DLand - Leather and Ice

Got a great car tonight at the Hertz rental. Never underestimate the power of the #1 Club Gold card. It's a great feeling to see your name on the board and get in your Volvo with leather interior and Neverlost system and 5 speed automatic transmission. Someone at Hertz loves me. I also lucked out tonight and got a bulkhead seat on the plane. The flight was on a 757, though, so I had a big space in front of me where the exit is. And I had the coolest flight attendant in the jump seat facing me. He was all chatty about his job and his family and anything that came to mind. He really cheered me up.

He plays hockey with his son. They live in Ft. Lauderdale, and are of course big Panthers fans. But flight attendant guy says he still prefers the Red Wings, and just ignores the goalie. And his son just got a new pair of DeFoe leg pads (with the stars on them and everything), so he's the envy of all the hockey youths in southern Florida.

The neatest thing, though, was that he takes his skates with him on trips. So on long layovers, he plays hockey! This just amazes me. He starts rambling off to me all the best hockey rinks up and down the east coast. It is just phenomenal. He said that the guys on the ground crew in Philly reserve U Penn's rink from 11-1 so that employees can play in between shifts. Absolutely fascinating.

I had never imagined that someone would expend that much effort to play a sport while travelling. I could see running or something solitary. But he goes through great pains to organize his flights around hockey schedules that are hundreds of miles away. He even said he's considered joining a league in New England. The insanity. The devotion. The giant grin on his face as he described this all to me.

I guess just because you're not at your house, doesn't mean you stop living.