March Madness

I'm starting to get excited. Until now I thought maybe it would pass me by this year. Guess not.

Some of my best MM memories are from the 80s when I was surviving on grants and film work. I didn't own a TV so sometimes I'd stay in a motel for several days to watch games. If I had work to do, I'd get a motel in town but tell everyone I was leaving town. If I had no work to do, I liked to stay in a motel out the gorge on the river, just short of Hood River. I'd watch games all day and evening and hit the local bar when they were over.

I remember one time, in a local bar in the industrial district, I pretended I was a Russian sailor and spoke Russian, which no one understood, and pidgin English. I got bought a lot of drinks that night. Harmless fun and maybe even a little international good will.

I have no real stakes in this year's tournament. I hope somebody beats Baylor on the women's end. I hope small schools and west coast teams do well, and that there are upsets in both ends. For starters, I'd like to see the resurrected UCLA Bruins win their tourny so they get to the Big Dance.

Maybe I'll root for Harvard to make the Final Four.

March Madness. Always a great time.