“Live for the moments, not for the days” –  That was a mantra of those fortunate enough to spend time following The Grateful Dead.  Of course the days were largely spent recovering from the cocktail of Schedule I, II, III & IV drugs (all together) with a straight  whiskey chaser.  About 5 PM when you finally figured out whether you were coming or going and the answer was coming, you were then going to do it all over again.  Like Jerry Garcia said, “Anything worth doing, is probably worth over doing”.

The older I get I see more days and fewer moments.  Funny thing, I don’t remember the moments nearly as well as the disappointments.  You would think in a life that has had so few victories they would be etched in stone somewhere in my cranium.  But the opposite seems to be true.  The hard lessons rear their ugly heads daily.  Some deaths hit hard and I miss those people everyday.  Life never really seems what I thought it was going to be.  (Then again not sure exactly what I contemplated my life being but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t this.)   Don’t misunderstand. I am grateful for the people in my life and the many, many opportunities I’ve been given.  I just never thought being me would at times end up being so hard.

As I once told Mike Barry of “Pooka Stew”, “Don’t talk to me about disappointment, I know disappointment, I’ve been disappointing people my whole life.”  (Although President Obama looks like a lock for most disappointing person ever.)    But if your from Boston you know disappointment.  Unlike New York or LA this is not a town where you might get rich quick.  To the contrary Bostonians work their fingers to the bone.  Ten months of salary goes directly to the banks, government, and insurance companies.  I’m not saying Bostonians are better than other people because its obvious we are, there’s no need to state the obvious.

Somehow winter in Boston now goes from November 1, to May 31.  Today, June 26, summer (or road work season) is half over.  Just think Christmas is six months away.  After next week July 4, always seems twelve months away.

How about sports’ disappointment.  If you go up to a Boston sports fan and say, “too many men on the ice”, “David Tyree” or “Grady Little” you’ll at a minimum ruin their day.  If you say “Bill Buckner” he or she will instantly time travel to a very, very bad place.

However, even when you know something painful is coming, like say a vaccination, the needle stick is no less painful.  All of which is a long, circuitous route to my topic: the Boston Bruins.  By now you are well aware of Boston’s latest disappointment.  A collapse of tragic Greek proportions last night on Causeway Street.  However, the loss and the means and manner of the decision somehow seem greater then the result.

There is nothing in sport like play-off hockey.  For essentially two months teams battle every other night as if they were staving off lions in the Coliseum.  Exhausted, playing with broken bones its as if their own personal survival depends on the outcome.    Over the past two months I have spent more time watching the Bruins then with the Lovely Old Lady (LOL).  A fact which makes both the LOL and TV Networks both happy.  The Bruins were a reason not just to be proud of Boston, but a personal reason to live to see another day.  In light of both the Newtown and Marathon tragedies the Bruins and their quest were not just a positive alternative, a rallying point, but the materialization of hope itself.  With no superstars or egos and a sum far greater then the combination of the individual parts, the team was a real life metaphor for the city of Boston.  Boston Strong.

The Blackhawks were the better team.  But Pittsburgh and maybe Toronto were better and the Bruins found a way.  For over 58 minutes this team found another way to force a game 7 where anything could happen.  And then in a minute that seemed like it was played in slow motion the reality of life in Boston came crashing back in: the struggle, the weather, the bombings, Aaron Hernandez, White Bulger, the ball bouncing through Buckner’s legs.  Like a series of bad movie previews the dreaded loop began to play.

The biggest disappointment of all was knowing this team wanted so badly and tried so hard not to disappoint this city.  In professional sports most players would be in jail if not athletically gifted.  Hockey players in general and this Bruins team in particular are true gentlemen.

One lesson I have finally learned is that you need to appreciate the few moments.  Not just the accomplishment but also the commitment, effort, hard work and good fortune that allowed a goal to be achieved, a dream realized, or wish fulfilled.  After all you may go days and days and never have another moment.

KOKO