Last Thursday, I went to the Nassau County Class C, Girls Lacrosse Championship Game, between the Wantagh Warriors and the Manhasset Indians. It was a really great event. Besides the terrific contest waged by two excellent teams, there was a very large crowd (mostly not wearing masks), in a charged atmosphere on a beautiful day. With the Covid 19 restrictions, having been lifted, there was a sense of relief, excitement and gratitude, in the air. When you consider that there were no lacrosse playoffs, last year, and even this year began so uncertainly and with so many restrictions – to be at this game, really felt like a privilege. Manhasset built a 7-3 halftime lead and it was 8-4 when Wantagh scored with 17 minutes remaining. From that point forward, the Warriors mounted a fierce comeback and twice drew to within a goal. The Indians ultimately held on and won by a final score of 10-8. I was just happy to have been in attendance.

Friday I travelled into Forest Hills to get together with my old buddy (we first met in 7th grade), Jim Cribbins. We have not seen each other much in the past few years, and had calendared this day a couple of months ago. We had a delicious lunch out on his deck and I got to see his wonderful wife Suzanne for a few minutes, as she was diligently working from home. I also got to meet his energetic and adorable Dog, “Scranton”. Then we took a walking tour of his beautiful neighborhood. The architecture is unique and the landscaping gorgeous, definitely a cool place to live. Eventually, we made our way to the Subway Station and began the forty minute ride up to Yankee Stadium. Everyone riding the Subway was wearing a mask, which was the only restricted place, we encountered all day. This was the first day that the Stadium could be sold to capacity, and though it only seemed to be at most, half full, it was still by far the largest crowd either of us had been part of, in a pretty long time. Again, it felt great to be there and that feeling seemed to be mutual to just about everyone inside the building. It was an entertaining game and though the Yanks lost to the A’s, we were both so glad to have gone. When we walked out of the Stadium, the streets were packed with fans milling around and making their way to wherever they were headed. Normally, I don’t like being in or near big crowds – but this felt kind of good. As though, we were all returning to the full lives, we knew before the Pandemic. We made great time returning to Forest Hills, where there was also lots of “normal” night time activity on the streets and at the many local eateries and watering holes. I really had a great day visiting with Jim and being out in a world, that is kind of waking up from a year long slumber.

Saturday morning I was up and out of the house in time to get to Garden City by 7:30am, where our 3rd and 4th Grade Girls Team was playing in a Tournament. I had not been at one of these in a couple of years and have to say, it felt pretty good. I was concerned that our Team, which is community based, might be overmatched by some of the Tryout/Club Teams, we might face. That did not turn out to be the case, as all three of the games were very competitive (I think we won 1, lost 1 and tied 1). I saw great improvement from our girls and was very proud of how they competed. Most importantly, it seemed as though they all had a lot of fun – and so did I.

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