It's That Time of Year

So last night was the first Canes game of the season. My -- it's great to have football return. I gave my second ticket to my office roommie Crazy Joel, but he didn't want to leave early, so I drove the man sized Buick up 95, to 119th Street, and up 27th Avenue, to fetch young Scott, awaiting at the Miami Gardens Wal Mart. His Dad, Dr. Barry, had to work late saving kids' lives in the ICU. I now seriously question his dedication to the Canes... Anyway, Scott and I parked and walked over to Norman's excellent tailgate. Dr. Eric and Dana were there, as well as Norman's brothers and nephew and law partners. Eric's old classmate Dr. Steve showed, with his lovely wife Janet, and 2/3 of their wonderful daughters. And Eric's personal gastroenterologist Vito came. I immediately liked him -- an Italian from Long Island. I told him I know Eric for 34 years, probably better than anyone, but NOT as well as Dr. Vito. He said Eric took his endoscopy "like a man." Young corporate CEO on the make Alex came, briefly, as did my office roomie Stu and his boy Val. And our old buddy Dr. Vince came, with his boy Tyler and Tyler's friend. Vince has renewed his tickets and will be joining us --with hilarious tales of Brazilian butt lifts --the cases he does anesthesia for. Mike and Loni came. Mike was a rare tailgate guest -- he typically runs his own -- but last night his crew was largely missing. Mike and I and Norman traded nostalgia for the old Orange Bowl, although I must admit, as I age, having an air conditioned club to rest and cool off doesn't really suck. The game was rote -- Canes dispatched FAU. I really AM old. When I moved to Florida, FAU was only an upper level school. The thought they'd have Division I football was non existent. But the big excitement is for next week: the Gator, as my mentor Ed always said, in the singular, is coming to town. UF dropped Miami from their schedule years ago, after getting trounced by us regularly, and we last played them 5 years ago, at the Swamp. This is the biggest Canes home game in years. The Gators are better, and will be favored to win, but we're all still excited. The only downside is the game is at noon, so we have to start tailgating early in the am. But as Dr. Eric noted, tequila and grapefruit juics is pretty good early... I drove home alone, late, listening to the locker room interviews. The players are far more articulate than they were when the Canes dominated. I guess that's part of the problem with the team -- you need badasses to win in big college games. But the team is secondary. The true joy for me is being with my brothers and sisters --laughing and remembering, and celebrating our kids's triumphs the way we used to celebrate our own. For some of us, like my partner Paul, it's celebrating GRANDkids' triumphs... It's truly the most wonderful time of the year...