Chapter 7

Everyone was going back to my house so we parked behind the Piggly Wiggly grocery store and kissed for a while first. We hadn’t done that in ages and felt like rebels of some sort. We were laughing as we tried to pull up the driveway but it was packed with cars.

“How long were we parked?” Kim asked.

“Seems like only moments,” I answered.

“Nice, you dufus. I’m serious. When did all these people get here? Were they all waiting here or what?” I shrugged and we went in.

“Mom and Dane probably got here an hour ago,” I said, checking my watch. We’d been smooching a lot longer than I’d thought.

We could hear music before we made it to the front door. I turned to check the cars, trying to figure out who was inside. Most of the cars looked familiar but I couldn’t figure it out. We went in and found everyone in the rec room for another dance party. Marie and Dr. Tipman were dancing while everyone else watched. They were pretty good. They danced to the side and stopped, then Dane and Mom took over while everyone else clapped and cheered them on. They were just as good. When they finished, Mr. and Mrs. McTighe took over. It was obvious they had been dancing together for a long time.

Doctor Legare and Lula Mae looked like they had been dancing together for a long time. They hadn’t, but it looked that way. When Marie and Doctor Tipman’s turn came again, they really let loose. I’d seen Marie dance before and she was undoubtedly the best dancer there. But I’d also seen Doctor Tipman dance before, too. He looked a lot better than he had before. Using my Sherlock Holmes elementary logic, I deduced that she had been giving him lessons. Veronica was the odd person out, but Mr. McTighe held out his hand and they danced together. I already knew that he was good, but Veronica did pretty well, too.

Kim and I watched for a few minutes and I think the light came on for each of us at the same time. I looked at her and she looked at me, and we both mouthed the word, ‘dancing’. Who said we needed to do a sport together? They were getting a workout and having a blast.

The song ended and Karen announced that food was ready. Everyone was talking at once as they sort of migrated toward the dining room. Mom and Dane were the last to leave so Kim and I stopped them.

“How long does it take to learn how to dance like that?” I asked.

“Depends,” Dane said. “You could learn to dance as well as I can in a few minutes. Marie, though. That would take some time.”

“Hush. You dance just fine,” Mom said to Dane, then turned to us. “Some people pick it up pretty quickly and other people have two left feet and it takes a lot longer. Some just give up. Why?”

“Let’s eat,” I said. “Everyone is waiting and this might take a while.”

Franklin and Karen had just finished setting food out on the counter and a line had formed. Kim and I went last but there was plenty left. All our favorite Chinese dishes were laid out along with some I’d never seen before. Kim said, “You fill your plate and I fill mine. Then we switch.” She smiled when she said it so that’s what we did. I picked the funkiest looking new stuff we had, while Kim apparently made the healthiest plateful she could. We laughed when we traded and then found seats.

“Alright,” Mom said. “What do you want to know about dance?”

I nodded and Kim answered. “We were talking about post-high school and college sports. We wanted to find things we would both want to do. It was pretty easy to eliminate sports.”

“Like golfing,” Franklin said, and everyone laughed.

“Like golfing. Tennis sort of perked to the top. I said I might try martial arts and the idea of triathlons is interesting to both of us. You get the idea. Jack will be done with competitive swimming and I don’t think there’s much for cheerleader graduates to do. And then we saw you all dancing. So...”

“So, you’re wondering about the benefits and all that,” Mom said.

“Exactly.”

“You can dance anywhere,” Marie said. “It’s fun to do it at a club or something but you can dance in your living room.”

“Or rec room,” Dane said. “Christie and Veronica have gone dancing a couple of times but that’s not a regular thing. It could be.”

“Franklin?” I asked.

“Wrong guy to ask. I don’t really know how. Looks fun but I never learned.”

“I’m a terrible mother. I can’t believe I never taught you two to dance.”

“Psshh. They’re still young,” Mrs. McTighe said. “It’s wonderful exercise. We don’t do it enough but we could. Every time we do, this old fart wears me out.”

“I’m not old,” Mr. McTighe complained.

“You’re still a fart. Swing. Learn to dance swing,” she said.

“Salsa,” Marie said. “If you want exercise, you need to learn salsa.”

“If you want to die young, you mean,” Mrs. McTighe said.

