Cross Roads

Do you ever wonder if things really do happen for a reason?  I have asked myself that very question a few times in the last year.  It's been a bumpy ride, but I feel really good about the road ahead.  With the support of my family (Mila gets wife of the year!) and friends, I have been able to navigate some deep pot holes and come through with only a few dents.

I am on a new career path at Eckerd College (the school that changed my life) and I get to make a real impact by visiting with parents and alumni in New England, my home away from home.  I'm so excited about the future, it's crazy.  It's an honor and a privilege to be able to assist my alma mater in achieving it's long range goals to keep Eckerd as one of the top small liberal arts colleges in country.  As my mentor Mark Smith always said, "Givers always win and takers always lose."  (I won't tell you all the other things he said in mixed company!)

So, as I look back at the at the path I traveled, I see right turns and wrong turns, but I got here just the same and for the better.  As I look forward, I see new relationships, reacquainted friendships and a renewed confidence.  Has everything in my life happened for a reason?  I have come to realize, that the answer is Yes.

Summer in Cambridge

I still know the back way home from the Mass Pike after all these years. Down Storrow Dr., cross the Hahvahd bridge and turn left onto Memorial Dr. Take Mt. Auburn 'til the Tennis Club and take a right, then a left onto Brattle. Bear right and then a quick left on the street that has the BBN school. Up to Huron and take a left, go past Armando's Pizza and take a right. Go past the fire station that you used to be able to by 25 cent tonics from and past Raymond Park, past Fitzy's old house, down the hill on Walden St. and take the third right onto Sycamore.

So many things have changed in Cambridge, yet it still seems the same. The city itself has physically changed, but it feels just like it did 30 years ago. I watch my son, Owen, play catch with my nephew, Liam on the dead end street, during a cool New England summer night. I sit on the front porch and chat about the Sawx with Big Yiayia and drink in the moment. I want it to last forever. I want to be 11 years old again. Play on the street 'til dark and have Ma yell for us to come in. I'm glad my kids can experience, for at least a few days, what I did.

Mila, Zoe and Owen are tired of me pointing out every personal landmark in Cambridge as we walk around the City, but I do it anyway. My old elementary school, the house where Bill Walton lived during his Celtic days, the pit, plus Davis Sq., Porter and of course, The Square, all have stories. Some I can retell and some I can't. And that's what makes Cambridge special to me. Especially in the summer.

The 3 B's

Everything happens in 3's right?  So, last week when the 3 Boston teams (Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins) all played on the same night and all won, you'd think that same scenario would happen 2 more times, right?  Wrong!  Oh, all 3 teams won the second time they all played on the same day, but with the odds  like 564,997 to 1 they would repeat the feat for a third time, it was hard to bet on it.  The Bruins lost game 7 in the garden and the Celtics would follow a few nights removed and lose their game 7 in the garden.  When was the last time THAT happened?  So, it's up to the Sawx to continue the battle of the 3 B's.  The Bruins and Celts both have time to watch the remaining 120 Sawx games.  Maybe a repeat of last years ALCS with the Rays?

-That Guy from Bawston

My Brother Joe

So, my brother Joe came down for a weekend of R and R.  Well, he really came down for a lot of G (Golf) and B (Beer) and we did lots of both!  Man, it was great to see him.  Yeah, we talk on the phone, exchange emails, text back and forth, but come on, it's not the same as having him down for a visit.  We had a blast!

First, the week leading up to his arrival is just agonizing.  We both are having a hard time concentrating on work.  We're both just so amped.  (that's Joe's phrase - I'm AMPED!)  Friday morning finally rolls around and I'm like a giddy school girl.  Driving to the airport to get him, I have the windows down and the stereo pumping.  As I'm getting off at the airport exit, I get a text from Joe that says, "Just landed!"  Damn, I'm late?  No, he's early, which is perfect, 'cause we have a 12:08 tee time.  The next scene is like a movie.  I'm trying to find him in a maze of college softball players down for spring break.  Baggage claim is hopping with folks ready to get the heck out of the Boston cold.  And then the crowd parts and in a perfectly crystal clear moment, I hear, "What up, Brother!"

We grab his golf clubs and we're off.  Run home, drop his stuff, change, head to El Caps for a quick burger (maybe the best in St. Pete!)  and a few beers before our tee time.  It's now an hour and a half since Joe has been here and it feels like he's been here for a week.  It's so comfortable.  He doesn't know this, but I miss him.  I miss all my brothers.  Joe, Fitzy, C-Dogg, Auggie, D-Bomb, Dave.  I would do anything for them.  I've got their backs and they have mine.  

That's what brothers do.  They stick up for each other.  Even when they have different mothers.  Yes, even though Joe and I look striking similar, we aren't blood related.  We are, however, just like all My Boys,  brothers.  

