Thursday, February 4, 2021

Three Beautiful Things 02-03-2021: Fostering Luna and Copper, Afternoon Dirty Martinis, Look Out for the Johnnies

 1. Around three thirty this afternoon, as scheduled, Linda brought Kathy's cats, Copper and Luna, into my life. I will be fostering them while Kathy is under medical care. I thought Luna and Copper adapted to their new environment beautifully. I've watched several cats over the years come into a new home and Copper and Luna did just what I thought they would: they explored the borders of the rooms, looked for hiding places, established the location of their litter boxes, and, really, in no time found places to settle in and get comfortable. It wasn't long before Luna leapt onto my lap and, later on, dug herself, purring, into my chest. When bedtime arrived, they each lay down on one end of our love seat. I heard one or both of them meow a couple times during the night, but not in distress. 

Linda brought everything, litter, litter boxes, toys, food, bowls, two feline houses with her and so Copper and Luna are surrounded by familiar objects.

I tried to take pictures, but was unsuccessful. I'll keep trying.

2. Linda and settled into easy conversation and dirty martinis. It was a lot of fun, not only to talk and to enjoy our cocktails, but to watch Luna and Copper make themselves at home. We were both happy (and relieved, I'd say) that the cats were having such an easy time of it and that this new arrangement started off so well.

3. If you've read this blog much over the last couple of years during basketball season, you know that I became a fan of the St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team out of Queens, NY in 2019.  Well, I also have a ton of admiration for Villanova -- oh, come on, let's just face it: I really enjoy the Big East Conference! 

So, tonight Villanova and the Johnnies squared off. I had on my St. John's hoodie and was psychologically, mentally, and realistically prepared for Villanova to methodically wear down the Johnnies and with their precision, discipline, ball movement, and sharp shooting, defeat the Johnnies.

The opposite happened!

Oh. My. God.

St. John's players have totally bought into Coach Mike Anderson's approach of 40 Minutes of Hell. St. John's put full court pressure on the Wildcats all night long, disrupted the usually cool Villanova squad, turned them over seventeen times, and, to be honest, turned the usually composed, mature Wildcats into a hot mess. 

I kept thinking that at some point Villanova would mount a comeback, but they never really did. The Johnnies defeated Villanova 70-59. It was Villanova's first conference loss. The Johnnies won their fifth straight game. They appear to no longer be the lowly St. John's Red Storm. They have served notice: the Johnnies play hard, have great energy, and, if tonight was any indication, have sharpened their shooting ability. Jay Bilas might, given the chance, even anoint with his most frequent word of praise: legit. The Red Storm just might be legit. 

Steve Lavin calls this time in college basketball the dog days of February. I love these dog days. It's a great time of the year in college basketball! 

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