What is a primate?

Hello, House of Gerbs! What a week it has been… full of mostly work but also many blessings. We had our wishlist event this past Wednesday, where 60+ women came in to enjoy charcuterie, a billowing chocolate fountain, and enough mocktails to have them call a cab for the ride home. Each woman went from case to case trying on thousands of dollars of jewelry to get “exactly what they want for Christmas.” A phrase I sent into the void with 330 dollars targeting women 35+ (around 30,000 women in a 40 mi radius) with over 65,000 impressions (the ad did pretty well). A phrase one woman would say that she believed to be an original idea, and while it could be… it is very unlikely. This is the concept that came to my brain as I helped these women, or maybe it was the chocolate fountain talking.

With college basketball almost in full swing, it brings back a familiar feeling. Even though my career ended a millennium ago, it still can be hard to see others playing a game I gave my life to play. After over 23 years of playing basketball, and right when my dream was in reach, chronic insomnia and politics took away my chance, leaving me wondering if it would have worked out and what my life would have been. I was told many years later that I had a great chance to walk on, but with NIL around the corner and the coach already on the way out, there was a good chance the business side would have me hang up my jersey regardless. But that is all in the future. What happened after I was told that “we are good, thanks for your efforts”? I was in a spiral; why was I blessed with such talent, and I knew to my fiber that I was good enough. Was this dream an original idea? Or something bigger.

After missing the first year for health issues and the rejection of the second year, I felt defeated as the door had been slammed in my face. But as I nursed my nose back to health, I fell upon what seemed like an angel on earth. My sweet, sweet Magdalena. That original idea that was to go play college ball and then overseas had me take a path to Logan rather than any other opportunities that made way more sense for my dream. I traded a jersey for meeting my wife, joining a family that has to read my long-winded blog posts, and have been blessed more than I can imagine. Later in my school career, as I was emceeing a men’s basketball game, I saw what seemed like a slip into time and space as I swore I saw myself playing on the court. A little peace of mind letting me know that I could have had this life, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. So while I may not be on the court in the middle of Turkey, I will always be taking hoops 101 from the professor himself. So go get yourself a polo and basketball shorts to your ankles, because class is in session.