road trips « Psycho Lady Hockey

road trips Category

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

From Bad to Worse: A tale of horror and the Florida Panthers

During the hockey season I will regularly find myself in some sticky situations and return home with stories that both shock and entertain my friends. After hearing my latest harrowing tale, people often ask, “So, what’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you on the road?” Truthfully, I don’t know. I find myself asking that same question while I’m barreling through a blizzard or some other obstacle standing in the way of safely arriving at my hockey destination. I’ve seen it all from near pimpings in Nashville to near kidnappings in Chicago. I’ve had to deal with abusive border guards, unwanted “sneak attacks,” getting snowed in at frat houses, and every possible form of weather related danger… just to name a few. While I still have no idea which misadventure was really the worst of the lot, in this entry I will share a particularly bad trip to Florida from back in the 07-08 regular season.

It was my reading week from university, and, unlike this season, I actually planned to stay home and be studious and work on my Robertson Davies essay as well as a presentation for another course. Basically, I had three novels to read in a week! There was a slight setback in my game plan, though. My aunt had rented a place in Naples for a few weeks, and while this didn’t faze me at first, I made the horrible mistake of agreeing to drive her and the family to the airport. Being in close proximity to the airport made me itchy for an adventure, and by the time I had driven back home I had my mind made up that I would be irresponsible and fly down to Florida for some puck, of course.

The trip started out without any problems. I flew into Miami and rented a car to drive to Naples. Unfortunately, the weather was crap. The only hot day was game day. There wasn’t much to do except hang around the condo. However, the condo was infested with the contagions of my 8 month old cousin’s bout of stomach flu. One by one my family members started to go down.

Come game day, I had still managed to avoid contraction, and I set out with my cousin for a two hour road trip to Sunrise, Florida. By the time we got there, it was lunch time. I started to feel strange and could barely touch the food I ordered. As the afternoon progressed, I was getting perpetually worse, and by the time the gates opened at the BankAtlantic Center, I had already thrown up four times. But I was determined to press on in the interest of my hockey addiction.

I threw up again just before the warm up started, then took my seat for the showdown between the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins. However, I only managed to sit through the warm up. I ended up in the doctor’s office hoping for some miracle that never came. I was pretty much given a transparent barf bag. I stumbled around the arena looking for a place to get some air and threatening to destroy the lives of any arena staff that dared to stand in my way.

Finally, I gave up. I was sprawled out on the floor of the platinum lounge longing to die. I couldn’t help but thinking that I was lucky that the Philadelphia Flyers weren’t one of the teams facing off that night. I knew that I would have found it very hard to have pulled myself away from my precious Flyers. I would have very likely thrown up all over the bench, and may or may not have spontaneously combusted right in my seat. Anyway, my cousin wasn’t overly heartbroken that we had to leave early, he’s not a hockey lover (he’s American *ahem*). Oh, and even though I was near death, I still refused to let my cousin drive – HA!

The official barf bag of the Florida Panthers. Notice how the internal bleeding around my eyes adds to my already sickly exterior!

Now, you might be thinking that this trip sounds pretty awful as it is, but trust me it gets worse. I was still feeling pretty gross when I flew out of Miami, and what’s worse is that I had an overnight layover in Baltimore. I arrived after midnight, but since I was flying back to Buffalo around 7AM, I figured I might as well stay up at the airport all night and get back to some much needed reading time. Fun.

Part way through the night one of the airport staff came over to chat with me. This guy was just gushing about how proud he is of his son. He was telling me how successful and smart and good looking he is, and how it makes him cry how proud he is of him. Not gonna lie, he was a good salesman. He showed me pictures, and let me just say, his son was one hot man! So, I was already mentally planning what my life in Baltimore would be like when I eventually bagged this guy, but then his daddy dropped the bomb. He starts telling me how beautiful and successful his son’s new wife is! Well, @#$% you, old man!!

4AM finally rolled around and check in resumed at the airport. But guess what?! My flight was cancelled, and flights to Buffalo were backed up for two days! This caused a major problem. I couldn’t be stuck in Baltimore for two days because I had tickets for the Flyers game in Buffalo on that day, and I didn’t have the tickets with me either – eek!! I was tired and I was cranky, and I needed to come up with a survival plan that didn’t leave me stranded with the masses in Baltimore! I thought about driving to Philadelphia, and fantasized about popping in for their home game against Florida, and stir up some drama by wearing my newly acquired Panthers jersey. But instead I focused on the goal of putting my Sabres tickets back in my hand in time for puck drop at HSBC Arena.

