Neo

And, lastly, in the spirit of women and how they move me ... the song I want to hear last, when my time comes ..

Or, maybe 20 ...

I was born 50 years too late.

@drnkirishone This ... moves me.

I grossly lowballed in another thread. Inadvertent, but inaccurate still.

Failure of Imagination - Astronaut Frank Borman to Congress addressing the Apollo 1 fire. I was reminded of this by ... reverent and wistful pause ... Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. She made exactly your point while writing about our current situation. You’d love her. Just don’t let me find out your corresponding with her, buddy boy.

My math is certainly fuzzy. If my salary and employee number are both too high, the ask in my “reason for writing” would be even more modest. I think you’re onto something. I’m GRATEFUL, you big, beautiful, huggable lug!

You’ve captured one of my organizing principals in life. I set them aside, though, during pandemics. I know you're a good man. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve just moved to a different zip code for this one.

Top of my head for magnitude, not accuracy .. 300 people earning $15/hr for 12 hrs/week = $54 thousand per week, or $200 thousand per month. Can I say $400 thousand through the balance of 2020? Dear Terry and Jerry: My name is Neo. Thank you for a lifetime of joy. Now, on to the reason I’m writing ...

My familiarity with arena economics is ancient. Back in the day, the three largest sources of arena wages were The City, Sportservice and the Sabres. I can neither indict nor defend anyone today. However, an announcement of the decision and the thought that went into it would certainly be welcome. Between the obvious “no one is entitled” and the equally obvious “no one is required” lies the meaningful. “What are you doing and why?” The last question is being offered to me daily in the form of emails from institutions I choose to affiliate with and patronize.

We all, of course, hope it 'ends well' for people in this circumstance. My mind can't help but wander to what the interim stress is like, even if it ultimately "ends well" with an announcement next week. There are people sitting home wondering how they'll make a car payment if they have a thirty day break. There are people reading this who wonder. If emotional tolls were measurable, we'd see something akin to the stock markets charts.

I am not one who believes class envy need be invoked, nor villains manufactured, in order to suggest society should consider the most vulnerable when unusual circumstances arise. Good people have done this since Adam, Eve, or Primordial Soup. They helped before they learned they were bad people because they had the resources to help. They will help, still. I believe this is part of the human experience. There’s a legitimate role for government assistance here, too. I draw this conclusion less often than others. Pandemics are unforeseen events and not the consequence of choices, singular and collective, immediate and over time. Staying away from politics (I’ve been social distancing myself from that oily soup for some time), I am interested in what owners and players choose to do. We’re on a sports blog, here. The pockets are deeper. I wonder what garden centers, mom and pop restaurants, retail stores and the like are doing. My email inbox is filling. Theaters, concert halls, and museums are telling me that they’re cancelling exhibits, events, and seasons. Life’s good; I’m a season ticket holder or member, Life’s better; most of the emails articulate a plan for employees. Most. I am interested in stories about people and business stepping up and stepping in. I work for a big firm. We’re keeping approximately half of our people home beginning Monday. Our circumstances are different. We’ll pay, but our teammates can work while home. Laptops, WebEx, Cell phones, etc. Mrs. Neo, on the other hand, is a schoolteacher. She’s just learning the plan for her district. She’ll be paid, regardless of schedule. I’ve asked her what happens to the janitorial staff when closings come. She doesn’t know. The unforeseen is here. I need no villains, tribalism or lectures. I will do what I can, help where I can, and applaud any representative who sees it this way.

Oh, this will be fun. I am not the expert so many others are. Keyboard, Vocals: Richard Wright, Pink Floyd Lead Guitar, vocals: Prince Rhythm Guitar: Malcolm Young, AC/DC Bass Guitar: Bootsy Collins (oh, we want the funk) Drums: John Bonham. Period. Producer ..... I got nothin’.

Disclaimer: I have not attended medical school, used an electron microscope, interviewed anyone at the U.N., or traveled to the Netherlands. Presented without agenda, xenophobia, racism, the color purple, or any disrespect to pine cones ... The CDC .... interesting, and I had no idea.

Just cancelled two family spring breaks. Only family travel north and south, no hotels or airplanes. That article hit me. I am open to criticism. I had two hours. I did it. I’m not afraid of the virus. I’m afraid of being a link between the disease and human beings. Now, time for self quarantine reflection. My science and math: Risk Overreact < Risk Underreact. It’s all I got.

I had the SAME thought when I read @dudacek, above!

I’m an old schooler, as you know, but I haven’t drawn the same conclusion as you have ... yet! The 25 year old man playing in the NHL today grew up in a different environment than the 25 year old playing in 1985. Thirty five years ago, both skill guys and tough guys had paths to the NHL. They were coached and groomed according to their aptitudes and what they brought to the game. I believe they both cared and gave full efforts. The NHL wanted tough guys. They graduated juniors and the NHL gobbled them up in some proportion. Today, the grooming is almost always geared toward skill. It’s easier to see effort if a guy drops his gloves. How much effort, over how many years, went into Skinner’s ability to skate like a joy-stick controls him? Lots. When I look for effort, I have to work harder, today. Rob Ray bobbing his head, making his helmet dance, in a face off circle was a clear signal that “this guy’s gonna bring it”. It was explosive and flashy and easy to spot. Now, we’ll both agree that skill and snarl are not mutually exclusive. “Both” is good. I’d like more snarl. I believe I see effort. I was a house league player who was booed by other teams’ parents in 1974. Guess what my role was? If only I’d worked my edges. Passion takes many forms. Dali melted, Picasso cubed, Monet dabbed and Rodin trimmed. The first two slap you in the face. The last two nudge your heart. Passionate, all. PS ... somewhere on the web is a story told by Matthew Barnaby about being 16 or 17 years old. He’d lie awake at night before games, knowing what was expected of him. He was groomed to fight. It made him puke. I miss yesterday’s tough guys less seeing his troubles, today.

I believe it’s because a mechanical pencil connects you to a time when craftsmen held tools in their hands ... with a throw away pen, you're thinking about the drawing. With a mechanical pencil, you're thinking about the implement ... who knows.

and his heavy game!

Puttin’ on The Ritz!

I am certainly aware of, and touched by, spontaneous joy! I’m not sure I find it in locker room interviews very often. I hear regurgitation of the obvious, “gotcha” or manufactured controversy too often for me to listen regularly. Some hunts, I got no dog.

Where? I’m not doing anything ...

Apples to oranges and making no point or counterpoint, this conversation around a peculiarity in our game made me think. My preference, as I’ve already said, is to keep what I find joyful unless, as Eleven said, something’s broke. That’s me. My mind wandered to The All Blacks, New Zealand’s National Rugby union team. Have you seen The Haka? Chills, man! You could make an argument that it’s racist, that it’s cultural appropriation, and that the corporate suits should take it out of the game. Why should one team be able to do it, and not all? What advantage does it give to whom? Why must the other team show up, endure, and accept the challenge? Sanitize it! Me? I dig it. Watch .... PS ... Man, if any of those dudes could skate. PPS ... if you want to drink for free one night, bring the following up with some random Cajun or Creole in a New Orleans tavern ..

Well, as The Tablets read before they were dropped ... XI THERE WILL BE ONLY ONE ROBERT GORDON ORR of PARRY SOUND, ONTARIO.

You are a fine poster. “Gaff” is most delicious irony.