This shit will happen every time.
I've got one eye on the computer where I'm researching the next blockbuster blog-post about American exceptionalism or whatever.
I've got the other eye on the playoffs. I knew Boston and Washington had it tied at one for the longest time.
Then while doing some reading on Charles Taylor's partial conviction at The Hague I hear that we're going into overtime in the hockey game.
I figure hey I want to catch this, but first I'm gonna run downstairs real quick and throw a couple sticks on the fire.
By the time I get back they've got Joel Ward being interviewed on national television for the first time in his hockey career, and I knew right away that the game was over and Joel Ward bagged the winner in OT.
Joel played some of his junior hockey locally and I ran into him a couple of times. A lot of NHL wannabees pass through town on there way to the bigs. Except the vast majority will never get beyond Junior A.
What sticks in my mind about Joel Ward is that he wasn't at all like most of the other Junior A guys passing through town. He was a real down-to-earth kid who was actually pretty sure he wouldn't ever make the big leagues.
I remember having a chat with him about the pros and cons of a welding career. The cons anyway. But the kid was interested. Knew that if the hockey thing didn't work out he was going to be ready with a Plan B.
Last year Joel moved from Nashville to Washington with a contract that makes him a multi-millionaire. When you saw him on national TV last night he was still every bit the unassuming kid I knew years ago.
Nice work kid!
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