I received news earlier today that my good friend Jay (second from the right) had passed away. I met him in the mid-80's at ASU baseball games and 40 years later we still texted weekly, bitching about ASU sports or the Steelers. This is a great photo of me, Jack on the far right and my other good friend Jim celebrating clinching the Rose Bowl way back in 1996. Sadly Jack passed away this past Thanksgiving. Jay was funny and had numerous politically incorrect phrases such as a 2 at 10 becomes a 10 at 2, or she's the next Mrs Jay Jansen, she just doesn't know it yet. He never did marry, probably because he always seemed to have a coors light in his hand, or a bloody mary if it was a noon sporting event. He founded the Magic Bus, chartering a bus ride from Tempe to Mexico (Tucson) every other year for the football game. It was a busload of the most faithful and degenerate ASU football fans. Wives and girlfriends were forewarned about bus behavior, including never going number two in the bus bathroom. He traveled with me and Moshira to Key West back in 1997 with a stop at the Orange Bowl to watch ASU beat Miami (Jay and I were politely escorted out of the game near the end as security feared for our lives). He also had a knack for bumping into my SVB and ELVT friends connecting with them thru me - "hey do you know Chris?" God I'll miss him! It's been a crappy 12 months losing Jay, Jack, my stepdad, and my only aunt. Starting to see/feel my mortality as most of them were only in their 60's.
The new wine for today is a 2003 Lambert Bridge 30th Anniversary Crane Creek Cuvee. My friend Linda joined us on that trip to Key West (she lived in Miami before) and introduced Moshira and me to Lambert Bridge (in fact she gave us this very wine - just the 1994 vintage) as a wedding gift to us. Cheers to Linda for introducing us to the wine and Cheers to my almost forty years of knowing Jay. I'll see you up in the Big Rose Bowl one day (just hopefully not too soon).