“Lots of options,” Mom said. “First, it’s fun. And the better you get, the more fun it is.” I looked at Kim and we both smiled. That described a lot of what we’d learned the last year. “All you need is a record player and a clear space.”

“And a little instruction,” I said.

“Maybe a lot of instruction,” Dr. Tipman added, and I saw him smile and steal a glance at Marie. He had definitely been getting instructions from Marie.

“I’m in no hurry,” I said.

“Year and a half, Babe. It will fly by. A year and a half and we’ll be high school graduates, married, and moving to Atlanta,” Kim said and when she did, it got pretty quiet.

“I can teach you,” Mom said. “I can teach both of you. We’ll put music in the gym and clear a space. We’ll work out and then I’ll give you a dance lesson.”

“Ew. I’m not dancing with him when he’s all sweaty,” Kim said, and everyone laughed.

“We need to do that, too,” Karen said and Franklin nodded.

We talked about dancing and a dozen other things while we ate. Dane said he’d be traveling to UPMC for a conference in October and then on to Rhode Island to visit with family. Doctor Legare asked him about the conference and I learned that UPMC was the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, one of the top-rated teaching hospitals in America. I also learned that Dane had lots of family on Aquidneck Island, in Rhode Island, and that he hadn’t told them he was engaged.

“Are you going with him, Mom?” I asked.

“Oh, lord. I don’t think so. It’s all I can do to understand Dane. Surrounded by Yankees would be...” she paused and Dane watched to see how she would finish. “Challenging.”

“Do you know the difference between a Yankee and a damned Yankee?” Doctor Legare asked, sounding even more southern than normal, if that were possible. “A Yankee is someone from north of the Mason Dixon who has come to visit. A damned Yankee is one who stays,” and then he paused and looked at Dane. “No offense.”

Dane laughed, “None taken. I wonder if there’s a name for southerners who move north.”

“I don’t believe southerners move north,” Lula Mae said, in a very serious tone. Dane stared at her for a few moments and she finally gave away her humor with a tiny smile.

Marie said something to Veronica in Spanish but it was so fast I had no way of following it. Veronica answered back, just as fast. She might have said that while we were on vacation in Puerto Rico, we were all Yankees but that was only a guess.

Mom gave last call for food, then she started putting the leftovers away. Karen and Kim helped out and when they were finished, I doubt if we had any unused Tupperware left. I knew what I’d be eating for the next week. It was all good, so I didn’t mind. We all drifted to the rec room.

“I’m going to teach you the waltz,” Mom said.

“Great. I can’t wait to watch Lawrence Welk,” I said.

“Foxtrot,” Marie said. “Let me.” Mom shrugged and thumbed through the record stack.

“What about me?” Kim asked, and Mr. McTighe stepped forward. “I love you, Daddy, but...”

“May I cut in before the cuttin’ gets good?” Doctor Legare said and took Kim’s hand. She smiled, and showed off her brilliant white smile and wonderful dimples. But she was looking at Doctor Legare. We were going to have to talk about that. That was my smile. Huh.

Marie told me where to put my hands and how to step, then Mom demonstrated the basic steps. I squared off with Marie and Mom put on something by Frank Sinatra. She taught me through three or four songs and the best I can say for myself is that I didn’t step on her feet. Meanwhile, Kim and Doctor Legare were having a grand time.

I caught Lula Mae’s eye, and nodded at Kim and Doctor Legare. She gave a sly little smile in return. When the next song started, she tapped Kim on the shoulder. Kim stepped back from the good doctor, and I thanked Marie and stepped back as well. When we moved off the dance floor, a bunch more people started.

“Whew,” I said. “My shoulders are up around my ears.”

“Lots of concentration, huh?” Kim asked.

“More than I would have guessed.”

“Do you feel like you were getting it?”

“I felt a little like the first time I rode Ghost at a canter. Flailing like crazy and just trying to hang on.”

“I saw you. You were doing fine. This will be fun.”

“Maybe like Spanish,” I said.

“What’s that mean?”

“Spanish wasn’t fun until I started getting good at it. This is too much work to be fun. At least for now.”

“Ah. Well, it already seems fun to me.”

“That’s because you’re a natural,” I said. The song ended and dance partners switched while we watched. Doctor Legare and Marie paired up. They had been our teachers and now they were dancing together.

