"I know what a lessor Sorkin is... and I want to be one."

Ark Book IV, Chapter 5, Part 1

Chapter Five

Ken Blarney is President of the Back Court, which is a collection of us fanatics who would like nothing better than to see college basketball games all year round. His knowledge of all things Sunny basketball has given him the nickname (by me) of "the Seer". In keeping with our thirst for basketball year round, I would be seeing him at the Summer League in Bella Vista, DE, a popular shore town a half hour the other way from my house. I didn't plan it this way, but it is convenient to have all my live basketball a half hour from my house.

The Summer League roster is an amalgam of players there for a variety of reasons. Some are professionals staying in shape during the off season, others are overweight has-beens with the strongest knee braces possible. There are freshman recruits coming into the various programs in the area, as well as currently enrolled players at those schools. Our team was almost the entire recruiting class plus two current players on one roster. It's a great chance for a basketball junkie to get a first look at our upgraded team for the new season.

I thought on my way home from the Ark, I would broach the subject of the fortieth anniversary with Ken at the game that night.

First, before returning home, I had to zip through the errands I concocted to cover my self before Genna's mid afternoon queries about my time spent.

I arrived at Honey's Cleaners without my laundry ticket in my haste to get to the Ark. It didn't matter because I could just sign her copy. However, what did matter would be Genna asking why I didn't take the old clothes. I forgot.

Honey's Cleaners is a mom and pop operation run by Honey, and her husband, Jack. They're both very sweet first generation Asian Americans whom I never bothered to ask their given names. They do very good work, never missing a crease, wrinkle, or spot. They both know my passion for Sunny basketball.

"John, you miss basketball?"

"No Jack, it never stops," as I explain the shore summer league. They both laugh at this crazy customer. Non-fanatics just don't understand.

I signed their receipt copy, smiled at being the joke to them, and then headed off to Lowe's for some plant fertilizer.

At Lowe's I walk the aisles scanning like my trip to Wagner's to see if anything else registers a need. Actually, I'm just killing time to appease my inquisitor, Genna.

Last stop, the liquor store, to get a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin; which makes me, by a vote of one, the best martini in the world. I prefer the way I make them so much, I stopped ordering them out (I brag little, but this is one time).

Genna's home when I return. She's happy to see me, and I'm happy to see no new packages from her. While we were still engaged, I saw Genna's shoe closet which resembled a scaled down version of a Nordstrom department. I credit blind true love for not taking that as a harbinger of her shopping capacity.

She probably was happy to see me, but seeing the gin bottle in the package I was carrying actually put the smile on her face.

"Cocktail time?" she asked.

"Can we stick with a glass of wine tonight? I'm going to a game with Calvin, and I'm driving. I'll throw a couple of steaks on the grill, broil some tater tots, wok the string beans, and uncork that bottle of riserva Chianti. There's a little leftover garlic tomato sauce for the beans; what do you think?"

"As long as you're cooking,"

Genna is a very good cook, when she wants to be. However, she needs a recipe, which she'll execute to perfection, using level measuring spoons and all. My cooking is gene driven, from my Florentine grandmother, who was sponsored into this country as a cook for a wealthy Italian sportsman with houses in Bar Harbor, ME, New York City (today, the house is a national landmark), and Palm Beach, FL. Nana, as I called her, was an intuitive cook; no measuring, a sense of what would go well with whatever. She passed this on to my mother and me. Grilled steak originated in Florence (bistecca fiorentina). Anyway, I had everything prepped and delivered to the table in about forty minutes.