The Good Life – November-December 2023

to have warmed up your car and now your wife is mad.
And to top it off, someone (you) forgot to bring all the
hockey equipment inside of the hotel to dry or stay
warm. You will hear about this all weekend.
Arrival at the Rink
The car is now just getting warm as you pull into the
parking lot of whichever hockey arena has decided to
host this weekend’s tournament.
If you thought parking was bad at concerts ... try
parking at a regional hockey tournament. There is no
such thing as, “North Dakota nice,” when it comes to
parking at these tournaments. It’s a blood sport and
it's every family for themselves. Half the spots are now
convenient dumping grounds for snow and the few
remaining spots are more valuable than gold.
You swear under your breath and wonder, “Do these
people really need to drive such big-ass SUVs? The gas
mileage has to be terrible.”
You think you’ve witnessed a miracle and have spotted an
open parking space near the front, only to pull up and see
that it's reserved parking for whoever decided to donate
the most money to the arena. UGH.
You decide to be chivalrous and drop off your hockey star
and family at the entrance and then go park the car in
whatever field you can find. Your intentions are two-fold
though: this will give you a few minutes of alone time
during which to breathe, check the finances, and set your
fantasy football lineups (because Lord knows this place
doesn’t have wifi).
Before you head in, you check your supplies: beanie, hand
warmers, chopper gloves, and insulated boots ... check.
Let’s do this.
Intermission: The Great Snack Sprint
In the brief lull between games, you execute a wellrehearsed
routine called "The Great Snack Sprint."
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