Thursday, November 4, 2010

Boat Drinks and Other Pleasant Misadventures

Here is what they tell you.

Never, EVER, put in writing that you are going on vacation until you come back. Unless you have an armed guard inside your joint, a public announcement that you will be gone is an open invitation to an unauthorized house party or a tag sale, but without all those annoying price tags.

So, now you know the rest of the story. I am back, fully rested from some days at sea. Found a grand little bar near the port in Grand Cayman, one that is fluent in hockey even when thermometer in late October says 89 degrees.

And sitting at the bar, it's like having Steve Larmer and Denis Savard setting you up without even a word or a glance. "Why this drink is for me? Thank you, I will put this one away, post haste."

Nothing like boat drinks to smooth out the rough edges of daily life. Almost as good as watching a female patron in the Lounge try to do a sultry version of the stroll while Magic Sam plays "I Need You So Bad" on the jukebox.

And after more than a week at sea, I had a bad craving for hockey. Finally, back in Fort Lauderdale, the Panthers were there to ease the pain. That is why you need NHL teams in popular ports of call.

Just like the cheap beer joint at dock in St. Thomas, V.I., that welcomes you with $2 dollar bottles of Heineken while the womenfolk head into the village to troll for expensive baubles.

"Just head in to town and enjoy yourself, darling. Me and my green little friends are going to be just fine."

Ditto for hockey. "You go out and find a store on the beach. I'll get lost in air-conditioned comfort and a little piece of rubber sliding around a sheet of ice."

And now that I am back home, it's time to for me to get to work.

Thursday's early pick to click is the Rangers at the Flyers at 7 pm. I like watching the Rangers and Flyers take turns picking at a few scabs and asking each other, "Does this hurt."

Miss the days when Kenny the Rat Linseman would skate down and give Reijo Ruotsalainen a two-hander and then peel off like a fighter jet so that a real heavyweight could handle any fisticuffs that might be generated.

Nothing like a couples skate between the Flyers and Rangers in Philadelphia.

Blue Jackets/Thrashers will be on the Lounge's Internet radio link at 7 Eastern. The Isles and Senators game goes on the modestly sized Lounge monitor at 7:30 and stays there until the Canucks and Avalanche begin at 9 pm. Live look-ins will suffice for the Sharks and Blues, with the big screen taking on the Lightning at Kings game at 10:30 Eastern.

The Lounge is open again. It's storming outside. Inside the jukebox is beginning to heat up. Come on in.

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