And so it begins.
Sure it's freezing cold outside. Of course snow is in the forecast. Naturally the sports stores are out of foot
warmers. This is par for the course.
The camera memory cards are cleared. I find the password to the photo site that isn't
as user-friendly as my regular photo site but is the one necessary to upload
the finished batch of pictures. I
remember to stock up on batteries, packing the ones I bought two weeks ago in
anticipation. Once the season starts, AA
batteries are on my weekly shopping list.
It's $5 well spent.
The double-batch of stew is warming. The crock pot has been dusted and set aside
for the trip. Beach towels will serve as
insulators to keep the pre-heated crock pot from melting the floor mats and
also to buffer the container from sliding around behind me as I drive. I cannot worry about the contents possibly
spilling, and it must arrive warm so the stew will be properly piping hot two
hours after the starting whistle. There
is a method to my madness.
I run through the names of players and parents, ticking off
the ones I remember and throwing the rest into a jumbled pile of brain
mush. I have to memorize more than one
hundred names every September when the school year starts again. Recall names of people I only see for a few
weeks every sport season? Faces and
personalities and camaraderie -- Yes.
Names -- Not so much.
I realize I forgot to buy beer for the tailgate. It's okay; it'll probably be a hot chocolate,
coffee, and tea tailgate, anyway. The last
time I tried to bring the beer, I found myself accompanying a player (mine) to
the hospital to get stitches and ended up taking the nearly-full cooler with
me. Perhaps it's my bad luck charm, and
maybe I'll be better off without it.
It's February. It's
the height of winter here in New England.
Today college lacrosse season starts.
I have my winter gear on, I have my camera loaded and ready to shoot,
and I have the stew warming. I am
ready. I am psyched.
And so it begins.
