August 11, 2020
The day started
out great. My colleague that missed his
COVID test the day prior was contacted by NBA officials who asked him to remain
in his room after he took his COVID test at 6:00am until he was to report to
work later in the afternoon. He would
get his temperature taken upon entering the arena and, because of his
month-long account of negative tests and if his temperature was within the
acceptable level, he would be able to work.
He must practice extreme social distancing while at work. He also received a written reprimand and will
be excused from the restart if he violates the protocol moving forward. From
now on he is going to get tested every morning and not wait until later in the
day like he has been doing. I am
confident he won’t miss any more COVID tests.
When I entered
the workout room later in the morning, Mr. Consistency, Leon Wood, acknowledged
me as I began my circuit. I guess we are
buds now, being as I see him every time I am in there. It was nice to be recognized.
I went for my
test before lunch. When I walked in and
sat down, the attendant looked at me prior to me registering my wristband on
the sensor and said “Darrin Pierce 102159.”
Holy crap! Not only did my
workout buddy recognize me but the COVID receptionist as well. I asked her how she knew it was me as I had
my mask on and was just removing my sunglasses.
She said she recognizes everyone now as it has been over a month since
we started doing this routine, that it has pretty much become second
nature. Damn, and I thought perhaps I
was special. She said she doesn’t know
everyone’s name and birthdate but I am one of the few that rattles it off the
way I do. Some say the month and day and
year, others only say the month and day, but I am somewhat unique with my
ten-twentyone-fiftynine style.
I didn’t need to
be to the arena for the one game I had on national television until 4:30 in the
afternoon (for a 9:00pm) tip so I headed to the pool after lunch for a little
sun and some reading. I found a
comfortable spot and cracked open the Bolton book. I’m about one third through and it is holding
my attention. A strong gust of wind
suddenly swept the pool area resulting in a loud crash coming from the other
side of the pool. I had no idea what
could make such a tremendous noise so suddenly.
I looked in the direction of the sound and saw three men scattering from
beneath a huge palm tree. The wind had separated five large palm fronds and
countless sections of bark from the tree that rained down upon the three. Luckily none were hit by the falling wood
crediting their quick reflexes that moved them from the path of
destruction. “The same thing happened a
couple of days ago!” I heard one of them exclaim. Not taking any pity of their situation, I
yelled back “I wouldn’t sit there anymore!”
Before they had
time to respond my retort a sharp crack filled the air from a lightning bolt
that I swear hit the building adjacent to the pool area. I gathered up my belongings and sprinted for
my room. That storm came out of nowhere. Three minutes ago I was sweating under the
Orlando sun. Now I was hoping to see
refuge from the rain in the comfort of my air conditioned resort room.
As I approached
my residence, housekeeping was inside refreshing my room as they do every four
days. I knocked to announce my presence
and the associate asked if this was my room.
I showed her on the key pad how my wristband proved the room was indeed
mine. What she said next would surely
make my wife smile. “Your room is always
so clean.” Huh? “So many rooms are a
mess. Yours is so clean.”
I never really
thought of it that way. Whenever I
travel with Deidre she keeps everything in order. I pretty much follow suit when I travel
alone. It made me think of a couple of
other rooms of the guys that I work with, when I would go inside to get a beer
or whatever. Yes, I have a very clean
room. They have crap all over the place,
on both beds, on the floor, items strewn across the desk area, nothing in its
place. There is a place for everything
while putting everything in its place. A
clean room is a happy room. Sorry, I
digress, but when I was told I had a clean room, I thought of my wife. Not because she picks up after me but because
she has taught me.
I arrived at the
Arena with the three other green camera operators after we ate dinner at “The
Grill” on the WWOS complex. Boston was
playing Memphis in this game aired by ESPN.
Our game followed this one so we pulled up a few chairs and watched some
pretty good basketball. As I sat there
watching Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum along with Kemba Walker and Marcus
Smart dominate who I think will win the NBA Rookie of the Year, Ja Morant, and
the Memphis Grizzlies, I couldn’t help but think to myself how damn lucky I was
to be where I am. I was sitting in seats that would cost thousands of dollars
under normal circumstances, watching world class athletes compete against one
another, all the while getting paid to boot.
And this had become commonplace to me.
It’s easy to take things for granted when they occur repetitiously and
the environment that I had been living in the last month can easily promote
that. I took a deep breath and reminded
myself that I am lucky, that I am blessed, that I must remember to be thankful
for this honor, this privilege.
The game between
the Pelicans and the Kings was nothing but a commitment. There was nothing on the line, two teams that
weren’t going to the playoffs, competing only because the game was on the
ledger. Both rested their marquee
players allowing the reserves to play many more minutes than they were used
to. We filled our two and one half hours
of television with witty commentary from Kevin and Reggie along with a few
highlight worthy basketball plays, but other than that, we wanted to bust out
of there as soon as it was over. I can’t
wait until the playoffs start. We will
witness a whole new level of competition from a scenario that can’t wait to be
written.
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