“Football is the ballet of the masses.”
I’m still trying to catch my breath after watching the Patriot’s playoff game yesterday. It wasn’t a pretty game. The defense left holes big enough for tanks to drive through. Twice the Pats were down by 14. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter when Brady hit LaFell with a pass along the left sideline that the Pats went ahead for the first time: 35-31 which would be the final score. We cheered, yelled, whined, complained and even booed a couple of times. Flacco tried a Hail Mary with a couple of seconds left, but the end zone was so filled with players, including Gronk, that the ball was deflected. We finally got to breathe.
When the game started, it was 19˚ at Gillette then it got colder. Today is relatively warm at 26˚. Tomorrow will be a one day heat wave in the 40’s. I’m trying to remember where I put my sandals.
When I was a little kid and had to walk to school, my mother dressed me in so many layers the clothes barely fit on one hook in the cloakroom. It took what seemed forever to get down to my school uniform, the first layer. The cloakroom had two rows of hooks on both sides on the walls, and in winter, there was no easy path to move through all the clothes to get to the classroom. Coats and jackets ended up on the floor so Sister Redempta, my first grade teacher, used to make us go back out and hang up all the jackets. She had an aversion to mess. I think that was a nun thing.
I still have the most amazing visual memory of that first grade cloakroom. It had wooden walls, a wide opening by the main classroom door and a door at the other opposite end which led to the classroom, to the aisle near the windows. The bottom rows of hooks were indented beneath the top rows. The floor was tile. The optimum spots for hanging jackets were the lower hooks. On rainy days, our jackets usually dried as they were in the open air, not in some lockers.
I lost my cloakrooms in the fifth grade when we moved to the new school. It had lockers with no locks or combinations which didn’t phase us at all. We were used to cloakrooms with open access. Besides, I had nothing valuable except my lunch: my bologna sandwich, chips and if I were lucky, a Ring Ding or a Devil Dog.
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January 11, 2015 at 12:52 pm
In a few minutes the Cowboys and the Packers will face off in the cold in Greenbay. It won’t be as cold as it was for the infamous ice bowl game in 1967. The Packers are either the first or second NFL team and the owners are the residents of Greenbay. My former coworker was from Greenbay and didn’t own any of the stock. I would love to see a Cowboy and Pats Super Bowl. If nothing else’s you and I can swap barbs during the run up week. 🙂
January 11, 2015 at 1:10 pm
Bob,
Just in case, I’ll write a bit of trash talk down now so I’ll be ready.
I always think of Green Bay as really cold. I hope the Cowboys will have no problem tolerating it.
January 11, 2015 at 5:11 pm
The season ended for the Cowboys on a reviewed call. I dislike video review more than anything else in sports. I like the old baseball adage about umpires. “I call’s em like I see’s em”. Dez Bryan looked defeated after that terrific catch was called an incomplete pass. We should all trash talk the video review system.
Good luck to the Pats next week, hopefully they won’t get too many great plays reversed by an official’s second look in the booth. I guess the NFL likes the current review system because they can stick in a commercial while an official somewhere decides the play. Why bother having the guys in the zebra shirts on the field except to break up fights.
January 11, 2015 at 5:23 pm
Bob,
I watched that game on and off and happened to see the reviewed call. After it went against them, the Cowboys looked so crestfallen as they knew it was their last chance.
Thanks on the Pats. I’d like it to be Indy as they are easier to best than Peyton and the Broncos though Manning does have trouble winning the big games.
January 11, 2015 at 2:25 pm
The storm was much worse than poredicted but as most times I didn’t notice much of it, the roar of it of course but very little else. All my neighbors thought their roofs would be ripped off 🙂 I’m so glad that my closest neighbors cottage and garage take almost all wind coming from west to southwest.
I woke up at five and thought it was a bit chilly in my bedroom, not so strange since we had been without power since 11:30 last night 🙂 I’m so glad I have my fire heated stove 🙂 The power came back arpund 1pm today and the water pump had to be restarted because I had used too much so the water pressure went below the point where the pump stops just in case a tap would be open. A good thing unless ones neighbor who has the pump in his garage isn’t at home 🙂 🙂 🙂
Now everything is back to normal again and tyomorrow work starts and the four inches of snow that we’ve gotten will start to melt away again,
Have a great day!
Christer.
January 11, 2015 at 5:31 pm
Christer,
I’m glad your house was safe during the wind storm. I’m always expecting one of my pine trees to lose a bough. There are a couple down from a fall storm and one skinny tree broke.
I don’t have your handy fire stove when the electricity goes out in the winter. A coupe of years ago my house got down to 37˚ before the heat came back. I am looking into buying a generator which will turn on the heat, the fridge, the stove and lights in this room.
You got more snow in this one storm than we have had all winter.
Have a wonderful evening! Stay warm!!
January 11, 2015 at 5:28 pm
Hi Kat,
From the music selection I have to assume you are tired of the cold, too. 🙂 Sixty-eight days until spring.
I remember my first grade cloakroom very well. It was long and narrow and situated behind folding doors that had blackboards on them. The teacher would fold the doors back in the morning and we would cram our things in there and pull the doors closed. It was dark in there, even with some of the doors pulled back. It smelled like wet wool and chalk dust.
Today was cold and bright but not sunny. I felt the cold much more today. So did the dogs. It’s wearing on us.
I brought them to day care so they could relieve their social deprivation. 🙂 Nobody is outside when we go out. They are home now, fed and walked and sleeping on the couch. What a life. 🙂
Enjoy the day.
January 11, 2015 at 5:53 pm
Hi Caryn,
I am so tired of the cold. I feel locked in the house as outside is so uninviting.
The cloakroom I mentioned was its own space. It was on the other side of the back wall of the classroom. The nun used to send us one row at a time to get our coats and stuff at the end of the day. We’d be all dressed waiting for the final bell to ring. I’d really like to see the old school again. It is 101 years old.
I went out only once to get the newspapers, and I think Gracie went out maybe twice. She is tired of the cold as well.
I was going to go to the dump but decided against it. Now I have to go Wednesday as it is closed the next two days.
Fern and Gracie are asleep on the couch. Such lives they lead!!
Have a great night!