wrapped up in ronnie

"What's the gist, chemist?"

I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm waiting for Mama's soup to finish cooking.

"I see. And what brought this on?"

Oddly enough, an outing with mi tres amigas this afternoon. I had arranged for all of us to be together to watch the new movie about four old women and their long-time friendship. Winner, winner, right? And we weren't the only dames who'd thought of doing that very thing for "80 For Brady"! Good company all around us!

"Okay... that sounds like a marvelous activity, right?"

And so it was, for a good part of the movie. Truly! I even found myself looking over at my three friends at one point and being so glad we were all together!

"I'm still failing to see a downside."

I'm getting to it, I am.

"So, y'all are all four Savannah ladies watching this football movie..."

Hey, you know I like sports-themed flicks! I sure miss Bonnie when one of those comes around, as she enjoyed them as much as I did. I do hope the cinema will have one when she's in Beaufort in June...

"Listen up, I see what you're doing, right? You're skating around the thin ice instead of telling me where it is."

Fine, fine. Fine. Okay, here goes. There we were watching the movie and it gets to the part where they're at the stadium, for the Super Bowl, and the game starts. That's when I realize that this was the real game, not some mock-up. This was actual footage from the game between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots, from 2017.

"Oh, damn..."

... and, justthatfast, I was whisked back in time, sitting in the Dairy Queen on Skidaway with Ronnie, both of us in absolute disbelief as the Patriots stole that game out from under Atlanta. The Massachusetts team had only 3 measly points - 3 points! - at the end of the first half, to Georgia's 21. I'd gone to the DQ to join him for the half-time show and the rest of the game. He had been there, as he'd said he would be. Drunk off his butt, but there nonetheless. And we'd had a good time, talking and watching the diva perform. Then the game had returned and became a bookie's bonanza as the Patriots managed to tie the score by the end of the game. Right??? With the Falcons making one touchdown in the third quarter, and then not scoring any more, at all. It sure smacked of a fix to us, though neither of us had money on it.

"That was a good thing."

Well, I think we both learned from Daddy's mistakes in that area. Still, it was a little heart-breaking to watch Atlanta try and try and not make any more headway after that first half. Then, for the first time EVER in Super Bowl history, the game had to go into overtime to break the tie. The folks at the DQ were way past closing time, but they had let us stay to finish the game, then to stay longer while the overtime was played out. I can still see the manager's face, as she watched with us, all of us hoping for the Falcons to pull out a win.

"Yeah, I remember."

Then you understand how hard it was for me to sit and watch all of that being rehashed on the movie screen. For me to watch as it was turned into a win for the sake of cancer survivors, a comeback for them, a reason to cheer for the Patriots' win. For me, it was that sense of heartbreak all over, with the added pain of not being able to talk to Ronnie about it again, or bring him to this movie to get his take on it. I was in tears for the last part of that game, and the rest of the movie.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Yes, thanks. It had been my intent for us amigas to maybe go for an early dinner, but I just wasn't up for that. I was actually relieved that Sandy needed to go see about her wrist injury and wouldn't be able to join in for the meal. That gave me my out for running home to sob myself out. And to make Tuna Chowder, to soothe my soul.

"I'm sure it's ready now. You go ahead and eat it while it's hot."

Thanks for understanding. I know I could get pretty aggravated with that middle brother of mine, but it's like this: he's still my brother. Even now that he's gone, he's still my brother, and always will be. I still tell folks I have three brothers, even though he has died. He's still my brother, and I miss his goofy grin and ribald humor.