Hills Like White Elephants

A boy and a girl were sitting at a bar in Barcelona waiting for a train. They were talking about the girl getting an abortion. He was saying to just do it and she was undecided. She wanted to make sure that everything will be just like before. They both felt that this was only thing that was standing between them and that he will still love her.

Lamb to the Slaughter

Mrs. Maloney was a caring and affectionate person to her husband. Then he informed her he would be leaving her. Mrs. Maloney was in such shock that when she went to get the lamb leg out of the freezer for super she hit him over the head with it. Mr. Maloney was dead. She knew their would be a great punishment for this, so she put the lamb in the oven and went to the store to get peas and potatoes. She acted very normal like nothing happened. When she got home she called the cops and said her husband was dead. The cops searched for evidence and could not find it. Then Mrs. Maloney said to the officers that she could not eat the lamb and gave it to them. They ate it not knowing that it was the evidence.

Playing For Pizza by J. Grisham - Ch. 26-31

Livvy and Rick went to a resort in the town of Sirolo. The game was against Ancona and would decide if the Panthers would make the playoffs or not. The game was a rather easy one, Ancona had only won one game. The Panthers won and would be playing the Bologna Warriors in the playoffs. Rick and Livvy stayed at the beach for one more day and then on the way home they stopped at a couple little villages and wineries.

Rick and Livvy went to Tommaso's house for dinner.  Tommaso or Tommy was the oldest player on the Panthers and will only retire when the Panthers win their first superbowl. The team plays Bologna this week in the playoffs. The game was high scoring and the Panthers won 51-27. They would be going to the Superbowl for the first time in Panther history.

Rick and Livvy go to Venice because there is a two week gap between the playoff game and the superbowl. Rick makes a deal with Livvy that he will only visit two cathedrals or castles a day. Rick enjoys it more than he thought he would. Rick goes back to Parma for football while Livvy stays in Venice for a few more days. Rick and Livvy talked about maybe staying in Italy together

Rick was visited by two private investigators who were looking for Livvy. Livvy's father had sent them and gave Rick a one way ticket to Georgia for Livvy. Her visa was expired and if she took the trip back to Georgia no questions would be asked. Livvy says she will never return on her fathers terms only on hers. She thinks one of the Panther players could fix her visa problem.

The Superbowl was held in Milan. The Panthers were playing the Bergamo Lions. The game was very tough and the Lions were up 3-0 at halftime. In the locker room Rick made a speech about how he loved playing on the team. The second half was just as intense as the first maybe more. With little time left in the game Rick had to make a split second decision. He had Fabrizio running down field, but Maschi was charging right at him, would he throw the ball and get killed by Maschi or run the ball for safety. Rick threw the ball as far as he could and Maschi hit him hard right under the Jaw, Fabrizio dived at the five yard line and caught the ball in the end zone. The Panthers won their first Superbowl ever.

The team gathered at a local Pizzeria in Milan to celebrate after the game. They replay the game video for all to watch. A few days later back in Parma Sam asks Rick if he will be back next year. Rick says he doesn't know because he thinks he suffered a fourth concussion when Maschi hit him. Rick does not remember celebrating with the team. Rick said he will get back to Sam after he goes to the beach to think about it. Livvy has a bunch of travel plans for the two of them.

Playing For Pizza by J. Grisham - Ch. 21-25

Rick went to Toronto to talk to Rat Mullins about playing football in the Canadian football league. Rick turned his offer down and said he couldn't leave his team in the middle of the season. Then he took a flight to Cleveland. He went to the Cleveland Post building and said he was Roy Grady from the Cleveland Indians. He went to see Charley Cray, when he got in his office he took off the baseball hat and shoved Cray. He grabbed him by the throat and said "its me, Rick Dockery, your favorite goat." Rick punched Cray in the Jaw, and left the building and headed back to Italy.

Friday and Saturday of that week Rick and Livvy, the Georgia Student, toured Parma. Friday night when they went to Polipo's for dinner with the team Livvy was introduced to everyone. When Sunday came they had to play the Rome Gladiators in the pouring rain, it was a mud bowl. The Panthers won. Rick said goodbye to Livvy Sunday night at the train station. He was exchanging emails that night with his mom and Arnie. He also sent an email to Gabriella telling her there would be no need for further contact.

While getting ready play the Bolzano Giants Rick thought about playing the NY Giants in the Meadowlands. The game against Blozano was challenging but the Panthers still won 56-41. Next week they were playing Bergamo the biggest game of the year and the players were already getting anxious about it. While sitting in the locker room and looking around at all the players Rick realized that he was happy with himself.

The Panthers  Are getting ready for their big game on Sunday against the Bergamo Lions. Livvy showed up in Parma with her luggage and rick wondered how long she will be staying with him. They went sightseeing and visited some castles, Livvy enjoyed seeing them while Rick did not. On Saturday they explored a couple more churches in Parma. Saturday night the team went to Cafe Montana for a pregame meal, there was no women present, the little restaurant could barely hold all the players. Sam sent everyone home before eleven.

It was game day and the locker room was very intense. The game was hard and brutal. Maschi, the Lions middle linebacker and their best player, was taunting rick by calling him goat. Then Rick called out their special play "Kill Maschi", their would be large hole in the center of the line so that Maschi would blitz on Rick and then Franco would come out of nowhere and hit Maschi with the element of surprise. The play worked beautifully and the hit was tremendous. The game was very violent and very intense. The Panthers beat Bergamo 35-14. 

