Billy Meets Rondo

On most Saturdays, Billy and Matt scope out suburban stores. The final store selection is not an easy determination. Oh not at all! Billy cavorts, haggles, and negotiates with Matt every Thursday night prior to the weekend. With great deliberation and many retractions like the infamous voice output button–“I changed my mind”, Billy makes his final choice. Trust me, you don’t want to be in my kitchen on Thursday nights when Matt and Billy are deal making on the device. Billy sits on a chair next to the device situated on the kitchen counter and Matt stands on the mirror side. The tension that exudes from the two of them is reminiscent of traders in the bullpen at the end of a day. From my vantage point, the ambiance does not lend itself to a calm or relaxing evening at home. The upside is that on Saturday Billy and Matt are in the car cruising to some retail establishment. Oh yeah!

Billy would make a great retail manager. When he walks into any given establishment, he knows immediately if a display is missing, moved or no longer on the floor. Apparently he also visually scans select clientele. One recent trip Billy and Matt went to Blockbuster. Always with black ray bans on in public, Billy started his scouting mission down the aisle. In full stride, Billy suddenly stopped, turned around and looked up. In order to capture his full height, Billy moved his glasses to the tip of his nose and well stared. Yes it was Rondo, the starting star guard for the Boston Celtics. But Billy didn’t know that. What he did know was this guy was in another league and Billy has always intuitively been impressed by athletes. So Rondo and Billy met. After Rondo and Billy had selected their respective merchandise, Billy and Matt stood in line behind Rondo. As they waited in line, Billy performed one of his notorious jumps which is a lifelong habit. Rondo recognized the kid’s talent and remarked “he can jump”. Yes Rondo, Billy sure can!