August 8, 2020
I sent my letter
of remorse and apology to ESPN first thing in the morning. How I hate to send an email like that. I searched my “sent” mail to see if I had
informed them of my unavailability and I could not find one. This mistake is on me. I hope they are understanding and won’t black
ball me from that great event. I am not
a big tennis fan but working in Billie Jean King Tennis Center is quite an
experience. It has such an international
flavor as it is as much fun to watch the spectators as it is the players. People from all over the world come to New
York to see their favorite players although I think this year there may not be
fans present. But, this is the new
normal. Just kidding. This is abnormal.
I don’t have to
go to work today so it’s a good opportunity to catch up with pub business, do a
few extra Duolingo Spanish lessons, watch a little PGA Championship Golf, and
sit by the pool and catch up with some reading.
Around 3:00 pm I made myself a nice tall rum and coke and grabbed a
recliner by the pool then proceeded to dive into Bolton’s book. I’m about one third through it and it is not
an easy read. Sometimes I have to
re-read a paragraph or two insuring I’m not missing something. There are lots of names and places and
departments to keep track of. It is very
easy to have topics slip through the cracks.
While sweating in
the sun, let me rephrase that, dripping in the sun, the familiar sound of wine
bottles popping open was present. That
could only mean the referees were nearby.
They love their white wine and I am sure it was refreshing to sip on a
glass or two while loitering in the pool. If you have a plastic glass in your
hand, providing you are six feet from one another no mask is required. All of us have discovered the beauty of
carrying a beverage when necessary. Not
only does it help you stay hydrated it allows that damn cloth filter to be off
our faces for a while.
I could only
endure about an hour by the pool. Even
in the shade I was perspiring heavily.
Diving in the pool offered little relief as I didn’t want to stand in
the water with the sun beating down on me.
I didn’t have any sunscreen on and I get enough sun living in Arizona
anyway. I strolled back to my room and
did a few more Spanish lessons while glancing at the PGA before heading over
for dinner.
Observing my
fellow greenies I noticed our clothing options have gone full circle and we are
wearing what we brought for this restart over and over. I know that I brought enough options to last
me two weeks before I had to start all over.
I think that is what everyone else thought because I have been starting
to see outfits that have been worn at least three times. This isn’t a bad thing by any means. It just means that I have clearly lost my
mind and starting to notice things that I would never had noticed prior to
coming here. I am actually aware of the
times someone has worn a tee shirt or a pair of shorts? Has the monotony gotten this bad? Okay, I am sounding a bit ungrateful here and
that is not what it intended. I guess I
am trying to say that my mind is searching for different stimulation other than
regular day to day occurrences. I just
didn’t think it would be clothing options that would grab its attention.
Later that night
after round three of the PGA was complete a group of us met by the pool to play
dominoes. I had never played the game
before and was anxious to learn. It was
a warm stagnant evening as a terrific thunderstorm continued to linger filling
the air with rumbles and continuous lightning flashes but absolutely no wind
nor any rain. I watched the game first
not prepared to jump right in and it seemed simple enough.
When the
opportunity came to play, I realized the game wasn’t as simple as I originally
thought. It can be a pretty cognitive
game once immersed, keeping track of what tiles remain in the hands of others,
all the while trying to form a strategy of your own. The game was very addicting as we stayed and
played until about 1:30 am. I never won
but hey, I was a domino virgin until tonight.
While we played
the bones another group of green people were at the other end of the pool
playing a game of drunk Uno. That’s
another game I have never participated in.
I do like playing Uno and their version appeared to be much different
than the game I am used to playing. Players were taking laps around the pool, not
in the pool, around the pool. I saw one
guy doing jumping jacks then drinking a shot of something. Much more laughter was coming from their end
of the pool than ours but I have a feeling that in the morning they will be
moaning a lot more than us domino players.
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