As soon as the music started, I knew this was different. I’d heard the song before and it was fast and so were they. They weren’t dancing the Foxtrot. I knew that. I didn’t know what you called it but he spun her and they separated and came back together like they had spent hours choreographing it all. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. That was the song. My mouth must have been hanging open. I looked at Mom and she mouthed East Coast Swing, but it didn’t mean anything to me until later. They were good.

“My head hurts just watching them,” Kim said.

“No kidding. Look,” I said, nodding toward Franklin. He and Karen were obviously in awe, just as we were.

“Well, we’re not alone. This definitely suits us,” she said.

“How so?”

“We both like a challenge and we both like spending time together. Think about it. I learned to lift, and swim better. Plus, you’re helping me with math and Spanish. I helped you with riding but what have we both learned at the same time?”

It made sense. “I like it. We can both suck but then we’ll both work at it and get good together.” Just like that, we couldn’t wait to get back to it.

We danced, or at least tried to, until we were both worn out. Just when I started to get the feel of it, another curveball came our way. There was no end to the variations. It seemed like it was starting to wind down when Marie changed records. Neither of us recognized the song but Kim and I both knew it was very fast swing music. Marie pulled Mr. McTighe out on the dance floor and they went for it. Their feet were flying. It was just the two of them for a minute or so and then Doctor Legare and Doctor Calhoun, Lula Mae, joined them. It became a contest.

Mom slid around between us and we leaned close to hear. “This is the Lindy Hop. It’s crazy fast.” We watched in awe as Doctor Legare threw Lula Mae in the air. She spun once and came down in his arms, then slid between his legs and back up. “That’s called an aerial and there’s a lot of different kinds.”

Mr. McTighe dipped Marie so far back her hair touched the floor and a couple of seconds later, she dipped him but not as far. All four of them were really moving and just like that, the song was over. Mr. McTighe put his hand on his heart like he was having a heart attack and sat down in the middle of the floor. He was smiling and laughing, and so was everyone else.

“Honey, are my affairs in order?” he said to Mrs. McTighe.

“Show off!” she answered.

I had danced with everyone but Kim, and complained to Mom. I wasn’t really complaining. It was more like an observation. Nah. I was complaining. Mom smiled and went to the record collection, pulled one out, and put it on. The first two notes of the song were all it took. Kim came over and grabbed me.

It was Blue Kentucky Girl by Emmylou Harris. Mom knew. “How do we dance to this?” I asked.

“Here,” she said, moving my hands down to her hips. “Just sway to the music.” I liked it. Slow and easy, and not too many ways to mess it up. Plus, Kim.

“I love you so much, Baby. This is nice,” I said.

“Um hmm. Who needs all that other stuff?”

We swayed and held each other close until the song was over. When the music stopped, we noticed there were other people. Huh.

“I have to work tomorrow,” Dane said. “It’s been fun and I think we should do a lot more of this.” Everyone agreed and started getting ready to go.

The dancing was over but there was plenty to talk about. Marie was walking through some of it with Dr. Tipman. Dane, Franklin, and Karen came over to talk to Mom.

“Alright, I’m going to need a lesson or two,” Dane said.

“Me too,” echoed both Karen and Franklin.

“More fun than Bridge?” Mom asked.

The five of us quizzed Mom about dancing for a few minutes but it was late and we didn’t talk long. I walked Kim out to her truck and she left so others could get out. I watched as our parking lot gradually returned to being a driveway. When I went back inside, Mom was in the kitchen packing a lunch for me.

“Have fun?” she asked.

“It’s been a party weekend. I need to go back to school to take a break.”

“What a dufus.”

“I am a dufus. I had all weekend and didn’t even touch my homework.”

“Teachers gave you homework on a three-day weekend? The nerve.”

“Just one. One pager contrasting the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis.”

“In one page?” she asked.

“He just wants to make sure we read the material and give it some thought. He does that so the class discussion gets going. Otherwise, it’s just two or three people talking.”

“You better get to it, then.”

“Thanks, Mom. Super weekend,” I said and went to write my paper.

Tuesday was an awful lot like a Monday except that it was Monday for a short week. At lunch, everyone had a story to tell. Kim waited and when Mel asked her, she briefly told about the party and riding on the beach. Both topics generated a bunch of questions. Some of the questions were pretty funny. Not too many people in our circle of friends had ever had a bunch of Mexicans over for a party. Probably about the same number had been horseback riding on the beach.