So, the rest of the weekend is perfect.  We play more golf, drink more beer and eat lots and lots and lots of wings.  We got a chance to really talk, catch up on our busy lives and just plain goof on each other!  I had a blast.  It's always not enough time, but I'm glad he came down.  We're already talking about next year.  I can't wait.

Jesse

(Oh, I almost forgot, I finally beat Joe in golf!  Gotcha Brother!)

That's it, it's over.

Well, the winter of '09 is officially over!  Put the sweaters away, drain the gas from the snow blowah and get your swim trunks out.  What am I talking about, you ask?  Let me rephrase, the winter is over in FLA.  That's right boys and girls, after a few cold fronts, spring is back with the first pitch of spring training baseball!  Ah, the boys of summer are here again.

Oh, we had it rough in St. Pete this winter.  I actually had ice (yes, I-C-E) on my windshield about a month ago.  It had been so long since I had seen ice on my windshield that I almost forgot what to do.  O.K., it was pretty thin and I just wiped it off with my hand, but still!!  I felt like I was back home in Cambridge.  Getting up early to clean the car, heat up the engine and fight bumper to bumper traffic on icy roads.  Now, it wasn't exactly like that but traffic was heavy 'cause all the rest of the true Florida natives had no IDEA how to clean their windshields!

So, baseball is back and the Grapefruit league is underway.  The cold fronts are gone and the weather is perfect.  Spring is the season I love the most in Florida.  It's not hot and humid yet, but warm enough to break a sweat raking all the leaves in the yahd.  Playing golf or tennis is a joy and not a chore as it is when you play in July or August.  The mornings are crisp and the afternoons delightful.  Enough?  I get it.  As my brother Joe Mazzei would say, "Don't hate the player!"

So, as you endure one more snow storm, leaking basements and the flu, just think of me as I enjoy a Narragansett, watch the Sawx trot out prospect after prospect and think to yourself, why do I live here again?

Pursuit of the Perfect Christmas Tree

I've been buying Christmas trees in Florida now for almost 20 years and I still can't get over the fact that I can wear shorts and a t-shirt while looking for the perfect tree!  A few nights ago we took the kids out in search of the Turtle Christmas tree.  (To tell you the truth, we were so late this year, we were just looking for ANY tree.)  Now, in the movies, Christmas tree shopping is magical  It's always snowing and the family is always happy and out in a beautiful city scene or a rustic tree farm.  Our trip was a little more down to earth.  First, we were rushing around after work trying to get out the door so we would still have enough time shop, then come home, get dinner ready, eat, put up the tree, finish homework, get the kids to bed.....you get the picture.  Second, the kids are goofing off, ("I can't find my shoes" and "Owen, quit it!") so I'm getting louder and louder.  Smells like Christmas spirit, right?

So, we finally get out the door and it's about 75 degrees out.  Ah, Christmas time in Florida! We've got the windows down and the Christmas carols blasting on the radio.  First place we stop, sold out!  Second place, sold out!  GULP!  So, we try a local supermarket that I think sells trees. (I know, it sounds weird, but in Florida, everybody sells Christmas trees, including the dive bar down the street!)  Well, they had 4 trees left and with a sign that read, "All Trees $15"  Sweet!  Three of the trees were about 20 feet tall and weighed 2,349 lbs.  The fourth tree was over in a corner on the ground.  One of the kids yells, "Hey, mister?  What about that one over there?"  The tree guy picks up the tree for us and says, "Yeah, ya'll can have this one."  A tear grew in my eye and rolled down my cheek.  Or it could have been sweat, I'm not sure.  It was perfect.  The tree guy gave the tree a good thump to open up the branches and half the needles fell off.  "We'll take it!"

So, as I unloaded the tree from the roof of the car and the kids and Mila went to kibitz with a neighbor, I thought to myself, it's not about perfect Christmas weather or the perfect setting or perfectly behaved kids, it's about the pursuit.  We were all together.  We all had an adventure and now, we all have a story to tell.  I hope my kids tell their kids and they tell theirs.  

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

 

Torn between two teams

As I predicted, the Rays won the division and the Sawx won the wild card. For the past 10 years I have been a Rays fan and of course for the last 40 years, I've been a member of Red Sox Nation. (BII-Born Into It) This year has been different. The Rays are good. Actually, not just good, but damn good! So, now I find myself torn between my HOME team (the Sawx) and my adoptive home team (the D-Rays, oops, sorry, the Rays)

So, what is a Cambridge/St. Pete kid supposed to do? Pull for both teams and hope they both meet in the ALCS. That way I can at least go to the parking lot of the Trop and feel the atmosphere. Tail-gating is allowed at the Trop parking lot and believe me-you, I'll be there in full regalia! At that point, it's all about the Sawx. I love the Rays and want them to go as far as possible, but, come on..... Gotta go with the Sawx!

GO SAWX!!!!!