So I just heard what Donald Trump said about the Civil War. In case you missed it, Donald Trump, acting I guess as a foil for Alexandra Petri, said that the Civil War was completely unnecessary and that everything simply could have been negotiated. He apparently blames Abraham Lincoln for failing to hold the country together by not trying to work something out on such lingering issues like slavery and states’ rights. He says that it was really unfortunate because the failure to avoid a Civil War wound up tearing the country apart. And so many people died who, I assume, otherwise be alive today.

So what did you do Sunday afternoon? We went to a hockey game. No, not to the Caps game to see the Caps beat the Kings 4-3. Instead, to see the poor Montgomery County Youth Hockey Ice Devils lose to the youth hockey team from Loudoun County VA, 6-3. Well, the game was exciting enough, even if it didn’t come out the way we wanted it to. Step-grandson Olie did fine. But what I have to tell you is what was the highlight (lowlight) of the game.

There we were at the Rockville Ice Rink watching a hard fought game (the teams are comprised of 15 and 16 year olds), when there was a strong legal hit mid-ice, which led to an attack on the hitter (an Ice Devil) by him who was hit (he who was hit? the hittee? – let’s just call him Number 14) which knocked the helmut off the Ice Devil. This led to a general scuffle between some of the team members (none of this is supposed to happen in youth ice hockey), and the referee put his arms around Number 14 to hold him back, and Number 14 reacted to that by turning around and socking the referee. 

That of course led to a 5 minute penalty and a game misconduct (at least a game misconduct) for Number 14. But that didn’t end it. All of a sudden a yelling match started in the small audience and then two adult men started slugging each other. Exactly what happened and who was at fault, I am not sure. But we think it was the father of Number 14 who started the fracus, which wound up with the two fathers rolling down the bleachers, as shocked fathers and mothers and young siblings scurried away as quickly as they could. Then we saw Number 14 himself leave the ice rink and begin to climb into the bleachers, presumably to help his father. And, after a period of time, we saw a Montgomery County police officer enter the bleachers to escort the remaining father out of the building. What will follow, we don’t know. But talking to our daughter and son-in-law, who are regular attendees at these games, this was a first.

Back at home, after a family Mexican dinner, we turned on the Golden Globes to see actors and directors we don’t know anything about receive awards for shows and films we haven’t seen. 

But I exaggerate. Best film was Oppenheimer. I thought it was good and very ambitious. I didn’t love it. Paul Giamatti was best actor for Holdovers. I thought he did a good job in a role that didn’t require a lot, and really liked the second half of the film but thought the first half was soporific. I was hoping for Jeffrey Wright from American Fiction. As to Lily Gladstone, best actress, again a credible job, but the best? Not sure. The film, Killers of the Flower Moon, was terrific.

But now, it’s Monday. A slow start sitting at Jim Coleman Toyota hoping they give me my car back some time, drinking coffee that doesn’t taste like coffee and eating a blueberry muffin without blueberries.

Things will improve.