I was finished eating and Kim had barely started. After a question about our guest’s lifestyle, Kim gave me an exasperated smile. “How about a little help, here.”

“Most of the guys I worked with have homes back in Mexico. Most are from down around Jalisco. They are just making some bucks and plan to go home. A couple of them left for Mexico right after the party.”

“Do they want to go back?” Marci asked. I think she was just as surprised about that as she was that I didn’t want to play football. “Wouldn’t they stay, if they could?”

“Nope. This is temporary. Earn a few bucks and go home.”

“But, why? I mean what’s so great about Jalisco? Did I even say it right? I don’t even know where that is.”

“The Guadalajara area. It’s expensive here and they have family there. I think it’s probably pretty hard to be away from your family for long.”

“You ever been there?” Marty asked. Jan’s boyfriend hadn’t said much since he joined our little group but this got his attention.

“No, but I’ve heard a lot about it. Two of them, Luis and Romey, used to compete. Romey used to ride escaramuza and I’d really like to see that.”

“Ride excuse you?” he asked laughing.

“Escaramuza. They described it. A team of women in traditional Mexican dresses – really fancy – ride together doing all sorts of intricate formations. It sounds like synchronized swimming, but on horseback, oh, and sidesaddle.”

“I can’t even picture that,” Mel said. “It sounds, ah, I don’t know. Interesting? Is it a competition or a demonstration, or what?”

“Competition,” I said and the bell rang. Kim had finished lunch and smiled at me.

“Thank you. I was starved,” she said as we got up to leave.

That afternoon, while the other guys were getting ready for football, I got ready to swim. A couple of guys tried to talk me into staying with them in football but I declined. I have to admit, it was nice to have the guys want me to stick around. I kept looking around for the new guy. It seemed like he was a no-show so I went out to the pool. I was about to dive in but remembered coach’s policy. No one swims alone, no matter how skilled. I waited.

I was about to give up when I heard someone come out. “Hello. Coach Milla said I could swim today. You Jack Pierce?”

“I’m Jack Pierce. Coach Milla said that?” Milla? He sounded more like Dane than Dane did.

“Yeah.”

“Great. Coach Miller said you were on a JV swim team somewhere else and was hoping to make the team here. What’s your name?” I asked giving him the once over. He was tall and thin, with red hair and freckles. He might have been thin but he looked strong.

“Ryan McCarthy. I swam at BC High School.”

“BC.”

“Yeah. Boston College.”

“I’m confused. You swam in high school, right?”

“Yeah. That the name of the school. BC High School.”

“Alright. That’s a heck of an accent you’ve got, Ryan McCarthy.”

“Yeah. I can barely understand anyone here.”

“Welcome to the South. What did you swim? What events?”

“All. I should have been varsidee but they had a size limit. Butterfly and free, when I had my choice.”

“Nice. Let’s warm up and then you can show me what you’ve got.” Trying to understand Ryan McCarthy from Boston College High School was hurting my brain.

We got in the water and swam a few laps. After ten or twelve laps, I popped up at the shallow end and watched him for a while. I checked his time for a length of the pool. He was pretty fast. Not as fast as me but then he wasn’t racing. His style was weird, too. He popped up next to me.

“You the team captain?” he asked.

“No. I think Bobby Claire is going to be the team captain,” I said. He repeated it back to me but it sure sounded funny when he said it.

“Naw. Ah thank Bobby Claire iz gunna bay thuh team captain.”

“Holy crap. Is that what you think I sound like?” He nodded with a big grin. I shook my head. Either this was going to be fun or a real pain. “Don’t ever do that again, okay?” I said. “It hurts my ears.” He laughed.

“Deal. Who do I have to beat to start?”

“For freestyle and butterfly? Probably Bobby for freestyle and Allen for butterfly.”

“But not you?” he asked.

“No. Top two swim. You might beat one of them but you won’t beat me,” I said, with my best poker face.

“Let’s find out. Hundred free. Off the blocks,” he said and we both got out. I liked him already. I couldn’t understand him but I liked him. “When the second hand gets to twelve,” he said.

We took our positions and watched the clock. It had been weeks since I’d started from the blocks. I’d be lucky not to belly-flop. I crouched and grabbed hold, then coiled, ready to go. I looked over and Ryan McCarthy from BC High School was grinning back.

