Bonehead: the secret history of UConn hoops

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The first time I saw Patty she glowed. We met at the bar Bourbon Street in Hartford CT, and the night was like Mardi Gras for us: partying, dancing and laughing. I’ll leave any “beads business” to the imagination. I was immediately struck by her, and we started dating right away. 

It was March when we met, and Patty and I bonded over our shared passion for UConn basketball. The men’s and women’s programs were just beginning a climb to national prominence, but Connecticut already had a case of “Husky Fever”. Sharing their triumphs was an early joy, and the pain of defeat in March Madness stung us both immensely.  

Our relationship flourished along with many basketball triumphs. One day, I was looking for something in the closet of our condo and I found something that looked like a bone. Made of foam, it was bone white, and it said “Husky Hoops” in black letters. It was a dog bone! And it was made to be worn as a hat. 

We had just scored season tickets for the 98-99 men’s home games. When I saw the bone, I knew it was destiny! I would wear the bone to games. Maybe Coach Calhoun would spot me in the crowd! 

But then I thought: what if Patty doesn’t want to be sitting next to the guy with the bone on his head? Maybe this is not something that adults do. 

When she came home from work, I greeted her with the bone on my head. She laughed and said, “Where did you find that? I won it in a raffle years ago.” 

I told her how I found it, then said, “I want to wear it to games.” It seemed forever waiting for her reply.

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I Shot Chewbacca

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The first time I shot Chewbacca felt like I was betraying my childhood. 

I was seven when my brother took me to see the original Star Wars. That’s when I met Chewbacca. Chewy was larger than life in every way, as a character and on the big screen. I loved all the characters, especially Han Solo.  At my young age, those characters were as real as anyone I knew, and that included a 7’6 Wookie. 

After seeing Star Wars, I identified as Han for 5 years. Chewbacca was my best friend and co-pilot. The character was sometimes played by my human best friend Eddie, who was good at barking dialogue and could do a solid Chewy roar. Over the years we had so many adventures in my mind and in my yard.  

Now, it’s fair to ask: how could I shoot Chewie? Well, as an adult I was playing the video game Star Wars: Battlefront. On this one level, you choose a character from the Empire. It was conflicting enough to choose which Stormtrooper I wanted to be. I didn’t want to be ANY Stormtrooper! They’re bad people! And horrible shots! 

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Leap Day

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Yesterday was leap day. I spent it taking care of my wife, who is recovering from a hip replacement. Her situation reminds me of the transition from Winter to Spring. Winter would be her painful determination to keep going despite the physical obstacles she was facing. Spring has just begun: the healing and slow emergence into pain free movement after surgery. 

Sit still on leap day
And heal like the quiet earth
Growth comes again soon

Frost Heaves

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Weather changes the most familiar paths: 
Snow buries landmark stones. 
Deep puddles block the trail 
From boots and paws. 
Fallen trees bar the way. 

Today the ground  
Crumbles under my step 
And my foot is suspended 
Above the cracking path 

I’m surprised, 
But it’s not the first time 
I've stepped on a frost heave. 

For a moment I enjoy 
Pretending that the Earth is giving way, 
Opening 
And I will fall through 
And fall 
And fall  
Into an unimagined abyss.  

My eyes open. 
I'm standing on the trail 
My right foot is crooked, 
But cupped by the sustaining earth. 

Eyeing the ground. 
I seek out more frost heaves, 
Step on them lightly 
To feel the crust breaking 

Reliving the perilous moment 
When everything below fell away.

Early Spring Haiku

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Not really feeling like spring today in Southern New England! Pretty good sized snowstorm passing through. But I liked the image that these kigo words gave me: Shallow Spring, bush warblers and returning cold.

I tried to work today’s weather in, but it couldn’t happen. The image I chose is one that I have been noticing for several weeks: flocks of small birds in bushes by the trail. They’re a fun and refreshing sight. 


Shallow Spring invites
bush warblers; returning cold
can't diminish songs.

Thanks as always to #tankatuesday

A challenge from nature and poetry

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I love a challenge but this one was initially daunting. At tankatuesday, we were given a mission to write a bussokusekika, a Japanese form that is generally found at a specific Buddhist temple. It was challenging enough to write 3 verses with a 575777 syllable count, but I also wanted to honor its spiritual roots.

Luckily I had just taken a hike that provided an perfect image. Nature being a place of great spirit, I thought that this was fitting. 

I stop on the path
That ice has taken over 
A giant puddle
That stretches into the woods
And covers the trail forward
Ahead thin ice blocks the way

These woods are our home.
The right of the path slopes up
Boundary to ice
Water cannot puddle there.
I gaze through tangled branches 
I look for a way through trees

Anna cracks through ice
She shakes a wet paw and turns
Following my steps
I find a path through branches
A way through brush sticks and stones 
A soft trail through leaves and loam.

Deep Winter Haiku

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My haiku for this challenge uses the Kigo words “evergreens” and “bare trees”. I find myself enraptured by what is revealed by the bareness of winter. I especially love how the contour of hills is shown because we can see through the trees. I am caught by the jagged, long peaks that are exposed in this season. 


Snow reveals all things:
Burdened evergreens bending 
Bare trees branches weave.

Clear and Cold Kigo Haiku

/ boz bozeman / 7 Comments

For this challenge I used the Kigo list to almost entirely create my poem.

The sharpness of the stars is one of the joys of the season; the quality of darkness intensified by the contrast with pinpoint light. 

Bright clear winter moon
Shining with cold and clear stars
Cold and clear frost gleams

As always I enjoy responding to tankstuesday challenges.