Mr Bellisari

Happy B-Day Jerry! I was up on time to a cloud covered Friday morning. The threat of rain loomed large. After exercise and coffee I headed out with Frankie. It was raining lightly, enough that she didn’t want to focus on doing her business. But as just as they say, persistence pays off. It was a battle of the wills that I won. We stayed outside until she took care of both. Realistically, we were only out there for about 10 minutes. I did the usual meditation and stretching before heading out on my run. It was a no school day for both Mindy & the kids, so that meant I wouldn’t be delivering coffee or the pug. Instead, I re-penned Frankie just before heading out for my run. It was near 640a when I headed out the door. Throughout the entire run, it rained steady but never too heavily. I ran the full 4.1 miles. Back at home I quickly stripped out of my wet running clothes and tossed them into the dryer. After glancing at the clock, I felt a sudden sense of urgency. It was already 725a, and I planned to have the BM’er at Blagoi’s at 8a sharp. I was very focused making my breakfast (fried eggs) and packing a light lunch. I was off to the shower by 740a. I did my best to not disturb Mindy’s sleep while showering, but that’s next to impossible given the master suite's design. I was ready in record time – 750a. I gave Mindy a quick hug and kiss bye. I needed to get moving. I was a little bummed that I’d be driving the BM’er in the rain, but in each life a little rain will fall. However, the fact that I had finally scheduled the long overdue oil change superseded any angst towards over rain. When I scheduled it, the forecast was calling for brilliant sunshine. According to the weather god’s, the sunshine was only an hour or two away. For the time being it was pouring. Balgoi’s is very close, Riverside Dr. and Waltham. I pulled in the lot at 8a on the nose. The young woman at the counter was courteous and efficient. Told her I decided to go with synthetic after all. I knew that it would be $20 more, but figured it worth it. I waited no more than 20-25 minutes. Said the BM’er was in god overall health, but did share that the tie rods ends were slightly loose. Nothing to be concerned about currently. Not bad for a 12 year old car. I was outta there and on the road to work by 825a. I arrived just ahead of 845a, my projected arrival time. Already the sky was clearing to the immediate NW. And less than an hour later there was nothing but blue skies overhead. Awesome! Work went well. I was extra sensitive to the entire day’s activity since I would be on-call through the weekend. The morning went by incredibly fast. I decided to take a drive to Dick’s Sporting Goods on Hilliard Rome Rd during lunch to shop for a new ski jacket. Last time I was in, about a month ago, they didn’t have their winter sports stuff out yet. They did today, however. I must’ve tried on 4 or 5 jackets drawing the attention of an over zealous sales associate. I got the impression he was watching me more to make sure I wasn’t trying to steal. He must’ve asked me 3 or 4 times If I needed help. Uhh, no … again. Comfort, style, color, and price are important parameters when it comes to ski jackets. I have a difficult time finding just the right combination. My preference is black, waterproof, inside/outside zippable pockets, mid-length style, with a zip-out liner. I found a nice Columbia ski jacket that met almost all my criteria save for the zip-out liner. It was $50 off too. After careful shopping, I decided to buy it. It was $99. I picked up a new pair of ski gloves, too - another pair of HotFingers. There, too, I am a careful shopper. I got them for $25. One can spend upwards of a $100 on gloves alone, but that’s just crazy. I spent almost 45 minutes at Dick’s and had been gone almost a full hour when counting my drive time. It clouded up during my drive back to the office. Without the brilliant sunshine it was sorta chilly. The afternoon progressed rapidly. I ate tuna fish and cheese chunks for lunch. Mindy sent a text mid-afternoon informing me that she and the kids were at the movie theatre. Not sure which theatre or which movie. Mindy called around 520p, or just before i planned to leave work for home. She wanted to confirm our plans, which included meeting up with nephew Joe and Jerry. It was Jerry’s b-day and they had plans to hang out at two or three different venues. We planned to meet them at their first stop, Murphy’s Upstairs located in Grove City. I left work just after 530p. It was a lovely autumn drive home – sunny, slightly brisk. I arrived home around 550p. Mindy looked tired. Said she didn’t feel that well either. She headed up to ready shortly after I arrived home. I listened to some tunes and played around a little on the internet. I freshened up once Mindy was ready. We left the house around 630p. It was a quick drive to Grove City. During our drive we discussed the purchase of a MRM season pass. Need to take action prior to November 7th to realize their early season discount. Murphy’s Upstairs sits atop the ASK Honda dealership on Hoover Rd. Pretty much your run-of-mill, hole-in-the-wall sports oriented bar. Joe & Jerry were already there with a few of their friends. After a meet and greet, I perused their beer selection. After finding nothing that tickled my fancy, I opted to drink nothing. We’d be heading to Barley’s shortly, I surmised. We hung out there for just under an hour, or just before they planned to leave for Plank’s. We headed to Barley’s taking I-71N to 315N to Goodale Ave. First time I’ve driven by The Grandview Yard since its inception. Pretty. We arrived at Barley’s near 8p. Once again, we had to park in the adjacent parking lot. Because of that, we expected a crowd. The bar area, however, wasn’t crowded at all. Sparse really. And not a lot of familiar faces either, although there were a few: Bob and Carol, and Dan the banker man. Beth’s fiancée was there, too. Mindy introduced herself. Seems like a nice guy. I enjoyed a couple Centennials while Mindy enjoyed some food, a brisket sandwich. I’m not sure but don’t recall her having even one beer. She wasn’t feeling 100% In fact, I ended up eating half of her sandwich just ahead of ordering food of my own - chicken fingers. I ordered a 3rd beer- a Harpoon IPA after my meal. Turns out, the reason for the large crowd was the 1965 class reunion for Grandview Heights HS. The event was taking place in the back, but as the evening waned many of the revelers made their way out to the bar. Amongst them was a familiar face. I recognized Mr Bellisari from Raymond golf course. We struck up a conversation where I eventually learned that he was the same Mr Bellisari that taught and coached football at Westland HS when I attended back in 1973-74. As we talked, he confirmed my suspicions. He’s the uncle of former Buckeyes, Greg and Steve Bellisari. Nice guy. He did get a little defensive when I joked about how poor our football team was when I attended Westland. He shared that he was eventually fired even though his team’s showed steady improvement over a four or five year span. Said they’ve never had a more successful program even to this day. Mindy and I left for home sometime after 10pm. I paid the tab. Mindy drove. Mindy wanted nothing more than to head to bed. I stayed up watching TV. Don’t remember what I was watching. I fell asleep on the sofa pretty quick.