My wife is amazing, and back on Valentine’s Day she treated me to an amazing day. We fantastic policy in our house that we get full credit for giving each other thoughtful gifts. They can be as small as can be, but we make sure that no matter the size they are fraught with thought. It’s a liberating policy. There is no pressure to outdo the other person, or to make sure one year’s gift is bigger or better than the last year’s. But there is still room in there for us to spontaneously spoil each other with no warning whatsoever. It’s fun.
This year, Stacy decided to play a spoil card. She laid out a day-long date for us on Valentine’s day to celebrate both the lifelong work of St V, as well as my 30th birthday. We started with a late lunch at Jack Stack where I was allowed to order what’s generally considered the coup de grace of KC BBQ dishes. Good old Jack has an item on the menu called the “Crown Prime Beef Ribs” which are billed as “three well-marbled Beef Short Ribs smoked to perfection”. That description does not do the dish justice. It’s essentially Prime Rib Ribs, and it is incredible. That being said, you pay for the opportunity to eat like a king, so it’s a special-occasion kind of deal.
Honestly, that would have been enough of a gift for me. But Stacy had grander plans.
The reason we had to go to a late lunch instead of an early dinner was because she also got us tickets to the University of Kansas basketball game that night.
Look, I’m not going to front and act like I’ve been a KU fan my whole life. I started rooting for them around 10 years ago when Roy started landing recruits from Portland. And if KU ever played Oregon in anything, it’s motherland all the way. But going to Lawrence is always fun in that it’s the most Portland-like city in the heartland. And Allen Fieldhouse? For a dude that has loved (LOVED!) basketball more than anything else ever since I was 4, a trip to the Fieldhouse is like a trip to heaven. The court is named after James Naismith, for crying out loud. And the banners. And the retired numbers. And the trophies. And the Hall of Fame where one of my favorite Blazers of all time (Darnell Valentine! His first name is my middle name!) is recognized for being the Academic All American of the Year in 1981. It was chills and smiles for 2 hours.
So my wife deserves some props. I can’t wait for next Valentine’s Day when I fly a pub full of bloques over from London and have then serenade her with the sweet 90′s musical offerings of Soundgarden.
(for more on this video, peep EPL Talk)
Renew and Restore