The clock started us and I was airborne. I got a surprisingly good start, stayed down for a long time, using my dolphin kick. When I hit the wall for the turn, I was ahead by a length. My turn was perfect and I really pushed myself. When I saw the flags overhead, I buried my face and dug for the wall. Swim through the wall, I reminded myself, hitting it hard. I popped up and looked for Ryan. He finished a length and a half behind me.

“You had a better second length,” I said.

“Nah. You just have a great start.”

I told him about the exercise Coach Miller had Bobby and me do the previous year. I asked Ryan to watch me swim a lap and tell me what I did wrong. He couldn’t see anything so I asked him to swim.

“I can work with you on your start. Birch taught me how last year. You really windmill with your right. You know that, right.”

“A little high?”

“No. It’s a lot high. Bobby, Birch, and I all got videotaped swimming last year and we could see little stuff we were doing wrong. Your windmill isn’t a little thing. If you fix your windmill and I show you what Birch showed me on how to start, I bet you’ll shave a second. Maybe two.”

“If I was two seconds faster, I would have beat you,” he said with a smile.

“Let’s not get carried away.” Our time was up and we climbed out of the pool. “What’s with the weird tan lines?” I asked.

“Swim, run, bike,” he said, pointing to different lines. “Triathlon.”

Nope, nope, nope, I thought. I already have enough on my plate. We walked into the locker room and I stuck my nose in Coach Miller’s office.

“Coach Milla,” I said, with my best Boston accent.

“Don’t start, Aquaman,” he said with a straight face but I could see the smile underneath.

“Can I videotape Ryan tomorrow?” Ryan was right behind me and poked his head around the corner and smiled.

“Why? You think he’s got any potential?”

“No sir. Slow as molasses, but he’s a Yankee. I thought I’d humor him and his grandiose aspirations.”

Coach Miller nodded as though that was the right thing to do. “You can understand him, Aquaman?”

“I can usually understand Dane, so I’ve had practice with trying to understand Yankees. It’s not too bad.”

“Perfect. He’s your project, Aquaman. I’ll have a camera for you tomorrow. Practice starts for real next Monday.”

“Yes sir,” I said and we both turned for the lockers.

When we were out of earshot, Ryan asked, “Does he know about swimming or did he just get stuck with it?”

“He knows.”

“Did you guys do any good last yeah? Porter-Gaud isn’t very big to recruit from.” He wasn’t that hard to understand. Just weird.

“Three of us went to regionals and Birch took state in breaststroke.”

“No kidding. How did you do?”

“Regionals. Freestyle. I’d like to make it again this year and add butterfly and IM.”

“Senior?”

“No. I went last year as a freshman. I’m skipping my sophomore year, I guess. I’m planning to graduate in three.”

“No shit. Regionals as a freshman, huh? Not bad. Never heard of that before.”

“I guess it’s kind of rare. What grade are you in?”

“Senior. My old man got transferred and Mom said she was tired of the snow so here we are.”

We talked about a few other things while we changed. As I walked across the parking lot toward Kim’s truck, Ryan looked to see where I was headed.

“Who’s the babe?” he hollered.

I looked back at him and smiled. “The babe is Kim, my fiancé.” I left him standing there with his mouth hanging open. When I got close, I asked, “Is his mouth still hanging open.”

“Yup. No flies, yet.” She waved to him and we got in. “I like him. Who is he?”

“You like him? You don’t even know who he is!”

“He said I’m a babe.”

“Everyone says you’re a babe. You’re a babe. Ryan. He’s new. He’s from Bahstan.”

“Great,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe I don’t like him. Is he a swimmer?”

“Yeah. Coach Milla asked me to work with him.”

“Stahp it. Coach Milla,” she echoed. “Is he fast?”

“He doesn’t know how to come off the blocks and he windmills his right arm. If he fixes those two things, I’ll be better able to tell. I think so. Potential, you know. Those things are so obvious, though. I think he must have had a crappy coach. He’s a senior and he still has those issues? He asked if Coach Miller knew anything about swimming or if he just got stuck with it. That’s probably the whole story, right there. His old swim coach was a PE teacher who got stuck with it.”

“You’re going to do free, butterfly, and IM, right?” I nodded and she glanced at me before turning onto my street. “Are you the fastest in all three?”

