Scrabble

Where do these days go, indeed? Another weekend has passed; however, I guess today being Veteran’s Day it really is a three-day weekend. Anyhow, the natural weekend is over, and it is on to another week. Yesterday, after the fabulous GA meeting, the rest of the day went quickly. I was true to my word and took the entire day off from exercising. I ventured into the television room to watch the football game between the Dallas Cowboys and my son’s team the New York Giants. Since the Giants are my son’s team, they are also my team. I have been watching football for as long as I can remember. Over that period of time, I did have that horrible compulsive gambling habit; however, I can state that I have always had a fairly discerning eye when watching most sports, football included. I really haven’t had a favorite football team since Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, and Lynn Swann, et al, last played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. With that in mind, I have been somewhat following the New York Giants this season. I was very surprised to see they only had lost two games all year headed into the game with the Cowboys. Frankly, I didn’t believe the Giants were that good to only have two losses, and incidentally, those two losses came to the two best teams in the NFC; the cowboys and the Green Bay Packers.

Well, now the Giants have three losses, and they didn’t fare very well against the Cowboys on Sunday. I do believe the Giants could be a much better team with a different coach. They have some very good players who I think are being stymied by their head coach. There quarterback, Eli Manning (yes, Peyton’s brother and Archie’s son), shows signs of brilliance while other times shows signs of disaster. While watching the game, I noticed a few unforgiveable penalties incurred by the Giants. The announcers pinned a few of these on Eli, but I believe it is the head coach’s fault because he is too controlling. It will be interesting to see if the Giants hold on to their head coach at the end of the season. I hope they go in another direction before Eli’s confidence is completely shot. They do have talent and should have a bright future without their current head coach.

The game was well in control by the Cowboys, who are clearly the better team. It almost pains me to say that last statement because, over the years I watched football, there may not have been teams that were my favorites, but there were a few teams that I certainly disliked; the Cowboys being one and the Oakland Raiders being the other. I have always been a fan of winning with class, and to me these two teams did not display this characteristic. My first favorite football team was the Miami Dolphins when they went through the 1972 season undefeated. I enjoyed how they seemed to win with class. Today, I can see this in the New England Patriots somewhat, but their last game against the Indianapolis Colts left something to be desired, at leas in terms of winning with class. I have never been a big proponent for the touchdown celebration, and I once heard an interview with the great running back, Barry Sanders. He was taught at an early age to act like you have scored a touchdown before, which is why he never spiked the football when he scored a touchdown. I certainly don’t mind impromptu celebrations, but some of these “celebrations” are better choreographed than some Broadway shows!
For all intents and purposes, the football game was over so I headed back to my room. My roommate suggested that the three of us (my friend who helps clean the bathrooms) play Scrabble after dinner. The Scrabble board had been retired since one of the initial members of the “table” had paroled back in June. I had been reluctant to join them back then, but I feel more comfortable now. I did say yes, and after dinner, the three of us played a game of Scrabble in the library. I had never played up until last night. I remember my sisters playing when we were kids, but for some reason, I never joined them. I was such a novice I had to read the rules before playing. It took me awhile to get used to the nuances, but I quickly caught on. The random draw of the letters was not very kind to me as my seven letters were made up of three “R’s” and four “L’s.” I came to find out this wasn’t very good as I struggled to find words. Much of the game I didn’t receive any vowels, and much to my chagrin, Vanna White wasn’t available so buying vowels was out of the question. The game lasted well over 1-1/2 hours. I did come in last by a considerable margin, but I had a good time. I learned that xi is a word found in Webster’s Dictionary which is the fourteenth letter in the Greek alphabet. Yes, it was fun and a very good way to pass away the time on a Sunday evening.

With the game over, we headed back to our rooms, and I must reiterate how much my roommate and I laugh each evening. I do go to sleep with a smile on my face, and that was the case last night. As I went to sleep, I was planning out my early morning. Today being a holiday meant all of the crews would be in camp and have the day off. In fact, most everyone with the exception of my friend and me had the day off. I did not want a repeat “write-up” of what happened on Columbus Day so we developed a plan for cleaning the bathrooms. The plan consisted of me getting up earlier than usual, complete my run, and then clean the bathrooms before breakfast. The plan went according to form, and we finished cleaning the bathrooms before breakfast. After breakfast, I hiked the hill in the back of the camp for almost two hours. It was a glorious morning with warm temperatures (70’s) and a slight breeze.

Nothing very exciting happened the rest of the day other than I did telephone my mother. We spoke for only 15 minutes as I had called the day before and spoke with my grandmother who informed me my mother and stepfather went to a wedding in Washington, D.C. for the weekend. It was great to speak with my grandmother who at 85 sounds great. My conversation with my mother was more brief than usual. It seemed we were both reluctant to share the letters we had written each other. Nonetheless, it is always great to speak with my mother, and she gave me a glowing report on my children. Yes, everything continues to move along quite nicely for them in New Jersey. I do believe this time apart had indeed worked out for the very best. Our conversation was over, and I returned to my room in preparation for my Boca burger dinner which I ate without incident.