WHAH WHAH WHAH...
THUMP.
The alarm shuts off as instantly as it started. Joe’s hand slides down from the snooze button, reflexively flipping the switch to off so it doesn’t go off again and wake up his wife 15 minutes later. He crams his palms into his eye sockets in an attempt to rub away the sleep. The usual joints pop and crack as he rolls out of bed. In the background, there’s always that knee pain that’s older than his kids but he pays it no mind.
It is a pain to wake up at 5 am every morning but if he doesn’t get to the job site early then things don’t get done. Not right anyway. That idiot Mike doesn’t know where the equipment goes and Sully means well but he’s still too green. Jack better show up on time today or he’s getting a chewing. Not that there’s anyone lining up to take his spot, but still.
As the shower pours over his head, jolting him out of his line of thought, the question pops into his head...
Did the Celtics win last night? That’s right, the team app notification said they won. I think it was pretty close. Probably won’t have time to watch the replay today, maybe just the highlights. Better check the blog to see what people are saying.
“Don’t forget to bring home your homework!”
“I know ma, geez. I just forgot that one time.”
“Love you, honey. Have a great day.”
“Alright, alright, you too.”
He heads up the steps and through a pair of pillars that guard the entrance like sentries. James walks in with equal parts dread and resolve, balanced equally like in that Thanos meme. He’s going to make it through this day even if nobody in the whole school notices or cares.
The lockers lining the halls are a familiar echo of the ones he walked through just a few months ago, back when he had friends and memories and history (not just the class). Now he weaves through this sea of unfamiliar faces like Kemba slicing through the lane. Do any of them care even about sports beyond Friday night football? He’s seen a few kids wearing Rockets gear and the occasional Lakers hat (gag) but who knows if that’s just for posing or what? For the hundredth time in a week he wonders why his dad needed to get a job in this town.
He pulls out his phone and taps on his favorites. Maybe “waltah0” and “tatumtots” will be bickering again in the comments of the latest FanPost. That’s always good for a few laughs.
I need to make sure Jim picks up the supplies for Sally’s art project on the way home from work.
Did I remember to make her lunch? Yes, because I finished the jelly. Need to buy jelly.
Gotta find time to get to the grocery store today.
Ugh, that means bundling up my bundle of joy and all his gear and heading into the frigid cold.
My feet are freezing, why aren’t they warmer in these new socks? And why isn’t the sun up yet?
Did the kids get enough for Christmas? Maybe I should hit the stores for some post-holiday sales like the other moms. Am I doing a good enough job as a mom? What would my mom do? I miss her. Nope, not gonna cry today. Not now anyway.
Remember what it was like to have adult conversations for more than 5 minutes at a time? Remember what it was like before I had this song playing in a loop in my head? I can’t even tell when it is playing for the baby or when it is just in my head anymore.
Oh, he’s done feeding. I wonder how long he’s been done. I should put him back down but just look at him. He’s so precious and happy and I just got comfortable.
How ‘bout a few minutes of “me time” on my tablet? I wonder if Keith has his 10 Takeaways up yet...
None of the characters above are real. Any similarities they have with anyone reading this are both pure coincidence and specifically intended in the aggregate. They are an amalgamation of various Celtics fans I’ve known over the years with a sprinkling of my own experiences.
Everyone here has a story. Everyone comes to this site from their own unique path and will take different things from it. What we all come together for is this team and this silly kid’s game that adults play for millions of dollars. And yet words can’t grasp how immense and important an institution like the Celtics is.
I love the Celtics and I love this community, a vast mosaic of faces, most of which I’ll never get to see in person but I know there’s a connection there. We share this space and we share this passion. The varied opinions and interests and writing styles are the many paint brush strokes in this endless color filled mural. Even the silent majority of lurkers fills in the empty spaces with an unseen but unmistakable influence.
So, thank you. Those words are far too feeble, yet they are all that I need because you know. You know what this is all about and you know why we are all here. I’ve been doing this for fifteen years and hope to do it for another fifteen or more. So I’ll just say it again because I know you’ll understand.
Thank you.