Thursday, January 10, 2008

Day 2: Brooklyn, NY to Poughkeepsie, NY


DAY 2: BROOKLYN, NY to POUGHKEEPSIE, NY

  • TOTAL BEERS: 1 (Brooklyn Lager)
  • TOTAL DISTANCE: 0 MILES (TRAIN TRAVEL)

Day 2 was spent mostly drinking beer and watching football with my sister, and reading the New Yorker on the train up to Poughkeepsie. By the time I got up to the 'Keeps, it was nearly 9:30. I met up with old Western Mass cronie and baller extraordinaire Jamie "Big Sleepy" with the full intention of roughing up the town, with the potential fall back plan of having a few drinks at his apartment and reminiscing. It was the case of Plan B trumping Plan A in the cosmic scheme of things, and the Gods smiling on us by causing the initial failure. Both bar in walking distance of Vassar College were closed for the night by the time we got there, so we ordered up a feast from the Asian-Mexican joint in town, walked back to the spot and told stories over Brooklyn Lager (Brooklyn, NY) and a bottle of Yellow Tail shiraz until we fell asleep. It was just like old times in Northampton, minus the drinking games, dancing and hollerin’ at bitches. No regrets, though.

That night I slept on a couch in Jamie’s bedroom, but the call of the road stuck a fork in my REM patterns. I woke up hot and restless around 3:30, and after re-arranging all of my bags for the next morning and cleaning up the kitchen a bit, I still couldn’t sleep. I headed out to the front room and scanned the bookshelf, which was mostly barren. But one title did catch my eye. It was a book on basketball instruction by Adolph Rupp, the legendary Kentucky basketball coach and alleged racist. One thing is for sure, the dude was old school.

In spite of the laborious 1950s-style writing, I was unable to put the book down and read at least forty pages, learning all sorts of things about conditioning you can’t work the boys too hard or they’ll be tired for the game, medicine it is imperative that the boys put on their full sweat suit when they come off the floor so they don’t catch pneumonia. I demand that the gym be at least 58 degrees, and technique I recommend that my players use the two-handed shot from long range because of the added power it allows. Ultimately, it was enough to put me to sleep. Thank you, Adolph Rupp, Baron of the Bluegrass

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