Yesterday, my friend, Madeline, told me she'd heard from someone at the rink that I was going to Colorado soon to play hockey with a team at the Gay Games. I stared wide eyed at her for a moment, before managing to get out, "What?!" She said, "Yeah, Lisa (girl at rink) said you're going to play, and I was wondering why you hadn't mentioned anything."

Me: Of course I'm not going! What the hell? Lisa's on crack!
Madeline: No, she insisted you're the one going. I asked her twice.
Me: Did you point out the obvious? That I'm not gay?
Madeline: Yeah, but she and Tim (her boyfriend) are going to play, too.
Me: Wait a minute. Lisa and Tim are going to play in the Gay Games?
Madeline: (nodding) Apparently, you don't have to be gay to play in the Gay Games. You just have to be a gay supporter.

I don't know if any of this is actually true, but it strikes me a little bit odd. That's like saying anyone who supports the handicapped can play in the Special Olympics. And does this mean that the "gay" teams at the Gay Games are using ringers from the hetero community? I'm interested in knowing if anyone else knows anything about this.

The song of the day is "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel off his 1977 album The Stranger. It's always hard for me to pick one Joel song to focus on because I love so much of his work. I go through phases of liking different periods of his work, and I really didn't come to appreciate this song until the 90s, long after its release. The winds through three distinctly different movements, and the stories told remind me of why I've always considered Joel to be a fantastic singer/songwriter.