Maybe because The Alchemist takes place in the desert, I had the image in my head, but on Sunday night, Tamar and I flipped through the TV and we came across Sunday Night Football.
Granted, it was a pre-season game, but I felt like a man who had traversed that sports no man's land between the end of the NBA/NHL seasons (except for the quadrennial World Cup reprieve) and arrived at the familiar, comfortable, loving embrace of my true sporting love... American football.
The joy was palpable. We had made it through an off-season. I took a deep breath and smelled the fresh air...yes, football season is here.