JUST HAD A guitar student suggest we learn "Summer In The City" by The Lovin' Spoonful. Geesh. What a great song and totally appropriate. We've gone from snow in the middle of April to the Sahara Desert heat at the end of May. Second String Music is open today because I have a lot of guitar lessons on Mondays, and we salute the men and women of our armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifices.
As usual, I'm a walking zombie after our Gus Macker tournament in Washington Park. Despite the heat, things went well and I refuse to let the 1 percent of the idiots causing all the problems to wreck my general impression. Also, if a downtown store owner politely asks you to move from their doorway because they are open for business, they aren't trying to be pushy, they are just trying to operate a business. Sheryl can let you know more if you care to ask, but let's just say things didn't end well for people with poor attitudes.
The heat kept overall numbers down, which isn't always a bad thing. There have been years when just getting from one side of the park to the other was a huge challenge because of the mass of humanity, but not Saturday or Sunday. And it was hot, especially on the streets. My guess was that if it was 95 in the air, it was at least 10 degrees hotter on the courts - I must have lost at least 10 pounds officiating a game at Fifth and Hampshire late Sunday morning.
A huge thank you to the Quincy Exchange Club and the Quincy Notre Dame football team, with new coach Jack Cornell, who helped us set up, tear down and keep things clean during the weekend. Without them ... I don't even wanna think about it.
Another big thanks to Quincy Police officers Bill Calkins, J.D. Summers and Nathan Elbus. Without them, I'd be in a heap of trouble. I have more and more respect for our local law enforcement after putting out the fires this weekend, and we'll just leave it at that.
My favorite moment came Sunday afternoon on Red A, 8 year olds basically, when the sons of Quincy High School basketball coach Andy Douglas and WGEM Sports Director Ben Marth tangled in the championship game. The parents were amazing and vocal and supportive, our official Luka did a great job blowing the whistle, and Ben's team ended up winning a nail-biter. Both teams showed a lot of class and sportsmanship, crucially important at that young age, and I managed to snag the game ball and give to Ben, who is leaving WGEM next month after 15 years for another job in town. Thanks for making it fun and for the reminder of how great Gus Macker is, can be and should be.
Next up - more Macker adventures in a couple of weeks, this time in Cape Giradeau, Mo. Maybe I will have caught up on my sleep by then ....
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