Life Is Short–Drink Beer at 9:00 a.m. NHL Winter Classic 2011 Revisited

I just couldn’t resist re-posting this story from a year ago today. As I’ve been watching the build-up to this year’s National Hockey League’s Winter Classic in Philadelphia, I keep thinking about the great time I had with three of my five crazy sisters at last year’s Alumni Game the day before the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh. It was one of the most fun days I’ve had this past year. So, cheers to my sisters!

Did that title get your attention? I sure hope so, there’s a good story to follow. At least it was a good story for me and three of my sisters and over 10,000 other people.

New Year’s Eve morning found me, and probably at least half of the 10,000-plus fans at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, enjoying a cold one outside on a cold-ish morning. Early morning or not, it was a hockey game, and there’s no better way to enjoy a hockey game, especially if you’re there in person, than downing a cold brew.

On Friday, December 31, the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted an alumni hockey game in advance of the fourth annual Winter Classic game. Penguins’ owner Mario Lemieux, arguably one of the greatest hockey players in the history of the National Hockey League, thought it would be fun to hold a game between alumni of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals the day before the present-day teams would play in the Winter Classic.He was right. It was lots of fun.

Past Hockey Hall of Famers and Stanley Cup winners from both teams took the ice at 9:30 in the morning, to the delight of over 10,000 fans. The star, of course, was Mario. But Ron Francis, Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy, and Rob Brown also played.

The atmosphere at Heinz Field was one of wonder and fun. Many years ago, hockey started as an outdoor sport, played on ponds both natural and man-made. Most of the players in the alumni game, as well as the current players playing the next day, started playing outdoors as children. It’s hockey at its purist.

The four crazy sisters–Kathleen, Barbara, Donna, Michele

Many of the fans in attendance were thrilled to see the “old guys” play; they were favorites and famous in their day. Many fans were also happy to be part of the Winter Classic experience, having been unable to get tickets to the main event the next day. My sisters and I counted ourselves in both categories.

It was my first trip to

Read Full Post »

Put Me in Coach, I’m Ready to Jump

That title really isn’t fair.  I didn’t jump out of an airplane, but I sure did want to.  This coming from a woman who literally has to take enough Xanax to be practically comatose to ride in an airplane.

(Digression—on a flight from Chicago to Zurich, the flight attendants were offering beer and wine.  Each passenger was given one bottle.  When the flight attendant came to me, she just smiled and without a word, handed me two bottles of wine, after I had taken three Xanax before boarding.)

Anyway, there was a blues festival near my home on Saturday.  In addition to the music, there was parachuting and rides in vintage airplanes and helicopters.  Before I knew what was happening, I made up my mind to jump.

My husband thought his wife had been kidnapped and some lunatic had been dropped in her place.  I wondered the same thing myself.

Read Full Post »

A Reader Reviews–”Tale of a Baseball Dream, ‘World’s Greatest Baseball Story’”

A Reader Reviews—Tale of a Baseball Dream, “World’s Greatest Baseball Story”

I’m mixing things up today—I usually review adult books on Wednesdays and children’s books on Thursdays.  I’m pleased to say that I’m part of Novel Publicity’s www.novelpublicity.com blog tour for Michelle I. Brooks’s Bone Dressing tomorrow.  Stop by for that review, you’ll want to read it!

Now on to Tale of a Baseball Dream, today’s children’s book review. 

Jerry Pearlman’s debut chapter book for kids ages eight through twelve tells the story of Dusty Hunter and his great love for baseball, beginning when Dusty is approximately eight years old himself.

The book is told in first person from the perspective of Dusty’s dad.  I was touched by that viewpoint.  Dad teaches, encourages, and sweetly shows his love for his son, behaviors and emotions not always portrayed in today’s media.

Read Full Post »

And the Bronze Medal Goes To…

Yesterday, I spent most of the day being jealous.

My nephew Brian, and his teammates, played in a Special Olympics basketball tournament yesterday.

My family attended en masse. Actually, just a fraction of the family was there, but in a family the size of ours, even a fraction classifies as “en masse”.

I was jealous because I couldn’t be there, too.

Although they had to get up “at the crack of dawn”, to quote Brian’s mother, all three of Brian’s siblings were there, as well as his niece and nephew. Another one of my sisters and a cousin, the daughter of yet another sister, were there.

Brian’s Dad was there, and so was his grandmother, along with her husband, whom Brian calls “the Boss”.

