In my parents’ pink insulation filled crawlspace in Rochester, NY, there is an entire Rubbermaid underbed container of programs. Ice show programs. Football programs. Hockey programs. Huge 11×17 full color programs. Black and white home inkjet printer printed programs.
When I was a fifteen year old, there were three things in this world I obsessively saved my babysitting money for: tickets to sporting events, programs at said events, and the amazingly delicious hot-out-of-the-oven M&M cookies baked at the deli next door to my dance studio. And when you were making three dollars per hour babysitting in the Rust Belt, those three things were the only meaningful things one could save up for.
Programs were one of the reasons I would attend games and shows. When I was really young, my hands would shake nervously when I would hand over my hard-earned money for a hockey or ice show program. I would insist on getting to events right when doors opened so that I would have as much time with the program prior to the puck drop, first pitch, kickoff, or opening piece. I would devour the program the minute I sat down. I loved the smell – that toxic ink plastic-like brand new smell that graced the pages, especially if this was the beginning of the season or tour or the first one in the box. The pages would stick together upon that first read through, which made me develop this unconscious habit I still have today of flipping through the program at a rapid pace at first to separate all of the pages before settling in to fully digest the content.
When I was in sixth grade, one of my teachers at the since departed Fredrick Douglass Middle School (yes, I went to Douglass and was not shot once) assigned us the stereotypical, “Who I Admire” essay. I initially started writing an essay about my favorite actress, Gail Edwards, an obscure actress who played Six’s Mom on Blossom, Danny Tanner’s short-lived fiancee on Full House, and a waitress in my favorite obscure 1980s sitcom, It’s a Living. I wrote a draft, which was passable, but I could not truly pinpoint why I truly admired her. In fact, I didn’t admire her – she just happened to be the one common thread besides “poor taste” between all of my favorite television shows.
It’s been a while since we checked on Everyone’s Favorite Goalie – well, I mean, Everyone’s Favorite Goalie before Terrier fans were introduced to the John Curry clone that is Kieran Milan. (Thanks to blog commenter “Ogre” for jogging my memory to cover this topic.)