I think we all know the formula:  tryptophan=nap. It’s what typically happens after a big Thanksgiving dinner, and may very well be the true reason why I haven’t posted in a couple of days.  High tryptophan foods include nuts, seeds, tofu, cheese, red meat, chicken, turkey, fish, oats, beans, lentils, and eggs, that are found on the traditional Thanksgiving table. I found myself on the couch watching Christmas Vacation and dozing along with the Griswold family. It was just my wife and I this year for the meal, with our hungry pets at our feet begging for a few morsels. Then it was off with friends to watch a basketball double header. as part of the PK80 tournament here in Portland. I was still a bit sedated from the tryptophan and wine, while the teams we were watching also seemed a bit sluggish on the court.  It was not as exciting as I had imagined. The tryptophan turned me into a trypto-fan, which led to an early exit for a good night’s sleep.

Part of my sluggishness, was the fact that I overate all week, enjoying buttermilk pie, wings, chocolate, and excessive snacks. I also drank my fair share of beer, wine, and vodka, as we went to more games and spent an afternoon in Oregon wine country. I also ate the “BIG BOY” breakfast yesterday morning, an excessive pile of eggs, biscuits, and ham covered in gravy. It sat like a lump in my stomach all day, and was the brunt of several jokes from my wine tasting companions, who are used to watching me instantly inhale platefuls of food. It even surprises me that I don’t weigh 300 pounds, so when I stepped on the scale I was stunned to see that I actually lost weight this Thanksgiving weekend. We went home and watched the movie Glass Castle, the true story of a family that barely had enough money to buy food, let alone a Big Boy breakfast that would have easily fed them all.

Tonight will be my third night of the last four to watch a basketball double header. The second set of games involved an overtime victory by Oregon, so the teams and fans were less traumatized by tryptophan than Turkey night. All four teams in tonight’s finale are rated in the Top 10, so there should be as much “electricity” in the air as there are in the shoes that the players are all wearing, where the Nike swoosh lights up with each movement. It was an exceptional innovation that put an iridescent punctuation mark on the NIke sponsorship of this event in honor of soon to be 80 year-old Phil Knight, who founded the shoe giant here in Portland.  I’ll probably have another glass of $12 beer to celebrate his birthday celebration.

Tomorrow, retired life will be back to normal, and next year I will be sure to include my wife in ALL the Thanksgiving activities. The doghouse was a bit uncomfortable the past few days, and thankfully this is only a one-year tournament. Her daughters will also probably not make the mistake of abandoning her for the weekend. I tried to make up for it with a few early Christmas gifts, but it was not enough to offset her need to be with family. The house is now decorated for Christmas, and we’ll spend it at her sister’s house. It’s probably too much family for me, but it will be good to get together with her mom, sister, brother-in-law, and nieces and nephews. We’ll then spend a day with what remains of my family. My only hope is that the weather holds up for the long loop of Hoosier highways we will navigate.  There will also be more turkey and tryptophan to deal with on our journey, but no side-trip to Bloomington this year for basketball. I’ve already had my fill of round-ball and turkey!