Father's Day

While I spent the majority of my first Father's Day "in the dark", it was not as bad as one would think. I awoke at 7:30am (terrific to sleep in that late) to an electrical outage caused by a tremendous storm that swept through Chicagoland eventually downling power lines all over and affecting 140,000 ComEd customers. I was able to focus time with family. We had lunch at Panera and then dinner at Noodles and Company. We couldn't eat at home; can't risk opening the refrigerator and spoiling the food. Oh, the suburban adventures.

I rounded out the evening with a cigar and a (still cold beer) on my front steps with a candle for light while I peered down the block looking for signs of life. Neighbors chatted with flashlights in hand and the air was deathly still. It was a nice end to the evening.

As I was closing my eyes in bed preparing for the worst overnight as our food began to rot in our refrigerators, the ceiling fan spun up and we were back in the 21st century once again. The time, 11:30pm. I made sure there were no issues throughout the house and all was right in the world.

"Next to me in the blackness lay my oiled blue-steel beauty. The greatest Christmas gift I had ever received or would ever receive. Gradually, I drifted off to sleep, pranging ducks on the wing and getting off spectacular hip shots."