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I got a haircut the other day at my wife's behest, which how I do most productive things. Left to my own devices, I wouldn't get a haircut... or wash my car, trim my toenails or brush my teeth. I float through life in a fog. Left to my own devices, I would float in a fog indefinitely. I need someone to yank me down to earth, hit me on the back of the head, wake me up from a haze that started in Berkeley and has lasted ever since.
"You look like Jim from Taxi," the wife said. "Get a haircut. PLEASE."
This is a reference to Jim Ignatowski, a character on Taxi in the 1970s. Ignatowski was played by Christopher Lloyd, who had really wild hair. It is not a compliment to be compared to Jim Ignatowski. When I got home and walked into the kitchen with a brand-new haircut from Great Clips, the wife said - "Finally. My boyfriend's back."
I didn't have the heart to tell her that I didn't get the haircut for her. I got it for John Friend... (read more)
"You look like Jim from Taxi," the wife said. "Get a haircut. PLEASE."
This is a reference to Jim Ignatowski, a character on Taxi in the 1970s. Ignatowski was played by Christopher Lloyd, who had really wild hair. It is not a compliment to be compared to Jim Ignatowski. When I got home and walked into the kitchen with a brand-new haircut from Great Clips, the wife said - "Finally. My boyfriend's back."
I didn't have the heart to tell her that I didn't get the haircut for her. I got it for John Friend... (read more)
I got the haircut... and washed the car and put on a starched shirt and my best suit on a muggy 95-degree day yesterday for John Friend's funeral. The service was short, as coach would have liked it. Two of the people who spoke were Bob Grand, the lawyer, and John Doherty, the sports medicine/concussion guy who comes on my show. Actually, he comes on my show in about 30 minutes. I'm not there. Guest host Phil Potempa will talk with him.
I got a haircut and put on my best suit because that was appropriate for the funeral of John Friend. It's what the moment demanded. Bob Grand mentioned a name that affected most of the people there - Tom Largus. He was the guy who ran the printing operation for a few generations in Munster and coached linemen for the football team. He died last year. HIs printing operation faded away and, for some, so did memory of Tom Largus.
Not with me. For the last few years, I've been on the Sportsmanship Committee with Largus. He was a large man with large hands and a rather unkempt look most of the time. He had a bit of Jim from Taxi in him. We bonded over this, Munster football, the Region, and of course coach Friend. Largus would pick coach Friend up and bring him to Sportsmanship meetings. He told me how worried he was about coach and the Parkinsons. We all were. It's an evil twist of irony that Largus would wind up going before coach Friend.
So there I was on a blistering hot Wednesday at Kish Funeral Home sitting in the back row next to Munster's new football coach, Roberson St. Louis. People spoke at the podium, we filed out, I went to my car, drove away. I still can't believe that coach Friend is dead. I kept picturing Largus's big head. I've been walking around in a fog ever since. In a word, I can't believe how sad coach Friend's passing has made me the past few days.
But it's a new day. I get to go down to my media operation and twiddle a few paper clips, wipe a few counters, maybe even go on the air for a while with someone. I'm not doing the morning show for the whole month of June, so maybe I can finally start that podcast I've been procrastinating about for 10 years. Or I could call all of our advertisers just to say "hi." They'd all flip. Or maybe I'll just sit there, shaking my head, a little sad... in a fog.
I got a haircut and put on my best suit because that was appropriate for the funeral of John Friend. It's what the moment demanded. Bob Grand mentioned a name that affected most of the people there - Tom Largus. He was the guy who ran the printing operation for a few generations in Munster and coached linemen for the football team. He died last year. HIs printing operation faded away and, for some, so did memory of Tom Largus.
Not with me. For the last few years, I've been on the Sportsmanship Committee with Largus. He was a large man with large hands and a rather unkempt look most of the time. He had a bit of Jim from Taxi in him. We bonded over this, Munster football, the Region, and of course coach Friend. Largus would pick coach Friend up and bring him to Sportsmanship meetings. He told me how worried he was about coach and the Parkinsons. We all were. It's an evil twist of irony that Largus would wind up going before coach Friend.
So there I was on a blistering hot Wednesday at Kish Funeral Home sitting in the back row next to Munster's new football coach, Roberson St. Louis. People spoke at the podium, we filed out, I went to my car, drove away. I still can't believe that coach Friend is dead. I kept picturing Largus's big head. I've been walking around in a fog ever since. In a word, I can't believe how sad coach Friend's passing has made me the past few days.
But it's a new day. I get to go down to my media operation and twiddle a few paper clips, wipe a few counters, maybe even go on the air for a while with someone. I'm not doing the morning show for the whole month of June, so maybe I can finally start that podcast I've been procrastinating about for 10 years. Or I could call all of our advertisers just to say "hi." They'd all flip. Or maybe I'll just sit there, shaking my head, a little sad... in a fog.
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