As promised, the last day of Reno and some cleanup about sports, and maybe even something else on the end.
Day 5
Ah, the last day of my fantastical family vacation to Reno/Lake Tahoe. After waking up and looking at my little area, I realized I had some things to take care of. Dirty clothes needed to be packed, since I had overpacked for this trip-my Aunt's email to me a day before I left caused me the panic of a kid on his way to camp-so I had to check a bag. Well, on the bright side, I have started to pack my laptop bag more efficiently. Who knew I wouldn't read 4 books in 5 days? Well, after getting showered and dressed, it was time to break down the air mattress. Brilliant design, 5 minutes to fill the thing, and apparently a lifetime to deflate. It was a slow and painful thing. Oh well. Packed the bags, and then checked my departing Southwest ticket. Something seemed amiss.
Hmmmm, I am supposed to leave at 2:50, yet arrive in Denver. My Aunt swears it's like a 90 minute flight, tops. And the ticket only says Reno and Denver, no other city. Thank goodness for my trusty phone. Lucky me, I get to fly thru Phoenix....great, because that's on the way to Denver...wait, no it isn't! Whatever, it was a free plane ticket, so I will suck it up. Redemption comes in the form of my Aunt telling me that we will be stopping off at In-N-Out Burger (yippee, and I'm serious-good burger and a t-shirt, here I come!) before I go to the airport. SWEET! I love that place and the food is just damn good. I was greeted by the very polite woman behind the counter, got a Single Combo with cheese, and my t-shirt...and she gave me stickers. Fine, make fun of me, but if you can't get excited about the stupid things in life, don't bother.
The airport baggage check was made interesting by the guy being arrested right next to the Southwest gate. Apparently I missed him as I was talking to my Aunt, who (thankfully) pointed out the mess going on 'over there'. There he was, screaming nonsense with his shirt off and a pair of shorts...uh, ok. In all seriousness, this guy could have had a serious medical condition, and if that was the case, I do hope he was okay. I couldn't understand a word the guy was saying, and my immediate thought was he could be one of those people who decides that today is a good day to not take their meds (hello, Psycho Julie!). Either way, on to security. Reno Security is relatively quick to get thru, but I have this issue almost anywhere I go where getting into a line is a requirement-personal space. I think it's a cultural issue as well. The woman behind me (or rather, in my back pocket) was clearly from some Asian destination, I could tell by the outfit (Yes, another example of 'Explain Ya Outfit!') and the overall demeanor. My flight isn't going anywhere, and I'm rarely in a hurry. So I let her go in front of me.
Once I get to my gate, I want a snack. And there they were, Reese's pieces. And then my head wandered off into the land of Friendly's and the yummy sundaes I used to inhale sitting at a booth with my buddies before we could find any parties and drink. I'll give you the fact that the food usually sucks, but the ice cream is delicious. Yup, I'm getting a Reese's Pieces Sundae at some point in time when I'm back east.
It's high time we cross franchise this country. Burrito joints more than Chipotle need to be out east, I'm thinking Illegal Pete's (they mix up all the goodness, and their breakfast burritos are tasty), and I'm told more Jamba Juice's need to be on the east coast as well. Fine, I'll send those east and can someone please send me some Dunkin' damn Donuts and a Friendly's? Maybe a White Castle? Next up is Five Guys, then Moe's, Fatburger, Whataburger, a Tokyo Joe's, and of course, as discussed earlier, In-N-Out Burger. I'm sure I've missed a couple of things (damn, there's another one-Steak 'n Shake). Feel free to add yours. I'd have added Hayward's Ice Cream, but I think it's just the one in Nashua, NH....oh, and get me a Kelly's Roast Beef out here, now, damn it!
Before I got to board my plane, the more important thing happened to be getting off the plane. While I wasn't starstruck, I thought for a quick second (before I decided against it) of getting my picture with a twisted hero of mine, Dennis Hof. Who is he? He is the owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch (a whorehouse) and quite a TV personality, in case you've ever seen an episode of 'Cathouse' on HBO. He had a bunch of bimbos around him, loudly talking and barely wearing anything. I think it's safe to say Dennis travels, ahem, 'light'. Twisted hero? Simple, he has stated his business and relationship philosophy many times and people don't listen to him, and then he repeats it and it's still like a deer in headlights. Every time I've heard him speak, he appears honest, and he may be selling the last honest thing out there-sex. You should have seen the two rednecks who stopped him when he came out of the men's room to get a picture with him and the girls. I learned that these were the new girls for the upcoming season of Cathouse, from a distance, because Rednecks 1 & 2 decided to yell it out. Classier yet was the guy who asked for a picture as I was passing them to use the restroom yelling at his wife Linda to 'hurry up and take the damn picture, woman'....I can't write this shit!
