Category Archives: Can’t Categorize

I Had No Idea

08 Monday May 2017

Posted by in Beauty in the Dishsoap, Can't Categorize, Stuff I Want to Tell You About

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My friend Susan and I have a running joke about Dick’s Sporting Goods. When we’re there, we’re completely sucked in by the marketing ploys, the fancy equipment, and the brand spanking new clothes. Dammit, doesn’t that place make us feel like we could be sooooo good at golf? Or fishing? Or wrestling? The whole place makes you feel, not only like you could be a super athlete, but that, holy cow you already ARE! You just have to purchase these clothes! And these clubs and that glove right over there.

Which reminds me (somehow, obscurely)…WHY are people in my life keeping the secret of the amazing Gillette Stadium from me? (Dave and David, I’m looking at you.)

We drove down to Foxboro, Massachusetts on Saturday. I left three hours later feeling like a Patriot. And I don’t mean a patriotic American. I mean a football playing, end zone slaying, defense dismaying New England Patriot. Kind of like when I hang out at Dick’s. If I only had the field. And the locker rooms. And the uniform. And the perfectly deflated balls. (I did NOT just say that.)

We were invited to Foxboro to a celebration of Hood Sportsmanship Scholarship recipients. Garrett, facebook people know, became a finalist because of their dedication to voting daily for our boy. It’s an odd way to choose the finalists, but he also was interviewed at length, and came out a winner! To which we say HALLELUJAH! (And thank you coaches, teachers and family for the millions of ways you helped prepare him.)

We are very proud. He impressed us.

Equally impressive though, is the stadium itself. Sorry, Garrett. You’re a shining star, really. But HAVE YOU PEOPLE SEEN GILLETTE STADIUM?

She’s breathtakable.

We had a tour. We saw private dining rooms, and hung out in box seats (with restaurants attached. They have private phones for everything from “if the toilet breaks” to “you want refills on chicken wings”.) Did you know there are huge hotels attached to this place? And a shopping mall? Several bars? It’s true! We were this close to the fake grass upon which the legends play. Sigh. I love you, Julian Edelman, for this catch right here. I really do.


I don’t think the people at Gillette did it just for our group (about which, more in a sec), but as we walked around the stadium, the ending and extra minutes of Superbowl 51 played on both the Megatrons. Our small crowd slowed until we all merely stood, mesmerized by those history-making plays, calls, and outcome of that epic game. I still ask myself whether the whole thing really happened, and more to the point: how did I convince myself to stay awake for it?

I shall never doubt again.

The kids. The kids. We were there for the kids. Eighteen of them, actually, Garrett among them, chosen for their sportsmanship and dedication to athletics in their chosen sports. We met vibrant young men and women from the New England states, some of whom will go on to play in college and some of whom won’t (Garrett won’t.) They were confident, outgoing, eager students who unabashedly showed how grateful they were to be held up and honored in this way. It was special, indeed. I was happy to spend an afternoon with the future of our world.

Unlike for me, it wasn’t being at Gillette Stadium (or being inside Dick’s Sporting Goods, for that matter) that made Garrett feel like he could really shine. It was someone objective thinking about him as an athlete, a sportsman, a scholar, and saying Hey, man, you work hard. You do good work. You’re a good person. Keep it up. It really made him take notice of what matters in life (from someone who doesn’t share DNA that is.)

The tallest man, the day’s guest speaker, in the above photograph, is Gord Kluzak, of the Boston Bruins, circa 1984. He said it best, I think, when he explained that though he’d been a standout athlete (first draft pick in ’82), knee injuries at age 19 took his career in a direction he hadn’t foreseen. He still played after several surgeries, but it was his dedication to service (in his case to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation) that gave him purpose. In other words, regardless of what kind of an athlete you are, it’s important to be a good person. Which we tell our children all the damn time.

GO US.

So. To recap: I love Gillette Stadium. I love the Patriots. I love Julian Edelman. And I also love Dick’s Sporting Goods.

But I love my son Garrett because he’s a good person. And it was nice for him to be recognized for it. Thank you, Hood Scholarship Foundation, for seeing him.

 

Who Are You Else?

23 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by in Can't Categorize, Stuff I Want to Tell You About

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I wonder about you 449 people who are following this blog.  That’s right – you.

Bonjour you there!  You with your phone in your hand staring intently at these words. You with your computer in your lap just perusing away, and you there!  You who probably should be working rather than checking in with me.  I like you best of all, rebel, – and for the record, I support your rogue style. Carry on.

Besides a supporter of my work (thank you!) and a reader-up on the preposterously full life I lead, just exactly who are you?  I mean, in the words of three-year-old Natalie many moons ago, “who are you else?”

How do I know you?  When and where did we meet?  What memories do we share? Do our lives still intertwine?  If not, why not?  Where are you now and what keeps you there?  Who are your best -loved people, and how are they?  What is your greatest joy these days?  What are your greatest challenges and fears?

It’s a lot to answer, but let me have it, ya’ll, come and say hello – let me know what’s going on with you.  I really am wondering, and would love to hear your news.

XO

Shindig

21 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by in Can't Categorize

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I am hosting the greatest dinner party of all time.  It’s a good thing I live in a sprawling home with a gourmet kitchen.  Ahem.  I encourage you all to invite a few of your most favorite favorites of all time, no limit on numbers.

I begin with my very own list:

1.  Freddie Mercury

2.  Dorothy Parker

3. Johnny Cash

4. Carrie-Anne Frances White Thayer

5.  Harper Lee

__________________________________________________

So.  Which people are you going to add to the list, friends?  Need some guidelines to help you get started?  Begrudgingly, here you go:

1.  Guests can be alive or dead, I don’t care either way.  And I guess they can be real or completely created in literature or film (or your own pretty little head, if you’re so inclined.)  Go ahead and invite Jay Gatsby if you’re looking for that kind of vibe, just be aware his liver is completely fictional, and we should probably consider quadrupling the size of the bar.

2.  I do insist that you not choose any family members to be on your list,  that’s too obvious.

3.  And you can’t choose people who might set the world on fire. Again. –Lizzie Borden.  Sid, Nancy.  Bonnie, Clyde.  Al Capone.  Stay away from the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer.  Don’t be gross.

4.  Make it the most raucous, rip roaring dinner party in the history of the world – in the absolute best possible way. Let the room be full of the greatness that has come before, or is unfolding now.  Let it be bigger than you, so you can – do what?-  bite out a piece of their soul and sew it into your skin, bring them to life in a new and vibrant way.  With words, of course; use your words, people.  I said no cannibalism.

5.  Be smart.  Don’t put people who would have hated each other together at the table.  No one wants this brilliant moment destroyed by flying steak knives. Feel free to invite Steven Spielberg.  If you do, keep Hitler deep underground.  Should you choose Crazy Horse to join the foray, ixnay the invitationway for General George Custer.  You catch my drift?  We don’t want a scene here on Cedar Street.  We don’t want to catch the attention of the neighbors.

6.  Let us also all agree, if you don’t mind:  Jesus (or Buddha,  Brahma, Allah), Elvis, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and John Wayne have a standing invitation.  As in:  they need no invitation at all.  They’re the reasons the rooms are clean and made up fresh and they can stay as long as they wish.

7.  Lastly, don’t worry if we run into repeats.  Create your list and send it off.  I’ll create a massive list at the end.  I can’t wait to see what you all come up with!