I had my flight redirected to Toronto. Unfortunately, my car was still in Buffalo. The day before game day, my friend and I had to travel by bus to B-lo – thumbs down! We grabbed a cab from my place to the bus station downtown Toronto. We were still on the DVP when we realized that we left the tickets at home, so we had to back track. We just barely made the bus that we were trying to get out of T.O.

The bus was unpleasant, but I took the opportunity to get back to my reading. Crossing the border by bus is an irritating process. Anyway, from the station in Buffalo we grabbed a cab up to the airport where I finally rescued my car from his unexpected extended stay at Buffalo Niagara. When we got to the hotel we celebrated my stomach flu recovery with a lot of $3 champagne (as pictured) and the discovery of an awesome pancake house (mine had bacon in them!!).

The next night the Flyers defeated the Sabres in an exciting (“eyebrow raising”) shoot-out spectacular which snapped some ridiculous ten or eleven game losing streak! And you’ll be happy to know that I did not puke all over the Flyers bench.

Posted in bad day, Boston Bruins, buffalo sabres, Florida Panthers, game day complications, hockey, hockey fans, illness, Philadelphia Flyers, road trips | No Comments »

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Off Season: This is what happens when I get restless and go for a “drive.”

As you might have guessed, it takes a special kind of person to handle the madness that is the hockey season according to Psycho Lady. Not many people have the stamina to drive for an endless amount of time, or stay both awake and coherent for days upon days. You can imagine that my hockey season routine is somewhat blueprinted in my genetic make-up, thus making the off season a very trying time. Wednesday was an example of what happens when the hockey habits get the better of me and there isn’t any hockey available to satisfy my urges.

The 08-09 hockey season was unlike no other hockey season that came before it. On the back burner there was a television show, and a busy producer and the economic death of CanCon* (American translation: Canadian arts content) which was causing a lot of unnecessary worry, impatience, and stress. Then there was the prophesized switch to Phoenix that resulted in so much stress, insomnia, and misery (from mind games) that I was finally pushed over the edge. I don’t cry very often, in fact, I’m considered to be the one amongst my friends and family with the nerves of steel; yet there were about eight million emotional break downs during the final stretch of the hockey season, which should help to put in perspective just how much garbage was really going on.

Maybe it was the vast importance that I had associated with the change of teams. I don’t often put much stock into what psychics tell me, but when they all start telling me the same thing, then I start to pay attention. The psychics had unanimously told me that my “true love/soulmate/all those great terms” had an Arizona connection/was in Arizona. This is going to sound way more romantic than it is or than I am (I’m really not very chick-flicky), but as I had explained, if the psychics were right and this guy really was there or associated with my switch there, then it doesn’t matter if I don’t know who he is because if it is the person I’m supposed to be with, then of course I’d do anything for him anyway. And so it was in total blind faith that I rushed out of the Boston airport at the NHL trade deadline, and turned my entire life upside down trying to find what/who may or may not be awaiting me there. It’s like if a psychic told you that you were going to win the lottery, you’d be an idiot not to at least spend the $2 and buy a ticket. (Also note, at the beginning of January one of the psychics also told me that I’d be going to Switzerland to which I replied, “Umm, you mean Philadelphia?” I had forgotten about that until I played the tape again after I came back from the IIHF World Championship in Zurich!)

So, when I finally got the sign to switch to Phoenix, it seemed like the prophecy was within reach. But instead of true love, I was greeted with a lot of unpleasantness. And what’s worse is that I have no man to show for my efforts. Not to mention, while I was off playing white knight to some mystery man, certain things at home had fallen into a distant second place – umm like school. It was pretty much solely based on my powers of persuasion and my problem solving skills that I even managed to graduate on June 18th as I was meant to. Perhaps, I should have gone to law school after all because at U of T beating the system just doesn’t happen. You can also imagine the stress that this added to the already catastrophic levels left over from the hockey season, and I was finally starting to crack. (It takes a lot of stress to finally get to me. My coaches used to always say that I preformed best under pressure – and it’s true. Again, this should put things in perspective for you.) Basically, I stopped sleeping in March.