On the plane I had the joy of sitting next to Dr. Bill, a nice man from Minnesota who I believe is a proud parent of a high school kid at Pomona (I think?) and his nephew graduated from ASU (I think). We shot the breeze about baseball, the Twins new stadium, my trip to the Mall of America almost 2 years ago, how I think damn near everyone from Minnesota is so damn nice, how he grew up a Packers fan and wanted to compare notes on Brett Fav-ruh and Roger Clemens. Until it all hit me at once. The combination of lack of sleep, 4 flights in 5 days, an air mattress, eating things that aren't normally on my diet (I love cheese, but I'm on day 2 of what is hopefully a 5 day cheese embargo), and being the point of entertainment for those days (it's tough being 'on' all the time) I almost got sick. This does not happen to me. Never on a plane. My head started pounding. Dr. Bill took notice and asked if I was okay-I told him it's a headache that just decided to unleash itself-which isn't a complete lie, I get these when certain circumstances arise. This one was the perfect storm. I rode it out, but not before Dr. Bill noting my paleness, and that maybe a coke would help. It did. Briefly.
When we landed all I wanted to do was go home, unpack, shower and go to bed. Nope, not in the cards. My roommate who while being kind enough to come get me, wanted to give me a minute by minute detail of all the things that happened since I left (I get it, it rained). Here comes the headache again. Well, after two (2!!!) unsuccessful trips to different pizza joints, I made it home. So long Reno, Stage 5, the National Anthem that rocked, the laughs, the overeating, and Dr. Bill.
Sports
The Bruins
I'll grant that those who think the Bruins choked (me included, kinda) have every right to be upset. But to those supposed 'fans' who threw things at the team on their way off the ice of Game 7-this ain't Philly, show some friggin manners. Since I couldn't watch the game, I just read the box score and it dawned on me. While others were wondering if they came out to play after the 1st period, I choose to look at it like 'Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!'. Bear with me-remember when you got knocked down as 'Little Mac'? And you would have to hit the A & B buttons fast as hell to get you back on your feet? That's the Bruins this year. Answer me this-how often did they have the full roster? Don't worry, I'll wait. Yes, them losing 4 games in a row sucks. And seeing Philly roll Montreal in the first 2 games kinda stings, but I think Brian Boucher getting hurt for the Flyers hurt the Bruins more. I also think that the B's just simply ran out of gas. I have no idea if Wideman sucks, but I do know that this team was fun to watch at times, and would be a force if all were healthy. The B's couldn't shut the door. Not a crime. I'll wait until next year, look forward to the offseason to see if they make any moves (trade Tim Thomas, maybe?) and hope everyone comes back healthy. I just looked on a fantasy sports website I rely on, and Ference is having surgery, Chara is getting his hand looked at, Sturm just got out of surgery, Sobotka may need surgery, Lucic wasn't healthy all year, and Seidenberg didn't play a minute of any playoff game. Sure, it's a bit depressing, but they play the games for a reason. To the B's fans who didn't throw anything and cheered the team as they left the ice for the final time, next time you see another fan throwing stuff at the home team, point them out to a security guard with a Taser and watch the magic unfold.
The Celtics
It's almost time. I'm not calling the series against Orlando dead and over yet, but it's getting close. What cracks me up is the national media is shocked by this. I'm not! Didn't anyone watch the C's beat Orlando on Christmas Day without Kevin Garnett? It was the blueprint on how you beat Orlando-don't double Dwight Howard in the post, and keep track of the shooters. No doubling down on the block means no one should be open on the perimeter. And since Howard has no real post moves, he's pretty easy to cover, and Kendrick Perkins owns him. So far these two games have been a clinic on team defense, and a reminder in case you missed games 4-6 against Cleveland. Let's just say I like what this team is doing, and if you can win a game 2 on the road when Ray Allen only scores 4 points, it's about to get interesting Saturday night.
The Sox
I love my boys in Red, but this team is getting close to being torn apart. Please, remember the injuries. Ask a Yankees fan. The Sox have been without Ellsbury and Cameron for how long? I loved the Hermida signing by the Red Sox, and it paid off huge last night (why was Randy Winn playing so shallow?). The Yankees are in the same boat, without Granderson, Swisher and now Posada will be out for 3-4 weeks. I'm not saying to implode this Sox team yet, but it's getting dangerously close. And I swear, please, for the love of all things Cooperstown, can the Sox please draft a SS and leave it well enough alone? Scutaro is a nice guy, but I swear the revolving door of free agent dookie is getting to me. Fine, I'll say it again-shoulda kept the OC, Orlando Cabrera. That guy makes the playoffs every year, and look how Cincinnati is doing this year. I'm just sayin'.
I'll have more tomorrow (today?), but I'm beat and I gots to go to bed.
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