Still the greatest story I’ve ever told (and a couple other stories)

Now, you can listen to it if you like.

Or you can read it. That’s fine, too.

“After this half-inning, can we get ice cream?”

It was kind of out of the blue as Suzi and I were watching the Yankee game the other night, but sure … if she wanted to. I’m always a fan of going out for ice cream.

But that’s not what she meant.

When Suzi and I go to ballgames, which you were allowed to do in the Before Times, we usually get something to eat after a few innings, and then we get ice cream later in the game.

And so the middle of the seventh was ice cream time, just in our kitchen.

In keeping with the cardboard and virtual fans in the stands (both of which I kind of liked after originally being freaked out), she made it as authentic as possible, shuffling sideways in front of the TV, saying “Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me” as she went.

However, she was mildly upset that I didn’t serve the ice cream in one of my plastic helmets, even though it is scientifically proven that it improves the taste by 22 percent.

We also wondered if the virtual fans at Dodger Stadium would go to the concession stands, where one of the virtual cashiers would be sent on break even though there were virtual lines five across and 10 deep. (This happened to us for real.)

The nice thing was, instead of missing a half-inning or more like we usually do for food runs, we only missed the commercials.

It was just a funny little thing on a Saturday evening, the type of thing couples do.

In recent weeks, we’ve begun something we call Scenic Drive Sunday. The original plan was for the route to be scenic, but it turned into driving to a scenic spot and taking a walk.

Most of yesterday’s drive was scenic, however, but we were more interested in our ultimate destination — Mount Holyoke College.

It’s where Suzi went to college, but more important for yesterday’s purposes, it was where we got married.

We started at Abbey Chapel, then meandered down to the lake, where we ran into some baby geese that were very interested in us, but a parent who was not especially impressed, so we beat feet in the other direction.

The campus was very nice, as it always is, and I always enjoy going, but Suzi reminded me that the last time we were there, last August, was probably the last truly carefree week we had.

We walked around campus after eating giant popovers in Amherst, then drove up to Maine to walk along the waterfront, contemplate the wonders of pizza and ice cream in the same place, enjoy an evening at the beach before the rains came and go to a ballgame at one of my favorite parks.

And then, the Tuesday after we got home … I got laid off.

Other complications followed, and then … you know.

I’m not sure we would have imagined any of the events of the last 11 months 18 years ago today, but there’s no one I’d rather navigate them, or everything else in life, with.

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