“This is like a fraternity, isn’t it? Like a brotherhood. You guys are pretty special.” Those words were spoken to me by Barbara Doyle not long after we tragically lost my teammate, roommate, and friend Bob “Radar” Ricker last September. Our large group of former SIUE Cougar Baseball players were all reaching out, making contact, sharing memories and trying to absorb and digest it all. It was horrible, but we had each other. We needed each other. I talked, texted, or emailed to many guys more in that next month than I had since school, especially James “Oscar” Noffke, who was closer to Radar than any of us. It’s a brotherhood, for sure. We kept each other grounded and sane.

Merriam Webster (the dictionary people) define the word “hunker” as seen to the right. For some evolutionary reason, we all seem to have adapted the word to mean more of a mentality thing than a physical act. I don’t think too many of us are literally crouched down or just squatting on the floor. I mean, maybe on a really bad day, but not as a daily routine. We instead see “hunkering down” as a way to get through this. We conserve. We cook. We clean. We wear our masks and gloves. That’s hunkering in the 2020 Covid 19 vernacular.

It occurred to me in the last 24 hours that not that many people ever have the pleasure of signing a contract. Not any contract, like your mortgage, lease agreement, or car loan, that legally binds you to compensate the other party for products or services they are rendering. Instead, a contract that someone else offers to compensate you for the services and professional skills you will be providing. Landscapers, home renovators, builders, and some other trades routinely utilize contracts to guarantee they will be paid for the professional services they perform, but most people go through life on handshakes and verbal agreements. I’ve utilized those handshakes, of course, but I am fortunate to have signed more than a few contracts in the world of sports, and now I’m about to do so in the world of publishing. Such things are so rare, so beyond-belief rare, it’s always an honor and a thrill to sign at the bottom. I’m pretty sure I remember every one of them.

Yesterday, I put a teaser out on Facebook about the fact I’d be restarting the blog today, after not writing it for a nearly a month due to the Covid-19 virus and all the challenges we mutually face. And I also subtly (that’s sarcasm) made mention of the fact the main reason for this reboot is the fact I had big news on the personal front. I do. I’ll get to it. But before I do any of that, I want to send out caring wishes to everyone. I hope you’re being safe. I hope you’re all well. I hope none of you foolishly think you’re bulletproof. We’re on a “stay at home” quarantine here in Minnesota and I have actually only been out of the house twice in the last three weeks, not counting getting the mail. Both times I left here in my car I was on an errand to drop something off with no human interaction. I’m being good, as is Barbara, and we’re both taking our temperature multiple times a day. So far, so good.