September 25, 2020
I worked out for what I hoped was the final time in the fitness
center. Once again I was alone in the
facility as our numbers had decreased and I think the others that utilized the
gym must do it later in the day. I like to get my workout completed first thing
in the morning so I can check the box and make it a priority not an
afterthought.
I decided to check out the pickle ball courts located in the parking lot on my way to grab a post workout beverage from the dining center. There were three courts in operation and a few TNT folk were playing. I decided to hang out and get in a few games. I am glad I did. I must have played five or six games before the number of people wanting to play grew too large after I had lost a game. I didn’t want to sit out too many games in order to get back on the court as my body does not respond to rest as well as it did when I was half my age. The longer I sit after playing a game, the longer it takes for me to loosen those muscles and joints back up and get back out there. Plus, I swear, it felt like I had lost five pounds of water from my body. My shorts were soaked through and I took off my shirt a while back. I had grown tired of hanging sweat soaked clothing in my shower so with no shirt on that’s one less thing to try to dry out.
Following pickle ball a quick lunch was in order because we were
having our final prayer meeting around 2:00pm.
I entered El Mercado (the name of our dining area) and grabbed some food
to go and headed to the meeting and they hadn’t started so I was a bit
relieved. I don’t like being late but
hey, we were kicking ass at the pickle ball court!
Most of the discussion revolved around the upcoming baseball
bubble we were going to be entering shortly after departing Orlando. Lots of speculation and second guessing what
the MLB bubble would be like dominated the conversation. That went on for at
least a half hour and I wanted to try to get the conversation back to what I
thought it had been intended. Plus the
weather was superb outdoors and I wanted a couple of hours of pool time. I needed to finish that damn Bolton
book. I had completed about three
quarters of his writings and wanted to get it finished. As you can tell, I like to fill my schedule
dammit!
I had mentioned before that I am not a religious person but
attending these meetings with my friends had kind of grown on me. Having discussions with co-workers about
topics other than work related issues is enjoyable. Plus it’s a great opportunity to share and
perhaps receive insight from others than one may not find by themselves. Anyway, I brought up something I had noticed
since we had started getting together. I
noticed that the nearer we got to departing from the bubble, issues that had
caused us great stress and worry had seemed to decrease. I asked if anyone else felt that way. Some stated that issues involving other
individuals that had already left us may have played a part in the stress and
worry reduction while others replied that perhaps God had listened to our
prayers and he had a hand in making our lives a little easier. It gave me pause to consider that
opinion.
We left our meeting promising to check in on each other once in a
while to see how each was doing when our bubble times were finished. I know personally that there are two
individuals I want to communicate with to help with personal issues if they
want it, or at least to encourage them on the path that want to pursue. We all need someone to lean on, don’t we?
As previously mentioned the weather was awesome again today. I grabbed a rum and coke and my book and
bolted for the pool. I found a nice spot
(there were many as the area was practically empty) and began to read my book and
soaked up as much autumn Orlando sun as I could manage. Was this my last day by the pool? Damn, I get too damn sentimental when I
realize the end of something is nearing.
Goodbye little lizards that check up on me. Goodbye cleaning people that come by every so
often. Goodbye to the few that are
enjoying what I am enjoying. Damn
nostalgia…
Before I left the pool I received a notice on my phone that the long awaited Delta Heavy launch that had been scheduled for around midnight tonight was postponed for twenty four hours. That was good news in the fact that I would be able to get a good night of sleep tonight but the bad news is if it does go off tomorrow night at the same time that may interfere with us striking our equipment when the Lakers close out the series. Notice how I am having great faith in Los Angeles? If in fact we are in the middle of strike, I will go outside to watch the launch. I had waited way too long to see that rocket lift off and I am not going to miss it.
The day just kept getting better.
I got another text message on my phone that Lisa, yet another Turner
employee that was inside the bubble but I think was working for ESPN during
this stint, had made a batch of homemade lasagna for anyone that wanted
it. Lasagna is my all-time favorite
meal. In fact, when my wife Deidre and I
visited Italy five years ago, and this is no joke, every meal that we ate
outside of our hotel, I ordered lasagna.
There are so many variations of lasagna that it was a different meal
each time I ordered it. Anyway, I picked
up the meal from her room and it was delicious.
I don’t know how she was able to make that in her room but it capped off
a perfect day. I damn near licked the
paper plate clean in order to eat each and every morsel. Thank you, Lisa.
About a month ago Tucson.com did a story about my life in the
bubble. Today they were gracious enough to promote my blog. Here is the link to that promotion: https://tucson.com/sports/
Boston did to Miami what I don’t want Denver to do to the
Lakers. The Celtics extended their
series with a relatively easy victory over the Heat giving them two victories
to Miami’s three. Boston extended their
life in the bubble for at least two more days when they square off for game six
on Sunday. I want that series to go seven
because I picked the Celtics win the Eastern Conference. I blew it with the Western Conference when
the Clippers folded against the Nuggets.
The night did not end well for me or my wife. She checked in with me before I crawled into
bed and her frustration with my absence had taken over. I felt helpless as I listened to the sadness
in her voice and in my typical male fashion I tried to fix the situation or
justify rather than just listening. We almost got to the point of arguing about
the situation. It’s bad enough that I
may not be able to leave here on Sunday but the upcoming departure to San Diego
guaranteed to occur next Friday only compounded our two and a half month
separation. I will not be able to repay her for her support during this
experiment. Ever.
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