I got a ton of work done yesterday. Bubs stayed with Abbe and I last night and Viv spent the night at her buddy Nora’s for a sleepover birthday party. Bubs, Abbe, and I headed to Ott’s for some dinner (I had a great beer with my Cuban sandwich – Unibroue Don de Dieu) and to watch the Flyers clinch their playoff spot against the Habs. Bubs and I gave Abbe our undivided attention during the game as you can see from this picture Abbe took last night…
We headed home afterwards and Abbe and Bubs made a couple of sundaes with caramel sauce, chocolate ice cream, and topped it with Reese’s Minis. Yum!
Today, I’m going to do my best to get some resting done. Go.
Yesterday was pretty good. Woke up. Had brunch with Mom and Abbe at Prospector’s. Picked up Bubs and we watched the Flyers beat the Pens. Then we played ice hockey at stick time at the Igloo. Then we just relaxed for the rest of the day. At what point when you’re 41, do you stop saying, “not bad for a 41 year old huh?” Because I’m already annoying myself… and we’re on like day two.
So, two things very cool (literally) happened yesterday fridge-related. First off, my fridge died Thursday evening at some point. The repairman came and looked at the 13 year old fridge and said it would be $600 to repair it. I decided to bite the bullet and replace her. It sucked to have to plunk down that much cash, but hey, we gotta keep our food fresh.
Now this is awesome…
Last Sunday, Bubs and I went to the Flyers Wives Carnival and we had an awesome time. One of the things Bubs really wanted to do was meet Todd “The Fridge” Fedoruk, a former Flyers enforcer. We bought our ticket for Alumni Row to get pictures and autographs and as we made our way to end of a crazy long line, a security guard was standing there. He told us the line had been shut down and we could get our refund from the ticket sales person. We were bummed a little bit, but still had a great day. The next day, I sent a tweet to Todd and asked if he ever did any signings in the area. I immediately got a tweet back from Todd asking if he could make it up for my son.
He lives in the area and we chatted about maybe surprising Bubs at one of his games at the Voorhees Skatezone, but with his coaching schedule with the Trenton Titans it was tough to work out, we decided to meet at a Starbucks around the corner.
I picked Bubs up from his Mom’s with him only knowing that I was really excited for him to help me check out the new fridge we were getting (and my new fridge was truthfully being delivered that afternoon). Van was mildly complaining about how he didn’t see that a fridge was a big deal. Boy, was this kid in for a surprise…
Bubs and I sat at a table. Somehow, I kept him from peering into the grocery bag I had his Pronger jersey stuffed in (this is what he got signed at the carnival by all the players). Todd walked in, the big fella is very recognizable. I waved Todd over and I started talking to Bubs, “Do you remember who you wanted to meet at the carnival that we missed?”
Just as Todd arrived to the side of our table… “The Fridge”.
Bubs looked over at this big dude standing at the side of the table. And Todd in his Western Canadian accent said, “Hey bud, I heard you wanted to meet me.”
Bubs sat there slack-jawed.
“… I’m Todd Fedoruk and your Dad told me you missed out at the carnival.”
Bubs shot me a smirk, realizing that I had pulled one over on him. THIS fridge!
Todd sat with us and talked for 40 MINUTES about his old fights and playing for the Flyers. The guy really could not have been more generous with his time. As a hockey fight fan, I was geeking out myself. He talked a lot about his scraps with Cairns, Ray, Purinton, Barnaby, McCarthy, Boogaard, Orr (him describing Flyer’s trainer, Jim McCrossin telling him the Titanium plates in his face were moving in the training room after the Orr knock out), and I asked him about a minor league scrap with Billy Tibbets. He talked to Bubs about his own play. He showed Bubs all of his scars on his face from having orbital and cheek bones broken. We, of course, got Bubs jersey signed. I think Fridge liked that he was signing near Dave Schultz’ autograph.
I didn’t take any pictures while Todd was hanging with us, because I wanted to be respectful and not draw attention. And honestly, Todd really made us feel very appreciated as fans. That conversation we had with him is something my son will remember forever.
And seriously, here is a pro athlete taking an hour out of his weekend just for my kid, are you kidding me? The Flyers really do a great job with the carnival and community relations, but when you’re around their rink as much as we are from my son playing and practicing there, you get to see what’s really so great about pro hockey players. They understand how big it is to sign a jersey, shake someone’s hand, and just make a kids’ day. My son and I already were Flyers and Todd Fedoruk fans, but this day just cemented it further. We love ya #29!
And this was the best part of the day… Zac Rinaldo was one of the players Bubs really wanted to meet and he was super cool. He asked Bubs what his name was when we walked up. I asked Zac if it would be cool for him to grab my jersey and pretend he and Bubs were punching me. He liked the idea and the picture came out awesome. I mentioned that Bubs is on a squirt hockey team at the Voorhees rink (the Flyers’ practice ice) and Zac shouted “Good luck, Van!” as we were walking off. What a nice encounter with a pro athlete for my son.
And I would be remiss if I forgot to mention my friend Scott’s jeep customization shop, Pine Barren Jeeps. Abbe’s car has had some issues since she got it, and with her grandmother’s passing and our usual auto mechanic out of town, we were in a bind to say the least. She really needed it in good working order without breaking the bank so she could attend the private funeral and get home to spend time with her family. Well, Pine Barren Jeeps came through in a big way, getting her car turned around in a day and it’s running better than ever (power steering belt came loose and an O2 sensor had gone). She’s very happy with how it is driving and I’m a little more relaxed that her car is running so well. I highly recommend PBJ if you need anything done to your jeep or car.
I got a lot accomplished yesterday. A bunch of coding and also assembled Bubs’ new bunk bed (oh, and the ladder isn’t in the picture, but there is one… or perhaps I’ll just leave a trampoline for him to vault himself into bed each night.)
And on top of the new bedroom, Bubs also gets to spend the day with the Flyers at the Flyers Wives Carnival today. We had a blast last year and this year we were wise and didn’t go hog wild with the pre-purchased tickets. I’m really looking forward to Alumni Row and Bubs is looking forward getting pictures with Zac Rinaldo and Tom Sestito.
I am running the 2012 Philly Marathon in honor of my fiancee, Abbe and everyone that has had seizure disorders affect their lives. Please donate if you can
Last Sunday, Bubs and I went to the 