I was really worried about my stress levels and insomnia. So, I decided I would do something this week to remedy it – especially since I was beginning to feel like I wouldn’t be able to handle the 09-10 season. I booked a spa morning at Novo Spa in Yorkville, and tried to relax. It worked a little, but it wasn’t enough. I was dreaming of wilderness spa retreats. You know the places where there is nothing to do except hang by the lake and have massages. I decided that I would make my own – spa in Toronto, then wilderness adventure somewhere north of the city. Well I didn’t PLAN it so much as it just happened.

The road trip is one of the most essential parts of my hockey experience. I don’t know why, but I need it. In the off season, I find myself doing a lot of unnecessary driving. I’ll drive around for an hour before I’ll finally stop at the grocery store. I even make sure that I apply for jobs with travel due to my extremely restless nature. Anyway, after the spa, I needed a drive. I didn’t pack anything other than some homemade organic soup and vitamins. If you’ve been following my Twitter, you’ll know I’m in the process of working off the weight I ALWAYS gain in the final stretch of the season (for the last time EVER!!). This is because the final stretch/playoffs coincide with university essay season and exam time = I live on a diet of pure carbs and Rockstars and little to no exercise. So, I brought my own food, in case I felt compelled to go to McDonald’s and ruin all of my progress.

I ended up about three hours away from the city in cottage country in “Ardoch, ON” or something. What’s the off season without some time on the lake anyway, right? I spent the next two days on the water chasing a flock of ducks around the lake with a row boat and a water gun while singing a combination of I’m on a Boat and the Darth Vader theme song. OK, it’s “cruel,” but I made up for it by also bringing them bread. And I didn’t discriminate against the ducks either. I was equally annoying to the seagulls and the turtles.

About to make a sneak attack on the ducks.

When I was off the water, I spent my time ruining my diet plan with roasted marshmallows and effing amazing cheesecake from the bakery in town. Oh well, I got additional exercise rowing, canoeing, and, yes, even paddle boating in my pursuits of animal cruelty. Whatever, at least it wasn’t a REAL gun. I slept on a couch inside a screened in gazebo, which was awesome because I could hear the frogs and loons crystal clear all night. It was a step up from my original idea to sleep in my car. I thought that would be a nice tribute in the anticipation of the new Trailer Park Boys movie, Countdown to Liquor Day!

I also learned some wilderness survival techniques like how to successfully avoid showering. Who needs a shower when you can jump in the lake and put bug spray in your hair!? On a completely unrelated note, I have absolutely no idea why I don’t have a boyfriend and why boy(s) don’t bother calling me when I give/MySpace them my phone number.

Anyway, if you think my brief adventure into the bush was completely without hockey, then you’d be wrong. After I bug sprayed up the hair, I needed to find some type of hat to cover my head. Much like my overnight adventure from Buffalo to Long Island during the Phoenix Coyotes five game road trip, I went rummaging around the trunk to see what hats I could find. Sure enough, there was that dreaded Leafs hat staring me in the face again. This hat seems to spark a lot of commentary Re: Wherefore, Romeo: Long Island (Day 6). And when I wore it into the small town of Sharbot Lake, people were not any quieter. As I was approaching the miniature LCBO* (American/non-Ontarian translation: liquor store), I heard what sounded like a sheep baa-ing at me from inside a car. No, it was just a very, very East coast Canadian accent expressing a distaste for the Maple Leafs. “That’s a baaaaaad, baaaaaad haaaat, eeeeh?” Yes… I know it is.

Also, passing through the little towns on my way up to the lake, I noticed a peculiar blue and white fire hydrant at the Tim Horton’s in Tweed. Upon closer inspection, the fire hydrant had been painted to look like a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player. Either this was a patriotic homage to the team, or a symbolic statement likening the Leafs to a canine piss receptacle.

I wish I had more time on the lake, but I was excited to get home and discover that the 09-10 NHL schedule had finally been released. However, my schedule party was not the happy occasion it normally is. I still have no idea which team will be my team next season. Will I get the call and make Phoenix my team again? Or will I settle down closer to home prophecies be damned? And that’s an oversimplification, my post grad job search has also taken me out of Toronto, and as of right now there is a possibility that I may relocate to Ottawa or Edmonton. For the first time ever, I looked at more than one team’s schedule. I know what I want to do, but the decision will ultimately depend on what does or does not happen in the remaining weeks before training camp.

Honorable Mention:

There is no rear access at Crotch Lake.

Posted in hockey fans, NHL 2009-10 Schedule, off season, road trips, wilderness | No Comments »

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Game Day #6 – Coyotes @ Devils: Newark (Day 11)

The following events took place on March 12th, 2009

This entry concludes the coverage of my mystical six game road trip. Non-crazy entries to resume immediately.

