Ralph and the game

“Ralph, follow me”





“Over here Ralph”





“Sit down right here sweetie”



My observation of Ralph and his wife had begun. I looked up from my McD’s brekkie to see the woman lead her husband Ralph to a seat nearby.

They settled down and Ralph twisted his Canucks cap a little this way then that way. Then she said “be careful honey; your coffee is hot”

Then “oh, honey, don’t gulp it; just take a little sip, it’s still really hot”

After a while the wife started reading the morning paper and Ralph sat for a while in bewilderment. Then Ralph asked “did you find out the score of the game yet?”

“Yes, honey, we lost 4-0”

“No, I mean the Canucks game last night”

“The Rangers won 4 zip”

Ralph took a sip of his coffee “well, i’d like to find out how it went”

“Sweetie, it wasn’t good. The Canucks lost. The Rangers won.”

“No, i don’t mean that game, i mean the game last night, doesn’t it tell the score in the paper?”

“Yes, sweetie, the Rangers got 4 and the Canucks didn‘t get any”

“Are you sure? That tribute they did for Rick Rypien was so good. You’d think we’d win for him after all that”

“Yes, it’s a shame but we didn’t win hon.”

“Well what was the score then?”

“Canucks 0 Rangers 4”

“You mean we didn’t win it?”

“No, hon, we didn’t win it, maybe next time we’ll win, ok”

“I need to know the score; will you check the paper and find the score?”

“OK, here it is; see here it says “Rangers 4, Canucks 0, game over”

Ralph took a big sip of his coffee and then “it was a sad night for Vancouver; we couldn’t live up to that tribute to Rick Rypien; it was just too emotional”

“Yes dear, it was very emotional and it’s too bad we lost the game”

“Well, what was the score?”

“Rangers 4, Canucks 0”

“Are you sure they won? You know that would be the first time the Rangers won in Vancouver in 14 years”

Suddenly i had to get out of there before i lost it. Poor Ralph, half here, half gone. Moments of bewilderment and memory loss and moments of such clarity it just took my breath away. You could tell his wife had loved the guy for a long long time and they had probably watched the game together the night before on tv.

I hope to hell this never happens to one of us, I just couldn’t take it and I don’t know if I could be as patient, as kind and considerate as that wife was to her husband. Right now we’re still at “wtf, don’t bs me; you know dam well what the f’ing score was!” I wonder if it’s like a phase you go through and then the tide turns or what. I don’t know, just hope it never happens to us.