Gheorghasbord

In a time as deeply, deeply unsettled and unsettling as the one we're living through, it feels like celebrating the mundane is an act of rebellion, of clinging to whatever shred of normality we can find. And so, in that spirit, on with the 'bord.

Revelation for me this week, friends. I made a hella tasty meal of Italian sausage, peppers, and onions

over pasta, but it needed a little zing, so I took a gamble on an ingredient I found at my local supermarket. Changed my life. If you like heat, the good kind of heat that makes the back of your neck sweat but still brings flavor, I can't recommend Mancini Longhots Fried Peppers enough. I've been eating them with everything - eggs, ham and cheese sammiches, the aforementioned pasta. Cot damn but those things hit me where it feels good.

Gonna be doing a lot of daydrinking for a little while, as we're headed to my sister- and brother-in-law's lake house for the holiday. My usual high-octane stuff won't play over a long session, so for the first time this season, I'm stocked up on FOG:TB Narragansett Brewing Company's Del's Shandy. 4.7% ABV, refreshing, made on honor. Sold. Just hope I have enough to survive four days in Ohio and kill the germs necessary to make it through.

The 4th of July is obviously Independence Day, but this year, it's also the start of something that will help slake our sporting thirst. The Basketball Tournament is making good where so many sports leagues haven't, and kicking off a 24-team event with fireworks. The event will take place over 10 days in Columbus, Ohio, "home" of the defending champions, Carmen's Crew. All of the players, coaches, broadcasters, and staff have quarantined for the duration of the event. And of local interest, Team Hines announced an addition to its roster yesterday. Canton Charge guard Marcus Thornton will play in the event for at least the third time as a part of the 11th seeded squad. 

The next...

Well, the next thing is that it strikes me that celebrating the mundane is a luxury I've got that a lot of other folks don't right now. Feels a little bit oblivious, a poor read of the room. I continue to struggle with the role I have to play in making our society a more equitable place. I can ask the questions, and I can try to be as conscious as possible, but it doesn't really feel like enough. And I can amplify the voices I think are making important contributions via our little blog, which I'll do here:

Emmanuel Acho is doing important work, and more people need to see it. I worry a little that it's a 'safe' way for a lot of white people to engage and think that more is necessary. But if he's a gateway drug to real progress, then that's something.