I’ve always been spontaneous, but I’ve never been one to live my life on a whim. I’ve always noticed the “signs,” but I’ve never felt the pull so strongly that I completely turned my life around and traveled four thousand miles in pursuit of the unknown. Just so we’re clear; this isn’t my normal degree of crazy. I woke up Wednesday having dreamt that I was in New Jersey. So, I decided that I might as well go with it and complete the road trip. I was really hesitant about going there. I had packed originally to travel there from Detroit, but I changed my mind and left my suitcase at home. Then I was going to travel the day before the game, but I felt lazy and decided to spend the night in my own bed.

I also had to make a decision on Phoenix. When was I going to go? My initial instinct told me to go for the last game of the season, but I still looked at all the possibilities. The last game had the cheapest flight, and classes were over, so I wasn’t being irresponsible anymore than necessary. The final game of the season is against Anaheim, which I didn’t realize at the time, but it coincides with part of the prediction. I was told something about birds and Capistrano Beach (in California). Out of curiosity, I looked up Capistrano Beach. It’s apparently twenty minutes away from Anaheim, and, well, Ducks are birds, aren’t they. The plot was thickening. I will definitely be watching the Anaheim/Phoenix game on Center Ice Thursday night!

I set out early in the morning on game-day. I went the long way over Thousand Islands to avoid Buffalo abuse. My car was still effed from Detroit, so I stopped at a Canadian Tire in Napanee to have it fixed. While I was there I met a diehard Leafs fan who was also having his car fixed. He told me all about taking his sons to their first NHL games at the Air Canada Centre.

About an hour later I was back on the road. I knew an eight hour trek would completely destroy my hair so I decided to drive with some curlers to try and preserve some of the oomph. At first I would take them out when I needed to get out of the car, but as I got to the border (AND WAS FULLY SEARCHED AGAIN), I became irate. I mentioned before that nothing boils my blood quite like something that stands in the way of me and a hockey game. When I was searched in Buffalo, I was nice about it. I was catching a flight, and there was no chance of me missing the game. This time they were cutting into my already tight travel time, so I became quite vicious. They are never going to find anything in my car, so they are really just pissing me off – sexist assholes! Anyway, I drove off down the I-81 like lightning. I was driving while putting the curlers back in my hair! Even when I got out of the car I kept them in to save time! I basically just started shushing the people I saw gawking at me!

I need to take a moment to rave about the Prudential Center! Wow! Almost as good as the Air Canada Centre! Apparently, my entire section was a VIP section, which in Newark means you have access to a swanky lounge and all you can eat FREE food. I think I ate thirty pieces of sushi or something crazy like that. Not to mention the cookies, fruit, etc. Why doesn’t Toronto give anything away??? You’re paying enough! The sad thing is the Devils don’t sell out! They have an incredible facility, an amazing team, and, since last night, the “winningest” goaltender of all time! What more could you ask for? Come on, New Jersey!

My seats were RIGHT on the glass behind the penalty box – a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to sit there, but I’ve never found the tickets! I asked the Devils fans sitting around me if it would bother them if I shimmied and said, “You’ve been a baaaaaaaaaad boooooooy” every time a penalty was called. They said it wouldn’t and, so, I sure did….every time!

The Coyotes lost their fourth and final game of the road trip that night. I drove all the way home. I managed to do a round trip (and a game) to Newark in twenty-one hours. It brings a whole new meaning to the term “hit and run!” It was difficult for me to pull away as we went our separate ways that night. I felt like I hadn’t made much progress toward finding out what I needed to find out on this trip. All I had discovered was that I needed to go to Phoenix, and I had already booked that flight. I was excited about that.

Sunday night, and after the insanity that became my Boston trip, I was inspired to go with my friend to the best psychic in Toronto. This woman is intense! She is dead on about everything, she even names names! My friend saw her first (it was her first time). She was completely floored. The psychic had named her ex-boyfriend, the guy she is currently seeing, and a guy she has been set up with for next week!

Anyway, when it was my turn I didn’t want to tell her anything, I just wanted to see what she would say. She started off telling me that a massive change was happening and not to look back. I decided to tell her my crazy story over the last week. I said to her,

“I booked this flight to Phoenix and I don’t know what I’m doing! A normal, sane, practical person wouldn’t have done all the things that I’ve done over the last two weeks!”