I was also jealous because he was playing on the Pitt campus. The opening ceremonies were at the Fitzgerald Field House, and the game was played in Trees Hall. I earned both of my degrees at Pitt, and I spent much time in those old buildings, particularly during my undergrad days. Good times, good memories.

Brian’s Dad went to Pitt, too, and Brian has been a huge Pitt fan since he was old enough to know what Pitt was. I wonder what made him the most excited: playing in the game, playing at Pitt, or having so many people cheering him on in person.

I say in person, because his Facebook family also cheered him on from the “crack of dawn” all the way through the award ceremony. Our pages were filled with good luck wishes, and the family that was there posted picture after picture of Brian, his teammates, the opening ceremonies, all the family who was there, etc., etc.

And the best of all, one of Brian’s brothers posted a short video of the game. It brought tears to my eyes. Those of us who were not able to be at the game now felt almost as if we were. That was a great gift to us from Pat, thank you so much.

Between the updates, the pictures, and the video, I felt almost as connected as if I really were right there. And so did so many others, judging by the volume of comments on all of those posts.

In our family, we have no trouble bragging about our own children–eighteen total among the six sisters–and numerous others among our cousins in our generation. But we also brag just as much about our nieces and nephews. We celebrate and revel in the great things our kids do, and we celebrate and revel in the great things our nieces and nephews do. 

We spread the word about all the antics of our grandchildren, and post pictures and cheer on our sisters’ and cousins’ grandchildren.

When tragedy befalls our children, we scoop them into our loving arms, and we do the same for each other’s children.

I’m sure that there are often friends of friends on Facebook who have trouble determining whose kid is actually being talked about; to non-family members it must seem as though every kid or grandkid we talk about is our own.

And the love spreads. There are numerous cousins my generation. They are treated pretty much like siblings to us. So of course, the good times, trials, and tribulations of their children are treated the same as our children’s. Same goes for their grandchildren, too. 
What makes my heart sing most is that “the cousins”, what our eighteen children call themselves, are as supportive of each other as their parents are. It is rare to find one cousin doing something fun or good, or suffering from one of life’s many blows, without one or a dozen cousins surrounding him or her. And that, too, extends to the children of my cousins. Our eighteen “cousins” are just as close to the children of the cousins of me and my sisters.

And now, my grandchildren and great-niece and nephew, are playing with the grandchildren of my cousins. Each generation is strongly connected to itself, and spreads that love and support to the next generation. Our love is broad and deep. It spreads across both our mother’s and father’s sides of our family, and goes down to what is currently the fifth generation of our family.

Thanks to the love of this great family, my jealousy was satisfied by the many, many pictures, posts, and that great video of Brian and his team during the game. Because some of my sisters, nieces and nephews, and great-niece and nephew were there, I was there, too. Modern technology mixes with this family’s love and keeps us all together all the time.

(Although it is nice to be able to turn the computer off sometimes when the sheer size of this crazy family gets overwhelming!)

Oh, and by the way, I am also jealous because nobody has invited me to play Word Feud—hint, hint, hint, hint, hint. Life is short, guys, don’t leave me out!!!

Read Full Post »

Here We Go Steelers

That may seem like an odd title, considering that the Steelers lost the Super Bowl last night.  But in Pittsburgh, and in all the far-flung places where we transplanted Pittsburghers find ourselves, we still love our Steelers.

Winning would certainly have been much more fun.  But we have faith that the Steelers will live to win another day.  And we certainly had loads of fun leading up to the game.

Steelers fans in Pittsburgh and far beyond proudly sported jerseys, shirts, hats, scarves, and jackets. 

Homes and business alike attached Steelers banners, flags, doormats, cardboard  helmets, and other such decorations to their buildings.

And the food, oh the food!  Super Bowl food was served from tiny three-person households, such as mine, and huge parties and gatherings in public places.  My own feast included frogmore stew, and a wide assortment of “bar food”–buffalo chicken strips, chicken tenders, fried pepper jack cheese sticks, yellow and orange pepper poppers, onion rings, and french fries. 

We clicked fan-o-meters on Facebook to move the needle heavily on the Steelers’ side.  We changed profile pictures several times a day, each time we found another Steeler poster that we couldn’t live without. 

Steelers fans and Penguins fans poked fun at each other over which game was more important.  Writers throughout both electronic and print media poked fun at the differences between football and hockey.

I’m so sad the Steelers didn’t climb that “stairway to seven.”  But I sure did have fun in the two weeks leading up to the game, and I know many other people did, too.

Win or lose, we love our Steelers!!  Here we go, Steelers, here we go!

Read Full Post »