THE ELUSIVE WRISTLET

For a short while, I thought maybe I might have contributed to the Boston Bruins' pathetic showing in the playoff series against the lukewarm, lackluster Montreal Canadiens.  You see, a school teammate of mine made me a black and gold wristlet to wear during the games.  I wore it to a game against the Canadiens

during the regular season, and I wanted to wear it during the playoffs, but it disappeared.

I looked everywhere for that damn thing.  EVERYWHERE.  I tore my house apart four times, tore my car apart twice, searched my desk at school, looked inside every single drawer (clothing, desk, kitchen) in my house, checked every closet, and foraged under furniture.  All for naught.

Tonight I decide to finally get to the bag of Christmas gifts that I haven't had a chance to finish sorting through.  Once I started my thesis in January, I came home every afternoon and almost always worked straight through from mid-afternoon until midnight.  There was no time for things like books, gift cards, and Damnit Dolls.  Now that my thesis is somewhere "out there" in the world of the state university, I am slowly recovering enough to start looking at my house again.  (If only I'd had the good sense to hire a maid for five months!)

I start rummaging through the bag, which I have tousled through several times while searching for the elusive Bruins wristlet, and discover the wristlet in the bag, hiding amongst legitimate gifts like it belonged there.  You don't belong in there, I say out loud, as if the wristlet will now punish itself for eluding me on purpose.  It looks back at me and says nothing.

I could blame myself for the collapse of the Boston Bruins during the playoffs.  I could claim that they lost because I could not find the wristlet.  But, truth be told, the Christmas goody bag sat next to the television.  That means the bracelet itself was closer to the telly than I was.

Nope.  No significant epiphanies here.  No rituals to rework, no songs to be sung, and no wrislets to worry about here.

You want to know why the Bruins lost in the first round of the playoffs?

Because they sucked.  That's it; no one can say anything, no excuses can be made, no fingers pointed, and no one person to shoulder the details.  The Bruins sucked; they picked a horrible time to hit a slump.

It's all right.  I would like to see a Rangers-Blackhawks final ... which means it'll be Montreal and LA.  Go, Blackhawks!  Go, Rangers!  Go wristlet!!!