“I would have” she said.

“Yes, but you’re psychic. I’m just a girl who can’t tell if it’s her intuition talking or a mental disorder!” She told me to shuffle the deck and we’d ask the cards what was going to happen in Phoenix. I told her to feel free to tell me I was crazy and I would be more than happy to turn back.

“Oh my god!” she kept saying as she laid the cards out. “Your instincts are dead on. I have never seen the cards come out like this! There is someone waiting for you there. That is what this is all about. You are meant to go. You need to go. You have to go. You have to, you have to, you have to, you have to.”

Posted in female hockey fans, magic, new jersey devils, newark, Phoenix Coyotes, psychics, road trips | No Comments »

Monday, March 16th, 2009

Game Day #5 – Coyotes @ Red Wings: Detroit (Day 9)

The following events took place on March 10th, 2009

No, you’re not crazy; there isn’t a Day 8 entry. I spent my off day at home: sleeping, studying, and visiting with my baby cousins. I decided to go to Detroit anyway. I wanted to visit with my friend, Jason. I hadn’t seen him since the last time I went to Milwaukee, which was December 2005! I got my ticket right through the arena box office, so it was nice to only have to buy one seat for a change. The ticket agent asked me which team my “favourite guy” played for! Women always know.

Doing a game-day commute to Detroit was really tight this time around. I had to be in court downtown Toronto at 1:30PM for a speeding ticket I got last season (the most recent installment of the Curse of Grand Rapids). Luckily, I had the points removed and the fine was reduced to $30! I was one of the first to go, so I was able to get out of there around 2PM. I celebrated my speeding ticket victory by speeding all the way to Detroit!

I managed to avoid the GTA rush hour traffic (just barely), and I pulled up at the Ambassador Bridge three hours later (I know, great time!). I was in the longest line waiting to go through customs. You know that line. The line that holds everyone at the booth as long as possible because the security officer in charge is a raging asshole and takes his job way too seriously; yeah, that line. I was starting to panic. The guy in Buffalo was the same way, he was just looking for a bitch slapping. He started yelling at me when I said I was going to Boston for a hockey game! I knew it would look suspicious trying to cross for a hockey game, especially when I just crossed back into Canada the previous morning. They always try to quiz you on the team as well, even though I’m sure they don’t know the answers. When I had crossed the previous Monday, they quizzed me on the Flyers. I knew that stuff inside and out, but I realized as I waited in line that I probably couldn’t answer any specific questions about the Coyotes. Oh no! However, after all that waiting and worrying, I pulled up to the booth, told the guy I was going to the Red Wings game, and that was all he needed to hear. Phew!

I hadn’t been to Joe Louis arena in two and a half years! The building was the site of my first ever NHL road trip taken on my own. It almost felt like I had come full circle, and returned back to where I had started at the beginning of the 2006-07 season. So much had changed. I had changed team alliances, what now appears to be, four times. Though, I don’t really feel like a Coyotes fan. I feel more like a crazy girl that has watched Serendipity too many times. I was missing the Flyers. That game in Boston seven days earlier felt like years ago now. I missed coach, the team, the staff, and the fans!

The arena was empty! It’s crazy what effect the recession has had on an NHL super power like Detroit. The last time I was there, you couldn’t get tickets. Now they were giving them away, and no one was taking them! I finally had one of those frozen drinks from the cocktail wall! Last time I had to pass because I was en route to Nashville later that night. Also, I sat across the ice this time, so the wives didn’t see me and stalk me. Mind you, I’m not blonde anymore, so I probably look like less of a mule-whore, and, thus, less threatening.

There was a glimmer of hope. The Coyotes pushed the game to overtime, but ended up losing their third straight. At least they got a point! I haven’t seen Detroit play live since October, when they came to Toronto for a pre-season game. They are like this big red machine. They look almost impossible to beat! Maybe that’s why they are always leading the league!

I met up with my friend briefly. Nothing was open! And APPARENTLY Detroit is stuck in the ‘70s and there isn’t a smoking by-law. Smoking makes me vicious. It ruins clothes and HAIR and LUNGS! This old smokey bastard was blowing his smoke directly into the face of a baby that couldn’t have been more than a month old. Oh dear! I was vocal. I couldn’t help it! Yes, I publically referred to him as “Smokey Bastard” for all to hear – and they did hear.

