April 21, 2012==>WHAT A DAY!!

 Good morning to all of my loyal and faithful readers.

You know, being virtually overcome with feelings of gratitude and relief over the safe return of grandson Alex Falletta and his brothers-in-arms makes it extremely difficult to report on other things. As expected, yesterday was an extremely emotional day for me and for my family. 

I think the easiest way to discuss it is to share with you, in brief chronological order, how the day went down ...

1:00pm - Awesome lunch with John Scott Reed at the Yaffa Cafe on St. Mark’s Place in the East Village.

Walk back to PHC, a distance of 3.25 miles. Weather terrific

4:00pm - begin watching YANKEES/F**kSOX game and we are getting our asses kicked big time, down 9-0 going into the top of the 6th inning. Have TV on mute.

 5:15pm - text from Gina that Alex has just landed in Maryland. OMFG!!

Fall to my knees (not joking) and Thank God for his mercy and protection of Alex and his brothers-in-arms.

I had known, of course, the date and approximate time that he would be leaving Kuwait but knew that I couldn’t post anything about the details until he and his Company were physically back in the good ole U. S. of A.

Prepare and post to FaceBook Wall and to Billi Pod Blogs.

Text friends and family that Alex is home safe.

Skip my usual fruit and cheese pre-theater snack.

7:00 - text from Alex that he is back and on his way down to Ft. Hood.

The Yankees begin an awesome come-from-behind rally.

7:15 - leave apartment for my show NOW. HERE. THIS. down in Union Square. Listening to game on my ancient Walkman.

The Yankees win 15-9==>AWESOME!!

8:00 - NOW. HERE. THIS. - From and performed by the creative team of [title of show]==>B<==OK but not [title of show] funny. Wanted to like it more. Honestly, had a bit of a problem keeping focused on what was happening on stage.

10:30 - back in PHC. Lots of emails and texts about Alex’s return. Thanks everyone.

11:15pm - text from Alex that they had safely landed at Ft. Hood, TX. YES!!

Really feel emotionally drained. Skip the usual late night meal and opt for fruit and cheese plate instead.

1:00am - Crash. Say prayers and immediately fall asleep.

8:00am - Sunday - wake up and a new day and new Falletta era begins ...

So, my loyal and faithful readers there you have what went down, but there is something I have failed to mention earlier... something that also added to family emotions ...

On Friday Alex’s paternal grandmother Betty Falletta, 89, of Lakeland, FL, died. Betty had been in declining health for quite some time so this was not unexpected, but still ... 

So, over a period of 2 days the Falletta family experienced==>(1) Gina and Saylor and their caravan travel from Winter Haven, FL, to Columbia, SC; (2) Betty Falletta dies: and, (3) Alex safely returns from his overseas deployment.

That, my loyal and faithful readers, is a lot to deal with in a short period of time.

Anyway ... what about today for Billi Pod?

Well, first let me share with you some of the headlines from today’s local papers, all dealing with, of course, the Yankees kicking F**KSOX butt ...

“Told ya! Yanks still kicking ass” - front page NY Post

“NEVER A DOUBT. Yanks erase 9-0 deficit, blow out Bosox” - back page NY Post

“WOW! Down 9-0, Yanks come back to lick Sox” - front page Daily News

“SOX TO BE YOU! Yanks rally from down 9 runs to bomb Bobby” - back page Daily News

“Two Late Touchdowns Lift the Yankees to a Surreal Victory in Boston” - inside story line NY Times

Nice!

Today’s entertainment event is ...

2:00==>THE LIMBAUGH LOVERS SONG BOOK - “Whether you love to hate him or hate to love him, come see Rush Limbaugh have a nervous breakdown and turn into a liberal.” (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)

Sounds interesting doesn’t it and the nice thing is ... it is playing at a theatre only a block and half away from my building, which is good because the weather is kinda nasty ... raining off-and-on.

Then for this evening ...

8:05==>YANKEES/F**KSOX on ESPN, CC Sabathia will be on the mound for the Bombers. The online buzz is that the F**KSOX are praying for the game to be rained out and according to the Weather Channel, they may get their wish.

In closing ... yes ... weather permitting, my 78 block Birthday Walk is still on for tomorrow, followed by an afternoon theater reading with my posse friend Vera and then the Broadway show NEWSIES.

GO YANKEES AND GO GATORS!!

Billi Pod

“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”

PS: The new formatting is just driving me crazy. The blog just doesn't look right anymore ...