momluvsfootball

It is a picture that brings tears to my eyes every time I see it.  The picture of a black marble wall, names etched into it.  A war veteran, his hand over a name, his head down, an impression of solemness and sadness for the viewer.  And still in the picture, a reflection, or perhaps the ghost, of the veterans fallen comrade in arms.  His hand stretched out, through the Wall, touching the hand of the veteran who remembers...

I remember my trip to DC years after The Wall (otherwise known as the Vietnam Memorial) had been erected.  It was with my daughters girl scout troop.  The trip had included the basic stops, the Lincoln and Washington Memorials, the Smithsonian, the Capital Building.  As we went through these buildings the girls were excited, the moms and grandmothers who accompanied their daughters and granddaughters, chattered away.  The demeanors changed though, with the moms and the girls, when we stopped at Arlington Cemetery and stood before the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, when we stopped at the Korean War Memorial and when we stood before the names on The Wall.

For a moment, as I stood before the Wall, the image of that painting came into my mind and tears began to run down my face.  I knew no name on those slabs of black marble.  As my daughter and I walked the length, I touched names and talked to my daughter about the significance of this memorial.  That every name on that wall never made it home.  And as we walked, there were others there, placing items at the bottom of panel where a name was, others taking rubbings of a name that was significant for them.  There was a man, in camoflauge pants on his knees, wiping tears from his face.  My daughter asked why he was crying, and I could only whisper possibilities.  I remember him looking up at us and I could only nod.  How odd, having been out of uniform for nine years then, that I felt a connection with that man who remembered the men who turned out to be his friends while he was over in SE Asia.    How odd, that I felt a connection with the names on the wall, though I knew none of them.

I still feel the same sadness, when I see any memorials that have the names of those who've made the ultimate sacrifice.  Regardless of which war they've served in.  In towns and cities around the US, there are memorials, that honored those who gave their lives in the name of their country.  Memorials where names are etched so they won't be forgotten. 

Today, on Memorial Day, while we're in our backyards enjoying the day with our families.  When we're bar-b-queing and spending time with friends.  When we're just enjoying a day off.  Stop and look up if you see the military jets in missing man formation.  Take a moment and remember those who've given their lives in wars that are now part of the history books.  Take a moment to remember those 4080 lives that have been lost in Iraq and the 507+ that have died in Afghanistan. 

Last week we took a road trip to Pennsylvania to attend my youngest sisters wedding.  Despite the 13 hour drive up and the 11 hour drive back, it was a nice trip, well at least it was nice once we arrived.  The wedding and the bride were both beautiful.  I was proud of my husband, as a professed agnostic, it was his first Polish and Catholic wedding.  He neither got struck by lightening in the church, nor did his head start spinning ala "Exorcist" style.  (Okay, there was one time he started to dance to the organ music, but it wasn't all that noticeable).  So all in all, the visit was short but worth it. 

I've mentioned before, I no longer do well on road trips.  Guess it's a sign of getting old or perhaps I get bored pretty easily, and there's only so much that three people can talk about in a 13 hours span.  So during one of the quiet moments, to chase away the boredom and get over the slight depression that the grey skies have created, I let my mind wander and began to day dream.  Given my history for fantasies gone awry, you probably ask why I allowed myself to do that.  Maybe it's the same reason that I lift the lid off of the dutch oven without a mitt just as it comes out of the oven.  I tend to forget the ramifications. 

We're on a family vacation to some tropical island and I'm sitting alone on the beach, after my husband abandoned me for a nap and my daughter heads out shopping.  In the daydream, I've reached my goal of 125 pounds and look pretty good in a bikini.  I'm sitting there, reading some taudry, bodice-ripper novel and this young bronze god comes up and begins to talk to me.  Sultry dark eyes that exude promises of passion and long hours of hot, delicious lovemaking.  After he introduces himself and a few moments of idle chit chat, he leans over and whispers in my ear "I think your daughter's hot, do you think she'll go out with me?"....*sigh*.

So the bronzed adonis has disappeared and I'm still in the lounge chair  reading the bodice-ripper.  In the book, I've gotten to the point where the pirate has slung the damsel over his shoulder when another young bronzed god comes up to me and starts chatting.  I eye him up, noting how perfectly built he was and how his six-pack abs were the type of abs you'd like to lick the sweat off of after a night of passion.  He leans in and whispers "I think your husbands hot, does he have a brother?" ... *sigh*.