There was torrential rain all night long. Entire ramps on the I-75 were flooded. The puddles wrecked my car! I decided to take the tunnel back to Canada to try something new. The Canadian border guard was trying to ask me a lot of questions, but after the smokey bastard, and my tiredness, I was in no mood. I just kept saying, “yeah.” Finally, he gave up.

I drove through the rain the whole way home. I stopped only once to grab an Iced Capp from Tim’s. That used to be my all-nighter drink back in high school. Every morning we’d get off the bus and grab a large one to get through the day. I don’t know how we managed to go to school for 8AM for so many years. I find it a struggle to get to my 10AM classes.

I got home around 4:30AM. I was deliberating the action I needed to take. When was I going to go to Phoenix and was I going to continue on and complete the road trip in New Jersey on Thursday? I had the cards done the day before on New Jersey. I was told to follow my dreams. I eagerly went to bed that night (morning), hoping I would find the answer.

Posted in Detroit Red Wings, female hockey fans, magic, Phoenix Coyotes, psychics, road trips | No Comments »

Monday, March 16th, 2009

Game Day #4 – Coyotes @ Islanders: Long Island (Day 7)

The following events took place on March 8th, 2009

I was finally caught up on my sleep when I woke up Sunday morning. The dark circles under my eyes were gone for the most part, and I didn’t feel quite so fatal anymore. I hadn’t watched a minute of television since my road trip started, and I had NO IDEA that the clocks had sprung forward. As soon as I discovered that the hotel clock and my lap top/cell phone were off by an hour, I just about had a heart attack thinking that I could have missed my game if I hadn’t noticed! I still hadn’t clued in that it was Day Light Savings, though; I just thought it was the crummy hotel staff.

I checked out in the afternoon as the Coyotes and Islanders were playing a matinee game. I decided I would brave the drive back to Toronto after the game and regroup at home before making a decision on whether or not to continue shadowing the Coyotes’ eastern road trip. I needed a sign – a clear sign that I was on the right path!

I walked around the rundown concourse of Nassau Coliseum trying to kill some time before heading down to my seats. Yes, I, once again, had two seats, but these tickets were only $60 each so it wasn’t a huge loss. I ducked into the ladies room to do a spot check, lip-stick application – you know the drill, ladies. As I walked in one of those terrible washroom ads stopped me in my tracks. You know those ads in the metal frames you never pay attention to because they always have some terrible self-help slogan on them like, “No Means No,” or “A moment of pleasure, a lifetime of responsibility.” This time I actually noticed the ad. It was an advertisement for immigration to Arizona. I felt like I was being physically held there, like a magnet was pulling me to the sign. Eureka! This was my sign…literally. I knew then that I had to go to Phoenix at some point before the season ended.

I went down to my seats. They were awful. I was in the front row, but the front row seats were low to the ground and you could hardly see over the boards. I met two nice Coyotes/Rangers fans before the warm up started. (Hi, guys!) Unfortunately, and despite cheering for the Islanders until the hideous blonde mule was out of my sight, the Coyotes lost their second game of the road trip.

I got back to the car, it was 5PM. “Wow, what a fast game,” I thought. It was actually 6PM – I still hadn’t clued in. I stole the wireless signal from the Burger King near the hotel. Checked my emails and hit the road. It was around Midnight somewhere far North on the I-81 when I realized that it was Day Light Savings. So, I wasn’t making good time after all.

I opted to go the long way home to avoid crossing in Buffalo after the incident Monday morning. The Canadian border guard kept looking at me strangely because my purpose for a week long stint in the States was four hockey games. Unlike the assholes in Buffalo, he didn’t find it suspicious so much as amusing. Gotta love, Canada!

I felt better being back in my home country. I was driving West on the 401 bound for Toronto, when my deck started overheating or something strange and my music kept skipping. Finally, I just turned the radio on, but there are so many barren stretches of nothing that far East on the 401 that I could only get the stations with the strongest signals. And you KNOW those stations are always classical, talk, and easy listening! One of the easy listening stations was actually playing a few gems – the type that you haven’t heard in years and you have forgotten that you love.

Blue Rodeo’s Try came on. I haven’t heard them since I was a wee thing. I remember my parents had the cassette (remember those?) and they would listen to it in the car. The song made me think about everything that had transpired in the last week. In similar lyrics I had tried to explain several times to my friends/family why I was AWOL, “if this happened to you, wouldn’t you try? Don’t you have to?” As the song says, you’ve got to try.

Posted in long island, magic, new york islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, psychics, road trips | No Comments »

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