boring for some of you, but I think I just wanted to publicly express my appreciation for the ties that bind, if that's not too sappy. The world is a tough place right now. Hold on to the dear ones real tight.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah...my forgetfulness. A huge and heartfelt and humble "Thank You" for the birthday wishes a few weeks ago. For the Facebook crowd I understand that it's what Facebook friends do, but for me, it's huge. At the risk of repeating myself, if I have more than one friend it's more than I deserve. As for Sancho's somewhat brazen attack on some readers, trust me when I say I enjoy the give and take. I understand that when I broach a serious and emotionally charged topic, I'm gonna take a lot of heat. That's okay. While I admit some of the vitriol caught me a little off guard, I'm a big boy.
But this has nothing to do with anything like that. It has everything to do with the surprising joy that can happen when the completely unexpected appears. And it is those times that can clear the writing block...at least for me. And if you will indulge me, dear reader, I'd like to give a shout-out to a few friends. For example, a number of weeks ago an old friend and I somehow had a reason to contact each other. To be honest I can't remember the reason right now. But that contact ended in a tee time at a local golfing establishment with Ric Flagg. While not known to all of you out there, some will remember Ric as the John McEnroe of Pennsbury High School in the late 1970s! I also remember Ric as a basketball teammate and friend whose heart was huge and whose friendship was strong. Those who know him don't need me to tell you that he hasn't changed one bit. As we walked together down the first fairway on a beautiful morning, the years melted away and the conversation ranged from topic to topic as if we had been talking for decades. Sadly, the shooting in Uvalde, Texas had just recently happened and the pathos that was felt and talked about made the day that much more poignant. I think we both realized how the passage of time had made both of us much more appreciative of life. It was a wonderful day. By the way...Ric's a helluva golfer! Thanks for a memorable day, my friend. By the way, the recent photograph on my Facebook page was Ric and I after the round. I know, I know, he hasn't gained a pound! Thanks for the reminder.
Back in March, I got a call from another old friend from high school...the wonderful and crazy...your favorite linebacker and mine, Mr. John Dardes. He asked me to accompany him with 100 or so of his best friends to Ocean City, Maryland for a golf outing. "I'm in!" was my immediate reply. Sun and fun in Ocean City, Maryland! Golfing, seafood, and Dardes! Peter, you hate seafood. Whatever...what could go wrong? Well, nothing went wrong, so to speak. You roll the weather dice in March and it was brisk! Kind of like Cape Cod in February! But you know what? Didn't matter. There was occasional good golf, and there was DTV; All Dardes, All The Time! John has been the game-show host for a lot of us for many years, and I mean that with all due love and respect. He's the guy that keeps things loose, and moving forward, and making sure that people don't get too full of themselves. We need more people like that in this world, even if they are Cleveland fans! And to top it all off, JD did all of this after recent hip replacement surgery. Didn't whine once! Well, he kept begging for more strokes but he'd have probably done that anyway. I mean, it is Dardes. People don't change THAT much! John, I was honored to bring your dinner up to the hotel room for you. Thank you very much for the invite and for a great weekend.
Last but certainly not least, a shocking and wonderful sighting just the other day. As is customary when I'm not golfing or making the trip to Tyler State Park, I'm taking a walk in the adjacent neighborhood. Back and forth through the side streets and main drag, it's peaceful and I even run into an old friend on the odd occasion. This time as I was making my way back home, that old friend flagged me down and pointed out someone standing beside her. Remember how I said the memory isn't what it used to be? Well, the eyesight is just as good. As I walked closer, this person suddenly morphed into the Warrior-God, Rich Applegate...another dear, old friend. We had not seen each other in a long time. But just like with my friend Ric, you wouldn't have known that. Rich and his brothers strode across the Bucks County football landscape back in the 70s like the gods of Olympus. And now, again like talking to John and Ric, the appreciation of wisdom and age-experience and the realization that time is fleeting led to a wonderful, albeit short, reunion. But in the brief time standing there on that sidewalk, the laughter, full-blown bear hugs and the genuine desires that we get together again soon were just what I needed. And a heartfelt thank you to Linda for flagging me down!
I understand this might have been tedious and boring for some of you, but I think I just wanted to publicly express my appreciation for the ties that bind, if that's not too sappy. The world is a tough place right now. Hold on to the dear ones real tight.
Write to: Magtour@icloud.com
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