Augie

I watched a game in Jacksonville from the concourse on a tiny monitor over the concession stand instead of bake in the heat. We were the last people in our row of ridiculously expensive seats to give up and seek shelter. It was dangerously hot.

Look at the bright side! Self-awareness is not one of your problems, apparently!

The intensity of the hair dryer intake reminded me of a wedding I went to for a childhood friend. Another of our little gang was there with his bride whom I had never met. She walked right up to me and her first words were “So, you’re the one who sat on my husband’s head and farted.” What do you say to that??? I do not remember that AT ALL, but I also didn’t deny with all my heart, because…..🤷‍♂️ It turns out she was lovely and with a good sense of humor. She didn’t seem angry about anything I might have done, she just wanted to know who was who. .

….and the last 10 seconds of yours. Fair enough.

This is the kind of deep thinking that keeps me coming back. My first weekend at college they had a big introductory event. Beer trucks and music and new friends until the sun came up and it was time to jump on a bus to a camp for some retreat. Shortly after boarding the bus I realized there was no bathroom on board. Shortly after that I would have given anything for a bathroom. I’ll skip the long agonizing ride, but it was one to remember…..or forget, but I can’t forget it. I’ve tried. When we got to our destination I was first off the bus heading to the closest building, looking for the first bathroom I could find. I barely noticed on the way in that it said “Women” on the door. It certainly did not slow me down. No time to waste! A couple minutes later my stall is surrounded by girls from the bus. It was eye opening, to say the least. Nothing dainty happened in there! Don’t flaunt it, but it’s nothing new to them.

I could go many layers deep there, but I won’t. Of fame and fortune, I only want one.

I was the youngest kid and we still had 4 seats when I was in high school. My dad would let me pick friends to take to games for free when we had extra seats. I remember taking some guys who never would have had a chance to see a game live without some help like that. I remember the guy from the neighborhood I invited to the Monday Night game against the Raiders which we won in amazing fashion on an Ahmad Rashad TD catch late. A CLASSIC game. That was a great night and remains an amazing memory for me. My buddy that night had some ugly family issues, and I hope that was a nice break for him from the stuff at home. He was a buddy, it wasn’t a pity invite. But as kids we maybe don’t see that as much. Little things we do in life, intentionally or otherwise, can seem much bigger in the eyes of others and last a long time….. for better or for worse.

I heard that at the Van Morrison concert the last time he played that amphitheater he wanted to ban alcohol sales. Apparently he has an alcohol problem, but the venue exists to make money. Are you going to slash your fee, Van, to stand for your principles? No alcohol, no hits, what a great concept! (Not.) I do understand, though. We’ve known musicians who tour the globe, and we’ve had conversations about how monotonous it is to do the same hits over and over, night after night, city after city. BUT, that is what people are paying to see. They follow the money and keep people happy. .

No, I was not warned. If ANY of that had been known BEFORE the event, it would have been different. It would have happened without me.

We sat in the nosebleeds to see the Eagles and Chris Stapleton not too long ago. They will have to PAY ME more than $300 to get me to do it again in a giant arena. On the flip side, we saw Jonathan Taylor (James’ brother) in a tiny little venue a couple tables from the stage and it was awesome! And for a fraction of the price. Great time. Side note: We saw Van Morrison on his “everything but the hits tour”. He played for a couple hours without ever playing anything familiar. That was impressive, but not in a good way. I felt ripped off after that one.

I was actually a bit surprised how many Falcons fans there were, FWIW. I enjoy games more at home than in person. Or, hate them less, in some cases. I did it to myself.

Went…

You’re old. I kid, of course. Mostly. We’ve noticed in recent years how differently people can perceive value. Even people we have been friends with for decades just see things differently. That’s fine. We finally drew a line and said we may not see ALL the shows, but we will not be seeing them from cheap seats, watching a giant monitor in the back of the upper deck. Good seats for fewer shows is our preference. Oh, I prefer watching Bills games at home. There, I said it!

So, melt it?

It’s funny you say that. Just about a week ago I went to the only place I’ll buy wings. The guy is from Grand Island, so it’s familiar flavors. I’ve been getting pizza there as well for at least a decade, and on the last trip it was the first time ever that I ever thought “this is just too much cheese.” Somebody got a little heavy handed. .

That can certainly be the case! I never get on the highway unless I have to, and even then I use WAZE on the most routine of trips to warn me in case of foul ups.

We’ll have our son (and his wife) with us, plus our grandson from our older son (who passed away). All HUGE Bills fans, with our son going to Bills games in Buffalo without me at times these days. Our grandson is almost 12 and lives almost 2 hours north of the stadium, but his aunt and family are driving in to the game so we don’t have to worry about getting him home super late or him missing a day of school. He’d be fine missing school, but this is ideal with easy transportation for him. .

Good luck in ATL! The trams were down yesterday when my son’s 80 y/o FIL arrived with a relatively new knee. Not ideal. We’ll be almost right in front of you in section 239, row 9. I’ll be with the good looking people, which helps make me stand out more. 😊

You don’t think he gets his pick of HC jobs next year? People forget how long a season really is, with all the ups and downs. And we’ll overreact each and every week. If he gets a HC job next year, we probably did something special so I can live with that.

And I thought this was a family kinda place! Such language!

It’s just completely different. Buffalo is half the size of Buckhead alone, forget downtown and midtown. As big ass cities go, I think it’s better than most. I just prefer something smaller. We live in our own little world around the Vinings, like 10-11:00 on the perimeter and rarely go out side of our little 5 mile radius. Atlanta is not my favorite city, but the winters are better than Buffalo. I have PT on my shoulder early afternoon but will probably head to Whitehall Tavern after that which is the closest Bills Backers Bar. It’s in south Buckhead, maybe 15 minutes from the downtown hotels. Apparently they had a sold out event for Sunday, but I’m curious what it will look like today. I’ll look for the yellow lot and see if there is anyone in Bills gear and I’ll be sure to waive to you!

Who is in Atlanta, and what are you going for Game Day on this Monday?

TayTay probably had to call in some favors for that one.

They should put them on the sunny side of the field to put them out of their misery.

I thank and commend you for the way you pointed out the obvious so concisely. A season is a lifetime.