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Number Six: I have a choice?

Number Two: Of course. You can do as you want.

Number Six: As long as it’s what you want.

Number Two: As long as it is what the majority wants. We’re democratic. In some ways.

The Prisoner (1967) – “Dance of the Dead”

Sometimes the choice of theme comes from an embarrassment of riches and today’s certainly fit the bill.

Alexander had suggested a Xanadu connection with the release of that album on the 08 August 1980 whereas I was originally leaning toward Rolling Stone’s choice in 1987 of the best album from the previous twenty years which was the Beatles and their iconic record “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”.

But those little detours didn’t derail the theme for tonight’s games in the slightest because at the end of the day, there really was no other possible choice on this day of all days and by the time this narrative is done, I’m certain that you’ll certainly agree with me.

Or maybe you won’t!

One nice thing about being in the booth with my hands on the DJ software’s controls and not on the ice is that whilst we’re democratic in some ways on most nights but this isn’t going to be one of them!

You see, today is the day that I’m officially bereft of teenaged children with my daughter Katie turning 20 years old having been born half a trimester after the Hurricanes hoisted their first Stanley Cup on 19 Jun 2006, a day that will be forever remembered as the date North Carolina laid claim to a major sports championship.

It would not be the last thanks to the Hurricanes seeing off the Vegas Golden Knights a few weeks ago to claim their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Hopefully they won’t have to wait until she turns 40 for their third one… 🙂

That little factoid of coincidence has all of the hallmarks of being the perfect question for when I’m incapacitated to determine if I’m still of a mind to fight for life.

My father and I had that test arranged for over 30 years though it took several years to actually give him the grandchildren so that if he were shown a picture and asked their names, he was fine with sticking around if he could still recognise and name all three of them. His passing was so sudden that we never had to put that plan into play and part of me is very thankful I didn’t have to because whilst I’ve no doubts I would follow his orders to the end, it would have been even more harrowing for my state of mind than his actual passing was!).

So the songs of tonight’s theme is all the tracks from a quick pass through a massive library in ITunes that touch on so many aspects of a daughter I love more than life itself who is celebrating her 20th birthday as she navigates her unique path studying to become learned in the law.

Just as there was an embarrassment of riches of possible themes to pick, this ended up being a playlist of tracks that is twelve hours long. If you don’t believe me, check out the gallery at the end of the post!

I think I’ll be able to do the night’s theme justice with that many songs to work with… 😉

Game 1 Warm-Ups

Zamboni and Game 2 Warm-Ups

Post-Game