Three Beautiful Things 11/23/19: Illness Kept Me Home, Eat Drink Solve, Zags Win and Looking Ahead

1. I had a full day planned today. Carol and I worked out an easy dog care plan for Charly and I was going to drive to Spokane first thing in the morning to attend the funeral of Laura Bloxham. My plan was to play things after the funeral by ear and eventually drive to Coeur d'Alene where I'd meet up with Stu, catch a ride to Worley where we'd meet up with a bunch of guys from the Silver Valley for a bite to eat at the Red Tail Bar and Grill and then, eventually, make our way to tonight's series of boxing matches -- yes, The House of Fury was back.

One problem.

I woke up with a sore throat. I felt achy. Even after having a good night's sleep, I was fatigued.

I haven't had one of these spells for a long time. I experienced them occasionally when I was working -- I'd get run down -- and I learned many years ago that if I act like I'm not really sick and try to push through and don't rest, my condition worsens.

I decided I didn't have the energy to drive to Spokane nor would I enjoy five to six hours of activity at the CdA Casino.

Disappointed, I stayed home.

I really wanted to pay my respects and silently extend my gratitude to Laura Bloxham. I very much looked forward to reunions with people I once studied with and worked with at Whitworth 35-45 years ago.

I'll start writing about Laura Bloxham and, at some point, I'll post my eulogy of gratitude on this blog.

2. At home, I slept. I drank hot black tea. I worked crosswords.  Christy bought me a package of English muffins, which are medicinal for me. I ate some of those. I drank cans of plain seltzer water. I fixed myself a big bowl of rice, salmon, and mahi-mahi seasoned with Bragg Liquid Ammino. I was also minimally productive. I washed and dried two loads of laundry and ran a load of dishes in the dishwasher and loaded it again.  I was faithful to every request Charly made to eat, drink water, or go outside. As far as treating this illness, it was a good day.

3. At 5:00, I normally would have gone next door to Christy and Everett's to watch the Zags play Cal State Bakersfield. Instead, I stayed put and watched the Zags defeat the Roadrunners 77-49.

All the games I've watched Gonzaga play so far have been blowout laughers. Because I haven't seen them play an equal opponent, I'm reluctant to write much about whether this team will continue the 21st century tradition of strong Zag teams. A few things have stood out, though. First, the Zags' frontline players, Tillie, Petrusev, Watson, and Timme all impress me with their versatility, footwork, rebounding, and mobility. Tillie, Petrusev, and Timme are already proven scorers close to the cup and Tillie and Petrusev can score from the outside. I think Watson will develop into a reliable source of scoring, too.

I hated to see Corey Kispert struggle the way he did in today's game. He looked frustrated, not only because his shooting has been off, and was again tonight, but he also was in foul trouble. He had some impressive spurts of scoring in earlier games and it will help the Zags immeasurably if he can get back on track. So far, the two graduate transfer guards, Admon Gilder and Ryan Woolridge look solid.

With that in mind, let's say the Zags defeat Southern Mississippi on Wednesday. On Thursday, Gonzaga would then face either Seton Hall or Oregon. In Myles Powell, Seton Hall has one of the nation's premier guards. He's a prolific scorer and is Seton Hall's emotional leader. He would provide Gilder and Woolridge with a stern test. Likewise, if Oregon plays Gonzaga, Gilder and Woodridge would have to contend with another superb, savvy, and experienced guard, Payton Pritchard. I hope the Zags defeat Southern Mississippi, not only because I'm a fan, but I will eagerly anticipate their match up with either Seton Hall or Oregon. Either opponent will give the Zags a superb opportunity to learn just how strong they are at this point in the season.

By the way, I love Seton Hall's squad.

I love the Ducks.

I love the Zags.

I can hardly wait to see these teams I love square off. We will have some really scintillating basketball on tap over the Thanksgiving weekend and it will be spellbinding for me if Gonzaga advances to play either Oregon or Seton Hall.