Blogging from the Beach with Gary R. Blockus
Even on vacation, it's nearly impossible to get away from work these days. Thanks to ESPN, the Internet, e-mail and the like, there is no escaping the sports world.
Thus, my family's annual trek to Avalon, N.J. has generally been filled with me checking my work e-mail at night, an occasional interview or two, and sometimes even interviews with rock stars for our "a.m. Magazine."
We never had sushi 10 yards -away -- a first down -- from Joe Paterno until last week, however.
This year's vacation was a bit different with connectivity. We stayed at my sister-in-law Joanie's house on the bay in Avalon again, but this time, because most people have mobile phones, she shut off the land-line phone service to the house. Because of that, I could not link up to the Internet at my leisure, so I was out of the loop when the Flyers drafted two goalies on the second day of the NHL draft, on what happened with the Pennsylvania Stoners during reunion night on June 21, on Amber Trani's efforts at the USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials in Philadelphia (the network did not report on her), and Chanelle Price's run for the Olympic team in Eugene, Ore.
While the weather was once again ideal for lazy days on the beach, the water, at 59 degrees, was far too cold for bodysurfing.
Our annual family night out for sushi at the Whitebrier restaurant in Avalon turned into a Penn State fan's dream vacation. If I were a Penn State fanatic, I would have been in heaven; as a sports writer, it was better than just another work day.
Chatting with our waitress, Kate, a Bloomsburg University graduate and an elementary teacher in the Central Bucks School District, I joked with her that there was an Eagles Roll on the menu, but no Flyers Roll. The Flyers held a team triathlon in Avalon last summer, and staged a meet-and-greet at the Whitebriar at the end of the event. She laughed and said that while there were no Flyers, or Eagles there, I should turn my head to the left, three tables away, where JoePa sat with a couple of other families.
My wife Lois, daughter Marissa and her friend Kristen quickly began calling friends, telling them that Paterno was three tables away from us -- a first down away, I said. My son Jared, a new teenager at 13, tried to feign indifference. After a bit of prodding from my wife, I agreed to go say hello to Paterno, a man I had met once before in my life, during my junior year of high school, when he spoke at our football banquet after getting teammate Jimmy Cefalo to sign with the Nittany Lions.
I politely butted in to Paterno's group, telling him that he gave my late mother one of the biggest thrills in her life that night. At the end of the banquet, players and parents lined up to shake Paterno's hand and get an autograph. As my mom and I approached him, he extended his hand to my mother and said,"Hello Mrs. Blockus. I hope Gary will think about coming to Penn State." To this day, I don't know how he knew my mother's name or my name that night. When I reminded coach Paterno of that moment, he just laughed and smiled, then introduced me to two of the families at his table, one from Bethlehem, one from Hazleton. We talked a little about Cefalo, whose dad died recently, and he wanted me to extend his condolences to Cef's mom, Grace. He said he couldn't make the funeral because of a clinic, but how many people, 30 years after someone graduates, not only knows that your father died, but remembers the names of both of your parent?.
As Paterno spoke with me, my daughter Marissa came up to meet him. and we joked a little bit about Italians. Even though I come from an Italian home town and my daughter's name is Italian, we're not Italian. I told JoePa that I worked at The Morning Call and he immediately brought up our late columnist, John Kunda, and talked about what a great person, and golfer, that John was.
My daughter had a deathgrip on a pen and paper in one hand, but was too shy to ask for an autograph that she wanted to give to one of her friends, who is attending Penn State in the fall. Still, Paterno shook Marissa's hand upon meeting her and was smiling and jovial throughout the 5-10 minutes of time we chatted.
All in all, it was an unexpected brush with greatness at the beach. My wife and daughter, and her friend Kristen, tried to sneak cell phone photos of JoePa, but most of the shots were obstructed by tables or poles. Somehow, I don't think he would have minded if they came up to him for a picture before his food arrived.
It's amazing how much of a rock star Joepa is. People can bicker about how long he shoutld coach but it will be a sad day for all PSU fans when he leaves.
I love those stories. I've had two close encounters with Joe. Back in high school when he came in to recruit a classmate who I was fortunate enough to be sitting next to in class just when Joe arrived.
And a couple years ago when he sat next to us at a PSU event at the Days Inn. My wife and I got our picture with him and a buddy and I were in the background of the Morning Call picture for the article about his visit. My mom called the photographer and got me the color picture framed for a birthday gift and it sits on my desk immediately next to my computer as I type this.
God love JoePa, even in this day and age he's still a down to earth guy. Most big names would blow off people in that type of situation, but not only is he gracious to everyone, to still have that kind of memory that goes back all of those years, you have to love it.
And this is coming from a Pitt alum. He will definitely be sorely missed when he leaves PSU.