Oct 18, 2003

Pondering

I'm thinking of switching to Xanga's blog site. Blogspot is a little cold and unfriendly. If I can figure out how to get people to post comments, maybe I'll stick around. But I just talked to Pieter Friedrich and I'll see if I can get oe working here.
Anyways, I hadn't realized how many people I know had blogs. It'll be nice to keep up to date with everybody. So many of my friendships have been focused around activism or sports, and I tend tend to lose contact with people once one of thos activities falls through.

Oct 3, 2003

My Poor Readers....

That is, if any of you are still reading this blog. I am so lame: I haven't written in a month! My sincerest apologies and please remain faithful to the Garbage Man, even when I am not.
As I was saying: my poor readers... The Boston Celtics season just started, meaning I will have to restrain myself from letting them take over my posts. Today's topic, so you know why a seemingly meaningless sports team can sieze my affections, I will share the history of my relationship with the Boston Celtics:
My Dad was born and raised in Shelburne Falls, Massachussetts, not too far from Boston. (To this day, Massachussetts is infested with Livelys.) My Dad is so disinterested in sports that I doubt he fully knows of the Celtics' existence. I believe the passive New England sports gene in my Dad was passed on to me in an active form, where it would wait impatiently during my first few years as a child of the West Coast. I had strong interest in sports, but for some inexplicable reason, I could not bond with any of my "home teams," even if they were fun, fascinating teams. Around the age of 5, I came into contact with pro basketball, and thus the Celtics and the rest is history. I don't remember how it happened; I think I must have been sitting on the couch watching some sports event with my older half-brother Teddy, as I was fond of doing, when I first saw them. I'm convinced it was fanhood at first sight, because I don't remember anytime when I knew who the Celtics were that I wasn't loyal to them.
Whatever the exact circumstances, I was hooked. This team was chock-full of legends: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish.... Heck, I still remember names like Jon Bagley and Kevin Gamble. And then there was Reggie Lewis, who I was passionate about, more than just about anybody. I drooled over their trading cards. These guys were awesome, and I was in heaven on the rare occassions that I caught a game. Then it all fell through: Bird, McHale and Parrish retired or left the team. Then the ultimate blow: I was with my Dad on a trip, and I think we were in a hotel when we turned on the TV, and what pops on but: "Celtics star Reggie Lewis dies suddenly of a heart attack." My player had just dropped dead. I was hurt.
In the years following, I avoided the Celtics. They were consistently bad, and watching them goofing up only made me more sad and nostalgic. But, the Celtics are good again and the old fires in me have been rekindled. It's almost like living in the old days for me. Unfortunately, it also means I have a hard time restraining myself from wasting every waking minute reading all the news and gossip on the team. I get near a computer and one of the first thoughts that pops into my mind is: "I wonder if there's a story about the Celtics today? Maybe a trade, maybe some glimmer of hope for the future." It's no joke, even though I laugh at myself sometimes.
That little anecdote about the Celtics should last me for awhile, but beware, I do suffer relapses into Celtic-mania from time to time. Stick around until tonight for some thoughts about my friends' wedding rehearsal, the funny oriental lady at the Sunshine Buffet and the editing-on of more discussion about Hebrews to the previous post.