Lindy on the Lake
From March until early July I spent the quarantine in Clarence, New York, which is just outside of Buffalo with my wife and youngest daughter. Then for all of July and most of August we were at our summer place in Montana. We have the mountains in back of us and the lake in front of us. So we did a lot of lake activities like paddle boards, wake surfing, wake boarding, fishing, you name it.
"Cleaning" the Office
Then there was just this honey-do list. So, I got most of the list done, but I have to admit I didn't get it all done. I completely cleaned out my office. It had stuff from 20 years of hockey. You find some stuff or you find pictures, things that make you laugh, and I would get distracted and wouldn't throw some of that stuff out. My wife would come and see I didn't actually clean out anything. Just moved from one place to the other.
The Jersey Journey
I have experienced very little of Jersey, other than the hockey world. Mostly just the flying in and out of Newark for hockey. I did go to a U.S. Open golf tournament to watch my friend Dudley Hart at Baltusrol. I took both of my sons. It was quite a while ago. For always just going to the old arena in the Meadowlands, and now the new one in Newark, you never really got a feel for the suburban side of Jersey, and now I have and it's just beautiful. The hotel near Short Hills Mall is probably the extent of my experience, so I'm a newbie, but excited.
Got Milk?
I was born and raised in a small town in Canada with a population of about 400-500 people by the time I left. I actually lived on a farm for a good part of my youth. Never had the milk in the bag. We had cows there, so we got our own milk. My grandfather or my dad milked the cow and we even had our own milk separator in the basement, which separates the milk from the cream. Fun fact - cream is lighter than milk, so cream always rises to the top. We had our own herd of cattle and chickens, so I have lots of farm stories.
Hi, My Name Is
I have talked to all the guys on the playing side. I did that from Montana when I was up there. The first call was to just say hello and introduce myself. Just talked and let them know about myself, and get to know them, where they're at, their family, a little hockey talk, but more just to say hello and get to know them as people. And I'll touch base again mid to late August, and talk more about hockey then. Everyone understands expectations, we want to be a playoff team.
