My apologies to the readers who have been following my corner. I have missed several issues, for I have to adjust my writing to my new work schedule which changes every two weeks. I thank my editors for their kind considerations.
To borrow the title of the early 1990s movie that kindled the romance of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, my wife Denise and I are now “Far and Away” from home. We now call New York our second home, and please don’t you believe that this city never sleeps. It does, especially in winter. Yes, even Times Square loses its crowd in the wee hours.
I was with Denise somewhere along 5th Avenue when I got a call from my very good friend Rey Seno that fateful Sunday afternoon. Because he said that I’m a big Laker fan, I should have known already what happened to Kobe, as every network was broadcasting about what happened to him. To make the long story short, I was not aware and simply stunned about the tragedy.
We tried going to the NBA store in hopes of getting some items, but it was packed with people, and anything or everything that’s Kobe-related were all sold out. A week later, his $300 jerseys were still selling well, likewise his t-shirts and framed photos. Yes, I did buy some (not the jersey), and a few commemorative magazines as well.
The City of New York prides itself as the best sports city in the world. There are professional teams in almost every professional sport, and it also has some of the most famous and iconic coliseums and arenas. Residing here, most will assume that you either support baseball’s Yankees and Mets, basketball’s Knicks, Nets and WNBA’s Liberty, the Giants and Jets of football (I wonder why they call this football as they carry that elongated ball from end to end), hockey’s Islanders and Rangers, soccer’s Red Bulls, NYC F.C. and the women’s Sky Blue F.C. Most sporting goods stores carry these teams’ merchandise.
I keep to myself my true colors as to team loyalty, assuming that my workmates are with one of the NY teams. But reporting for work the following day, co-workers told me that one of our store managers openly cried when he heard the Kobe news. With no reservations or purposes of evasion, a native New Yorker standing at 5’10” and weighing about 300 pounds is literally a huge Laker and Kobe fan.
Everything and anything about Kobe was already written and I won’t be adding my inputs. No one thought that it would be their last day, and I can only picture the terror and the finality of death in their minds when the chopper spun out control.
Life indeed is fragile. Waking up every morning is a gift of life, and we should be thankful that the Lord had given us another day to receive HIS blessings. We shall live and enjoy life one day at a time because tomorrow is never guaranteed. As Sting said, “How fragile we are.”
–oo–
To the romantically adventurous, it’s V-Day. If we’re not ready for a lifetime commitment, it is better to be safe than sorry. If we’re not careful, of course, we’ll have a baby. What else do we expect? An iPhone 11?/PN
