July 11, 2020

 

Well shit.  One day before I leave for Orlando for what is to be a huge experiment in professional sports coverage.  Basically, it is all about television revenue, revenue the NBA relies on to pay its players, staff, arena leases, etc.  I agreed about a month ago to take part in this experiment.  AT&T, the parent company of Turner Sports, was gracious enough to pay me for all the games that were cancelled after the season came to a grinding halt on March 13, so I felt obligated to pay them back. The season ended when I was in LA to work a Lakers game, and as soon as I landed was told to head back home.  No way was I going to turn around at that time of night.  I took an Uber to the hotel, booked a flight for the next afternoon, and settled in to relax and try to sleep in one time.

My wife is not thrilled about me taking off for a little over two and a half months.  But, she understands the nature of the business.  I was really getting used to being home every day.  We had a nice routine going on.  Wake up after Carson, one of our boxer mix dogs, licked my face and wanted outside to chase a rabbit off the back lawn.  I would then take a piss, get back in bed, and Cocoa, the other boxer mix, would snuggle up to me to have her belly rubbed.  In turn, Carson would then lick Deidre’s face, signaling her to go get the coffee and cookies that I would dip in my beverage and share with both pups.  Those dogs had us trained really well. 

We would watch the first half hour of the Today Show and then take the dogs on a long walk before it got too hot.  July is a mother in Tucson, and if you waited too long, a dog walk was out of the question. 

Normally, I would hit the gym after, but COVID had killed that pleasure, so I would work on paperwork for the pub that we own together, then I would work in the yard for a couple of hours.  After that, time to float out on the pool and relax, then inside for some lunch, and then find a way to kill some time before dinner.  After dinner, another dog walk, then perhaps a movie or television show, then off to bed, rinse and repeat. I enjoyed the routine.

But tomorrow, everything will change.  I pack my bags, bringing enough clothes to last a couple of weeks, workout gear, my computer and external drives, Ipad, Bluetooth speakers, my Rhythm Touch for my rotator cuff, and a couple of books to read.  Oh, and a bunch of masks. And then, a storm hits.

July and August are my favorite time of the year in Tucson, as we get the “Monsoon.” Up until now, it had been the “Nonsoon” as we hadn’t received any rain at all.  There was a huge electrical storm in early June that lit the Catalina Mountains ablaze, and the fire continued for over 6 weeks.  It was still burning as I went outside to clean up the damage this storm caused.  We had branches down, the pool was filled with debris, some of the pots in our ramada had blown over and broke, not a pretty sight.  And this was the first true storm of the season.  Deidre, was not thrilled as the look on her faced signaled that this is what she will have to deal with alone while I am enjoying my trip to Orlando.

I set my alarm for 4am.  My flight is at 7am, but I don’t like to rush.  Even though I am completely packed, all I have to do in the morning is shower and head to the airport.  I could probably set the alarm for 5 and be fine, but just in case something happens, I want to be able to take care of it before I leave.  The alarm is useless anyway, because I always wake up about 15 minutes before it is scheduled to go off.  I haven’t slept like a college kid since, hell, I was in college.