For the second time in about 12 years I had to skip the Kentucky Derby this year. The first time was 4 years ago, as I was in a hiatus from gambling, this time it was because of Victory’s college graduation ceremony, which for some stupid scheduling reason was the same day as the Derby. Don’t they have any respect for events going on 7 hours away?? In any case I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to partake in the festivities with the guys. But to make up for it I scheduled a trip in 2 weeks to the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, and we will also be going to a baseball game in Philly the day before the Preakness.
Thursday:
My supposed day of departure. The night before I became very sick. Out of nowhere I had a bad headache, and my throat started hurting. I hardly slept a wink. I got out of bed at 4:15am and had a temperature of 101, and could barely swallow. I decided then to take the day off of work and try to recover. I basically stayed in bed all day, then around 3:00pm called my doctors office….oops, they were closed. Apparently people don’t get sick on nice days. They have 3-4 doctors in that office and not one of them were there. Don’t you think they could spread their hours out to be available maybe 9 hours per day??? So I spent more time on the couch, alternating shivering and sweating. I had to skip my softball game as well (we won 14-8).
Friday:
Oaks Day. I was still sick, and hadn’t hardly slept all night. Victory had to drive to Mount Pleasant to get her cap and gown, so I was left on my own for most of the morning/afternoon. The doctors office had one doctor in, so I wasn’t able to get in until 12:15. They determined what I already knew, that I had tonsillitis, and should pretty much do nothing to get better. I got home and watched the Kentucky Oaks pre-game coverage on ESPN2, and then bet the Oaks. I continued my success on Oaks day by hitting the trifecta, but it only turned a $26 profit for me. However, this was far better then Sonny and Paul did for the day down there. They likely went to the Titty bar that night to drown their sorrows.
Saturday:
Derby Day / Graduation day: We got up at 5am, to be able to meet at Victory’s parents house at 6am, to make it up to Mt Pleasant in plenty of time for the 9:30 ceremony. The ceremony was nice and not too long (2 hours). I was feeling better so I got to at least enjoy it some. Seeing her graduate was a proud moment and I’m sure her parents were very proud as well. The speaker even made a comment about the Derby, which I’ll assume was directed at me. After the graduation we had a nice lunch/dinner at Lonestar, where I got a Filet/Lobster combo. It was the most I had eaten in several days. Following the long drive home, it was time to settle in and watch the Derby coverage. I talked to Paul to her him and Sonny’s thoughts on the Derby. Sonny was incommunicado, and Paul already had a bunch of tickets, so I decided to bet it on my own. Paul got to share a story about them purchasing counterfeit grandstand seats, which was humorous.
For the Derby, it came in about how I expected, but I put so much money into random off the wall horses to hit the board that despite hitting the trifecta, I lost a very small amount. After that I went and got ice cream. A few hours later we watched a special on NBC on Barbaro, which was a real tear-jerker. Very sad story, and what makes it sadder is seeing how much that horse meant to the people involved. The whole thing about him getting so many letters and e-mails was a little overblown, but I think it speaks volumes about the world we live in today, and that we will cling to any kind of story of hope and perseverance, even if it involves a horse.
We also went and got a Neti pot, which I’ll explain in a future post.
Sunday:
In what was normally a travel day back from Kentucky, I was able to sleep in and lay around, trying to recover from my sickness. I had a makeup softball game that night, which we won by forfeit, though we were leading 9-5 in the 4th inning, after one player got ejected from their team and they didn’t have a substitute available. It was a very disappointing result, as it was against our best competition in the league, and is a game we look forward to every year. In any case, we are 2-0 now in the 14 game season, and we will have one more game against them.
Because of my illness, I was apprehensive to play, but given the opponent and the fact that we had nobody to sub for me made me decide to play. I went 2 for 2 with 2 line drive singles and handled my only fly ball hit to me.
