2024 WSOP buildup: May 27, 2024
My dog Astro is not going to be happy
I leave tomorrow for the WSOP for 12 glorious days in Vegas.
Who will I be missed by the most?
Obviously, Mrs. rppoker will miss me. I hope. I know. But she and I will talk each day/night. Plus, she has plenty of friends and family to keep her entertained and help her as needed because she is recovering from a fractured ankle (she is out of the walking boot, physical therapy has begun and she started driving again yesterday). My biggest concern is the fact that the once-every-17-years invasion of the cicadas is underway. The cicadas have not overrun the environment yet, but it is ramping up slowly. Mrs. rppoker hates creepy, buggy creatures. I think it will only take one cicada getting inside our house for her to change her mind about me leaving for Las Vegas.
My daughters are young adults, living in their own apartments, are gainfully employed, have boyfriends I like, and they are developing lives of their own. Dad help may still be required (see prior post) at some point during poker breaks, but they have become independent young women. They’ll be fine.
The answer is obvious. My dog Astro. Every night when I come home, he is waiting for me by the door. After dinner he and I go in the basement where we play for 30-40 minutes with me flipping his favorite mini soccer ball (almost the size of his head) into the air with my foot and he catches the ball in his mouth. He is like a frisbee catching dog only he does it with a mini soccer ball. No one else can be a substitute for me. Only I know the precise placement of the ball that he prefers for him to catch it. No one else knows our routine of when I follow him around the basement, and when it is his turn to follow me. Astro loves Mrs. rppoker (she is the primary treat giver throughout the day), but when it comes to the 30-40 minutes after dinner, I am magical in Astro’s mind.
His daddy is about to go missing for 12 days. Astro doesn’t know it yet, but he is about to experience a life bad beat.