irish sports pages
i'm not sure the origination of the expression, but because it's used so frequently among my irish (ex) in-laws, i'm going to claim "fair use" here, and adapt it and expand it just a little bit for myself. (for those uninitiated, "irish sports pages" is a colloquialism for the obituary section of the daily newspaper). i say adapt and expand because, though i did just learn of the profoundly sad, tragic and untimely passing of one of my kids' friends' parents from a newspaper obit within the last two weeks, my most frequent experience with similar are from the stories that talk more generally about people of a certain age (mine) or older. right now, thankfully, that does not mean as often the obituaries as the general news sections of the paper, but you know time is going to work on that ratio quite a bit before i'm done, so i guess i might as well prepare myself for the eventuality...
it started for me, i think, when i first moved into my place here in downtown lowell and immediately subscribed to the local paper because that's what people do. (you know i'm growing to regret the abuse more and more every day with each passing worthless edition, but this isn't about that, as it so often isn't with me, so let's skip that for now). anyway, within the first week of papers here, there were not one, but TWO incidents of men within 5 years of my age run down while bicycling. (and killed--this isn't just fun and games). maybe that just put me on edge and made me hypersensitive, but i swear to you i had no idea how dangerous the world is for guys like me and it seems i'm reading more and more about it every day in the papers. killed while biking. killed while walking. stabbed with nose hair trimmers in the right testicle while discussing female acquaintances. (seriously--lisa redmond makes sure we have ALL the details!)
today's paper offers yet more cautionary tales from the world of middle-and-beyond-aging: first, on a somewhat optimistic note, (irony included), did you see the one about the plane crash onto I93 in hooksett, nh? seems a rhode island couple were killed when their single-engine beechcraft did not come to a complete and successfully safe landing on the wooded median strip between the northbound and southbound lanes of interstate highway number ninety-three in hooksett, new hampshire yesterday. where's the optimism, you ask? well, first of all, i should mention that my aging father (i guess "aging" could go without saying once i said "my") has had a mishap at home requiring surgical repairs to a broken arm sustained in a fall, and, second of all, that the couple, both deceased as a result of the plane crash, were 83. dad is going to need extended rehab (aka temporary-we-hope- nursing home residency) but apparently mr. and mrs. block island are going out on their shields as we all might aspire. food for thought regarding maintaining dangerous habits on into late adulthood.
second, and even more entertaining because it's written about by my fave reporter, lisa redmond, is about the 61-year-old retired postal worker (she NEVER misses a worthwhile detail--did i tell you my dad worked for the post office for years?) who has just been indicted for assault "after he was accused of stabbing his girlfriend because she wouldn't talk to him after she broke up with him".
i KNOW!
one particular lady friend of mine would not be able to resist cracking wise that "that's how she knows he really loves her", but i think we can all agree that the act of trying to kill someone is a good indication that the original thought to break up might have been a sound one. either way, i'm not so far away from 61 as to read such a story without immediate reflection on my own life. no, i'm not likely to choose knife violence in a lovers' quarrel, but it's always cause for reflection to see where but for the proverbial grace one might be going.
it does occur to me that, without lisa redmond, (ok, lisa redmond and bob mills), i would have cancelled my sun subscription weeks if not months ago, and it's likely only a matter of time, anyway. until then, just hand me the irish sports pages. it's always nice to read about exactly how lucky one truly might be.
(get well soon, dad)
it started for me, i think, when i first moved into my place here in downtown lowell and immediately subscribed to the local paper because that's what people do. (you know i'm growing to regret the abuse more and more every day with each passing worthless edition, but this isn't about that, as it so often isn't with me, so let's skip that for now). anyway, within the first week of papers here, there were not one, but TWO incidents of men within 5 years of my age run down while bicycling. (and killed--this isn't just fun and games). maybe that just put me on edge and made me hypersensitive, but i swear to you i had no idea how dangerous the world is for guys like me and it seems i'm reading more and more about it every day in the papers. killed while biking. killed while walking. stabbed with nose hair trimmers in the right testicle while discussing female acquaintances. (seriously--lisa redmond makes sure we have ALL the details!)
today's paper offers yet more cautionary tales from the world of middle-and-beyond-aging: first, on a somewhat optimistic note, (irony included), did you see the one about the plane crash onto I93 in hooksett, nh? seems a rhode island couple were killed when their single-engine beechcraft did not come to a complete and successfully safe landing on the wooded median strip between the northbound and southbound lanes of interstate highway number ninety-three in hooksett, new hampshire yesterday. where's the optimism, you ask? well, first of all, i should mention that my aging father (i guess "aging" could go without saying once i said "my") has had a mishap at home requiring surgical repairs to a broken arm sustained in a fall, and, second of all, that the couple, both deceased as a result of the plane crash, were 83. dad is going to need extended rehab (aka temporary-we-hope- nursing home residency) but apparently mr. and mrs. block island are going out on their shields as we all might aspire. food for thought regarding maintaining dangerous habits on into late adulthood.
second, and even more entertaining because it's written about by my fave reporter, lisa redmond, is about the 61-year-old retired postal worker (she NEVER misses a worthwhile detail--did i tell you my dad worked for the post office for years?) who has just been indicted for assault "after he was accused of stabbing his girlfriend because she wouldn't talk to him after she broke up with him".
i KNOW!
one particular lady friend of mine would not be able to resist cracking wise that "that's how she knows he really loves her", but i think we can all agree that the act of trying to kill someone is a good indication that the original thought to break up might have been a sound one. either way, i'm not so far away from 61 as to read such a story without immediate reflection on my own life. no, i'm not likely to choose knife violence in a lovers' quarrel, but it's always cause for reflection to see where but for the proverbial grace one might be going.
it does occur to me that, without lisa redmond, (ok, lisa redmond and bob mills), i would have cancelled my sun subscription weeks if not months ago, and it's likely only a matter of time, anyway. until then, just hand me the irish sports pages. it's always nice to read about exactly how lucky one truly might be.
(get well soon, dad)
posted by kad barma at 1:20 PM
1 Comments:
Thank you for sharing such an informative there, I can't read that before it.
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