Playing For Pizza by J. Grisham - Ch. 17-20

The team was embarrassed about their loss.Fabrizio was nowhere to be found and Sam informed the team that Sly had left. Sam wanted to know if Rick knew anyone who would want to play. They came up with getting Fabrizio back. Sam did not like the idea. Someone called Sam's cell and it was Fabrizios agent, he wanted money and a contract to play with the Panthers.

A Cleveland reporter, Charley Cray, was in Parma after finding out the greatest goat in football (Rick) was hiding in Parma. He wrote a harsh article about Ricks game in Parma. Trey Colby had broke his leg that game and they lost because of it.

They were visiting Trey in the hospital and were discussing Fabrizio. Arnie had called him and told him about the article in the Cleveland post. Judge Franco handled the negotiations for getting Fabrizio back. They came up with eight hundred euros a month. Now the team knew that Fabrizio was coming back and was getting paid. The team also heard and saw the article about Rick they felt bad for him and thought it was unfair to follow him to Parma. With Fabrizio back they won 62-12 against the Lazio Marines. Charley Cray was back again and wrote another harsh story about Rick.

Arnie got a call from Rat Mullins a Canadian football coach. Rick does not want to leave Parma and needs to sleep on the decision. The next day he went to Florence, the Panthers had the week off. He called Gabriella and she said she would meet him for a drink. Arnie called again Rick still did not want to leave. While sitting in the cafe a group of exchange students came in he got the girl's number. Gabriella didn't show so he left. He went out to dinner with the student from Georgia Tech. After dinner they went to a Gelato stand instead of a club. They said their goodbyes and both went back home.

Playing For Pizza by J. Grisham - Ch. 15-16

 Rick went to see Otello for the second time after Wednesday's practice. After the first act Rick started clapping for Gabriella and the rest of the crowd joined in. After the play Rick and Gabriella went out for a drink. They were talking about football and how she wanted to see a game. The final performance of Otello was on Sunday so Rick convinced her to stay in Parma another week to see a game. 

The three Americans left for Milan Friday night with Aggie and Paolo as their guide. They all went out to eat even though the Americans would have been happy grabbing something on the run. On Friday and Saturday night they went out to clubs and bars. When Sunday came they all had a hangover. They were playing the Milan Rhinos who were not a very good team. They were playing a terrible game due to their hangovers, they were fumbling the ball, passes were uncatchable and the quarterback seemed slow. They lost the game 34-6. On the bus ride home Rick sat by himself and the coaches were not happy with his performance.

Rick apologized to Sam and assures him it won't happen again. Sunday's performance of Otello was disastrous for Gabriella. She hesitantly explained this over a light lunch. Trying to cheer her up Rick talked about his performance also. Then she informed him she was leaving for Florence in a few hours because she needed to get away from the pressure of the stage. This broke her promise of staying another weak.

Rick was sitting in the locker room when sly came in. He was looking for Sam. Rick wanted to know what was wrong. Sly said he had to go home, his wife was pregnant and she needed him. They said their final goodbyes and he left, Rick will probably never see him again.

Playing For Pizza by J. Grisham - Ch. 13-14

The day after the win against Naples, Rick went to Signor Bruncaro's house. His wife was very attractive, thin and very young. When Sam arrived with Anna the conversation became a lot easier and they talked about the win. After drinks and appetizers they all left on foot to the opera house. Signor Bruncardo had a expensive box that looked over the crowd, orchestra and the stage. When Otello's wife came into the play Rick admired her and found her very attractive. She played Desdemona, but her name was Gabriella, she was petite and thin. When she sang a duet with Otello, Rick thought she was wonderful but the spectators in the "cheap seats" actually booed her. Rick felt sorry for Gabriella and wanted to find a way to go back to see Otello again.

Rick and the other Americans were invited to many dinners. They went to dinner with Pietro and his wife, Ivana. Rick looked around the small dining room and saw a beautiful young lady sitting at a table with a guy. They were talking very unpleasantly, then he noticed it was Gabriella. She seemed sad and he noticed she was crying. After dinner he was trying to park his car in a small ally way and was having a lot of trouble. There was a bunch of cars waiting for him, then some girl went and pulled the Fiat into the tiny space without a problem. He noticed it was Gabriella again and yelled her name. She came back and they went out for a drink. They talked about everything and had a good time. Gabriella said she will get him a ticket for Wednesday night's performance of Otello. The next day they met for lunch and talked for a while and then went to a gelato stand for desert. After there goodbyes Rick went to the gym and all he thought about for next two hours was Gabriella.

Playing For Pizza by J. Grisham - Ch. 10-12

Rick was driving in his Fiat with the cops behind him. He was still not used to the clutch and was having a hard time. The cops pulled him over and asked for his license, Rick then remembered it had expired because his mother called him after Christmas to inform him. They towed his car and brought him down to judge Franco. Franco informed Rick that every thing was fine and asked him to come over for dinner tomorrow night and he would not take no for an answer.

The next day, Matteo the team trainer was in the locker room. He gave Rick a massage, Rick was sore and the massage was painful. But, football players can't complain during a massage. After practice Rick and Sam went to dinner at Franco's house. Rick had noticed the two attractive women, Anna (Sam's wife) and Antonella (Franco's wife.) Franco's kids Ivano, age six, and Susanna, age three, were allowed to stay for the first half hour before they had to go to bed. At dinner there was a lot of general conversation, while enjoying good food and wine.

The Panther's first game was today, they were playing the Naples Bandits in Parma. While all the Panthers were in the locker room Signor Bruncardo surprised the team with new team jerseys. When the team was ready they ran out to the field ready to face their opponents. The crowd was rather small but very loud. The Panthers played very well and won their first game. The final score was Panthers 48 and the Bandits 28. Rick emailed his parents telling them about the game and then informed Arnie about the win also.