Have a nice trip.

Last week I spent 4 days back in my hometown of St. Louis, MO. If you have read any of my recent blogs, you probably knew that.

While I was there, I had a meeting with a guy who used to play hockey in the same rinks I played in; what’s the big deal? They are no longer around and have been gone for years. The key difference between the two of us was he must have been a really good player because he went on to play serious hockey in college. I lasted for 2 years in junior high school. Two words described my hockey career, "I sucked.”

One my favorite memories of playing hockey was the one, and only goal, I ever scored. You might think it was an empty net shot based upon my skills, but if that had been the case I likely would have missed.  Nope, this goal I never saw go into the net, as I fell after taking it. It’s not as if someone tripped or pushed me, I just fell; I learned after struggling to get back up on my feet that I had scored.

When I was growing up I loved hockey; the St. Louis Blues were my team and I was very fortunate to go to a lot of games as my parents had season tickets. I have very fond memories of going to a game on a Saturday night, screaming myself until I was horse, and then going to “The Hill,” to eat after the game. The “Hill” is the Italian area of St. Louis and they have some of the best food I have ever eaten.

When the Blues arrived in St. Louis in 1967 no one seemed to know or understand the game; it was only when they made the Stanley Cup Playoffs there first year, that suddenly the bug hit the fan. And it hit hard.

It had been years since I had been to a Blues game, but that ended last Saturday night. I had planned to go with my Dad, but in the back of my mind I knew it would be too much for him to go, and with the way I work my way around the stadium, I knew he would think I was nuts. He would have been right.

I ended up sitting in 4 different seats at the game, and none of them was the one I had purchased. I had already laid out which shots I wanted to capture with my trusty Nikon, and the seat I had, although 7 rows from the ice, was just not going to work. The top of the glass cut through the picture and that cannot happen if you wanted to shoot the pictures I wanted to shoot.

While I was at the game, I made friends with people who were sitting nearby and the most important friend that night, the usher named “Randy.” He was key because he helped me find the seat that was perfect for shooting.  His reward? He is getting over 200 photos from the game. He seemed very happy with the trade.

The photo above was taken at the game. Its significance was obvious to me when I downloaded the photos from the game---going home, spending time with family, and going to a Blues game, all made for a very nice trip.

Thanks for stopping by.