Heaven and hell
Jose called me to catch up last night. “You haven’t written about the Cosmos in a while,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean I haven’t been keeping up. Just so much going on right now,” I said.
“You’re telling me,” said Jose.
When I received the email from Erik Stover earlier in the week announcing that the Cosmos would be making an announcement about where they would be playing this coming year, I felt a warm, comfortable sensation flow through me. Only minutes after receiving Stover’s email, Dave Martinez reported on Empire of Soccer that the Cosmos would be playing at MCU Park on Coney Island. That also made me feel good.
Alice and I went to the 2015 semifinal match that the Cosmos played against the Strikers at MCU Park. While it’s further from us than Hofstra, Coney Island is still on Long Island. And it’s a nice destination. While I don’t especially want my soccer team playing in a baseball stadium, it’s better than not playing at all, and for me, it’s better than playing in the Bronx.
“There’s been so much darkness in the world lately,” I said. “It’s nice knowing that we’ll be able to drive to Coney Island on Saturdays to watch the boys in green play.”
“I know what’cha mean,” said Jose.
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At one point in the week I did stop into Callahan’s for a quick pint and ran into the Preacher who had a glum look on his face.
“Hey Padre,” I said. “Who tinkled in your cheerios?”
The Preacher looked at me and said, “This land is possessed by a spirit of evil.”
“You don’t say,” I said. “And does this spirit of evil have a name?”
“I’m not talking about one man,” said the Preacher. “I’m talking about the putrefying, rotting heart of our wall-building nation. Can you imagine what pain people must be suffering in order to allow this to happen?”
“Well, if I ever need someone to cheer me up,” I said, “I know exactly who to talk to.”
“Pray, my son,” said the Preacher. “Pray for this land.”
“I’ll drink to that,” I said.
