Happy New Year! May 2019 be the best year ever, or at least better than 2018.

In my case, it would be better to have a stronger, more resilient back so I can take advantage of the free skiing offered for dudes my age.

The best success occurs when one overcomes some level of adversity. Early last fall, I noticed the Kansas City Chiefs were going to play the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 23 in Seattle. I thought it would be fun to take my son, son-in-law and grandsons to the game.

When I checked ticket prices, I realized my plan needed to include winning a major prize in the state lottery. I mentioned the game to my friend and season ticket holder, Mike Kenna, hoping he could lead me to someone with less expensive tickets.

After a couple of discussions, he invited me to be his guest. After 42 nanoseconds, I accepted.

Travel to the game started at my daughter’s home in Ballard. Taking an “Uber” from her home seemed the best option even though I had never used the service. I got set up on the Uber website “app” and contracted for one to come by.

He came by the house in the alley instead of the front door. That should have been an omen. He came around to the front, so we did get together and headed downtown, and we picked up a couple more customers on the way.

I suspect the driver was into us for more than $75 since one guy was going to the airport on his way to some remote island in the Indian Ocean. (Talk about getting away for the holidays!)

The Uber driver dropped me off on the street on the south side of Safeco Field. There was a big crowd of folks in Seahawks gear there, so I got in the security line and trudged forward for about 10-15 minutes.

After I made it through the line, a nice lady who was taking tickets took a look at mine and said something like, “Boy, the football game is a block north of here in CenturyLink Field. We are doing the Enchanted Forest here.”

Following my walk of humiliation out the door, I blended in to the crowd going to the Seahawks game. Even though I was wearing my Seahawks hat and my Chiefs sweatshirt, most folks were generally kind.

There were a few comments about how I must be confused.

Actually, Mike took a picture of me at the game and labeled me as bipolar. Frankly, it was a great football game, and with the gear I was wearing, I was a winner and a loser all at the same time!

Following the game, I optimistically dialed up that Uber app again with less-than-satisfactory results. Of course, the traffic was awful, and even with additional transportation support, I still wandered the streets for 45 minutes. One Uber driver appeared to accept my request, but I ended up having to cancel it.

As you may know, you can track their progress toward your location on your phone. This guy kept getting farther away as he headed north on I-5, ignoring every opportunity to turn around and come back for me. After wandering around one block of downtown Seattle for 40 minutes in the drizzle, I hailed a cab.

The joy of victory, avoiding the agony of defeat!

All this brings to mind a recent quote by coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots. “Christmas comes at an inconvenient time right in the middle of football season.”

Love a curmudgeon and Happy New Year!

NedLuce@sbcglobal.net