Okay so someone in my fantasy has to be interested in me, it is my fantasy after all, isn't it?  Well, someone is.  As I stand up and begin to wrap my skirt around my hips, someone behind me whistles and whispers..."baby, you're hot".  I turn around to find this pale skinned, short man who has more hair on his back then he has on his head (I'm not going into the bad comb over) and wearing a zebra speedo that he really, really, really shouldn't be wearing....*sigh*.

And my friends still wonder why I won't get into fantasy football. 

Am I the only one whose fantasies go awry?

 

 

My husband has this dream of winning the Powerball, buying a yacht and living on the Med.  That way it would be easy to travel the world, pickup and move, and give him access to authentic Turkish foods on a daily basis.  I’m all for this dream, after all, if we were able to afford to own a yacht and live like this, then think of how much shopping I would be able to do.  We understand that the potential for this dream to go unfulfilled is great, especially since we keep forgetting to pickup Powerball tickets.

His other dream, the one where he has a harem will probably go unfulfilled also.  One, because he knows his limitations and two, because I’m less supportive of this one, unless of course I get to have my bevy of cabana boys. 

I have a dream myself, a little less ambitious then his, but probably will be as unrealized, at least in full, as his also.  Mine involves a business.  I see myself having this quaint little plaza where there are a few shops (all of which we own and operate). 

In the center is a little café that serves freshly baked muffins, scones and danishes, as well as deli items.  But the real draw would be the exotic and gourmet coffees and teas.  The layout wouldn’t be a normal café seating but wicker chairs and couches with coffee and end tables for seating.  It would open out onto a shaded courtyard surrounded by wisteria and gardenia plants and would have more seating, this time with wrought iron furniture.

Off to one side of the café would be an art gallery where local artists could show and sell their paintings and sculptures.  Off to the other, another store which would specialize in the goods of local crafters.  Off to the back of the courtyard, a flower shop and greenhouse, which would sell, not only unique floral arrangements but also have exotic orchids and tropical flowers, as well as the standards.

There are reasons that this dream will remain unfulfilled, at least for now.  Capital, the economy, Starbucks will never go under so that will cut into my customer base and I’m not in the right locale.  For this to work and be profitable it needs to be in a town that is high in tourism.  This city just isn’t known for it’s tourism.  Oh, yeah, and the homegrown flowers, well, my thumb isn’t exactly green right now.  At least I can try to build on the little cottage business I do have now and perhaps one day, I can see at least a portion of that dream fulfilled.  So I start putting in more energy to revitalize what I do have now. (Does this answer the question where I’ve been the last week?).

A few weeks ago, we got to see hundreds of young men get the opportunity to at least have a chance to experience their dreams of playing in the NFL.  For the top draft picks, we know that their dreams will be realized sooner then later.  For the other ones who heard their name called late in the draft, patience and perseverance could get them a starting job one day.  For those who didn’t hear their name called at Radio City Music Hall, well, that dreams not dead for them yet, since most were picked up via undrafted free agency.

This past week, teams have begun having their mini-camps, getting the rookies acclimated to life as a professional football player.  And as we watch and chatter about how effective Darren McFadden will be for the Raiders, how Matt Ryan will do under center for the Atlanta Falcons, or how deadly the Steelers running game has become with the addition of Rashard Mendenhall, we don’t tend to notice those later round picks or even the ones who came in undrafted.  But they have their opportunities too.

Could Dominick Dixon come out to be like Tom Brady, a late round pick QB who matured into an excellent quarterback.  We’ve seen Hines Ward and Joey Porter, both second day picks, become leaders of their respective squads.  Remember how Ward was too small to play in the NFL? 

Then you have the hidden gems.  Which ones will take our breath away?  They’re there.  I remember watching the last game of the 05-06 season, Steelers vs the Buffalo Bills.  A no name kid on the backup squad, broke free and ran fast towards the endzone.  We asked “Willie who?”.  The undrafted free agent from North Carolina, who rode the bench through college would end up leading the league in rushing until his injury, during the 07-08 NFL season. 

Now mini-camps will turn to training camps to turn to pre-season to turn to regular season football.  Many will see their dreams come true, many will only have a portion of that dream realized.  Unfortunately, there are still others who have had those dreams unrealized.  For them, hopefully other dreams will take their place and be realized.

For me, I’ll continue to work on that small portion of my dream with patience and perseverance, and maybe even help my husband at least have a little portion of his dream fulfilled (time to google belly dancing costumes).