“Well, I know I was fastest in free at the end of last season. Allen is pretty fast, especially on fly. Bobby is really close on free, he clobbers me on backstroke and his breaststroke isn’t bad. We’ll be close for IM. If Ryan fixes a couple of issues, he might be right there. Those two things are huge though, and he might fix those and not make much difference to his times. I don’t know how he is on other strokes, but if his freestyle is that messed up, I can’t imagine he has better technique on other strokes. You never know. IM is an altogether different animal. Anyway, no matter how hard I try, my breaststroke seems slow.”

“I wonder why that is. Is it slow?”

“No. Not really. I think I know why it seems that way. In breaststroke, you spend a lot of time in the glide and recovery. It doesn’t seem like you’re doing anything for half the stroke. None of the other strokes are like that.”

“With Birch gone, I’ll bet Coach Miller really works with you and Bobby.”

“Yeah. I got a late start because no one thought I would do so well. Birch didn’t care. He just taught me what he knew.”

“You going to do that with Ryan?”

“I guess I am.”

We pulled into the driveway and saw that Mom was already set up for a pull day. We got down to business. It seemed like we had taken weeks off, even though it had only been a long weekend. We got into a rhythm and it seemed like we were all on the same track. No wasted time. All business. When we finished, Kim gave me a kiss and took off to make supper for her family.

I had a little homework but it was pretty easy. I knocked it out and went to the kitchen to help Mom. “You seem serious, Buddy. What’s on your mind?”

“I don’t know. Things just seem weird, you know?”

“Why don’t you tell me about it.”

“That’s just it. I can’t put my finger on it. Kim and I are doing fine. Better than fine. Swim season is here. My teachers are all good. Something’s missing though, and I can’t figure out what it is.”

“Really?” she asked and it seemed like she knew what it was. She waited and I thought. Finally, she said, “Boxing.”

“Duh. That’s it, exactly. But I’m not sure. I think I want to take Wing Chun Kung Fu but...” I didn’t finish.

“Let me ask you something. If Timex was teaching Wing Chun would you take it from him?”

“Definitely.”

“I think you just answered your question. A little, at least. What did Timex say about the Wing Chun teacher? What was his name?”

“Feng Chen. Sifu Chen. He said he was the real deal.”

“I bet Timex says that about everyone,” she said.

“I don’t think so,” I answered, but she had been kidding. “Franklin said he was interested. I’ll call him and see if he still is. I guess it would be in the evening and he’d have to be my ride, at least until I get my license.”

“Sounds good to me. Dane will be here shortly and I don’t want to overcook the fish. Mind waiting?” she asked. I shook my head. “Something else is on your mind.”

“I don’t know. I guess things have just happened kind of fast the last year.”

“No kidding. And whose fault is that?”

“Yeah, I guess that’s on me, huh?”

“Not all of it. Let’s take stock, though. About eighteen months ago, Ronnie died. Shortly after that, Franklin not only gives you a pretty healthy chunk of change for a high school freshman, but he takes on the dad role for just about every weekend over the summer. Tell me if I miss anything. Fishing, boating, sailing, boxing, shooting, building a house, operating a Bobcat, excavator, and whatever else. How am I doing?” I nodded. You kissed a girl for the first time and had your first love, lost your first love, found your second love, learned to ride, broke a foot, made varsity swim, and would have made varsity baseball, except for that foot thing. Got batting instruction from a professional coach, got in an accident and ended up in the hospital, along with your girlfriend. What else. Oh, yes, worked through the summer, learned Spanish, went to Puerto Rico, and got engaged. Does that about cover it?”

“I skipped my sophomore year,” I said, thinking she had done pretty good. “Oh, yeah. I did a lot of chainsaw work and bought some land. Holy crap, Mom.”

“If someone twenty-five had done all that, I would have said they were ambitious. You forgot to mention that you picked a career, college major, and a college. On top of that, you made some pretty good friends and probably finished the school year top of your class.”

“I did a lot of lifting, too. When you say all that, it sounds like it should make me tired.”

“It makes me tired. You finished reading the encyclopedia, too.”

“When you say all of that, it sounds crazy. But it doesn’t seem that way to me. It seems like normal. I didn’t try to do a bunch of stuff. It just sort of happened.”

“You’ve had a lot of irons in the fire, that’s for sure. Do you feel burned out?”