CHAPTER 2:

Before leaving England, at the suggestion of my friend Mike Fabus, I had attempted to book tickets for the Steelers 75 th anniversary celebrations, which were being held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on the Sunday evening.

There appeared to be a challenge over the credit card transaction I made in the UK, so my primary concern Saturday morning was to resolve the hiccup and visit the convention centre to put my mind at ease.

It was a glorious autumn morning with the sun trying to burn away the dawn mist. Pittsburgh at its best, providing some compensation for what turned out to be an aborted mission.

We managed to make our way to downtown Pittsburgh with no missed turnings, before parking in a lot on 1st Avenue. Then walked to the convention center, enjoying the great weather. Yes, it's surprising how great it is using your feet on a refreshing, sunny Autumn morning. The saving on petrol is an added bonus.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the convention center, we discovered that the ticket office wasn’t open so I was still unable to confirm that we had tickets. Umm! Why is it that nothing is ever straightforward?

So we headed for the shops. It’s the only therapy I know that works. It’s a quick and very effective remedy, especially with an exchange rate of $2 to every £1.

An empty Kaufmann’s. I guess they may have renamed it Macys, but it’s Kaufmann’s to me. It always was my favourite department store in Pittsburgh on a Saturday morning with no crowds.

During our walk around the city centre, we passed a large crew of workers hanging Christmas decorations on a building near the Monongahela river. The logistics are huge to get the decorations up on the outside of the building, but taken for granted because we never see the effort that goes into it.

During the afternoon, I used the time between shopping to verify that we indeed did have tickets for the Anniversary Dinner and to confirm that we could pick them up at the celebration. Apparently the challenge had been over a $2.50 overseas’ charge which they eventually waived.

That evening found us in Dormont at the Suburban Room on West Liberty, renewing my friendship with Linda and Mike Fabus. They are extremely lucky people; they only have to put up with me once a year.

We had a good time there and rumour has it that I invited our waitress back to England. Well, she did say that she wanted to visit our lovely country, so why should I not be allowed to invite her to see it?

Pete drinks only coke so has a tendency to remember more than I do after a night out. Mike had to be up the next day to be at the Celebration dinner early, before the players arrived. As Mike always says, his hobby is his work. It takes a lot of his life, but I've never heard him complain about it. It's not because he knows I'm ready to slip into his shoes. It's because Mike loves his work! Bless him.

CHAPTER 3>>>