Mike O'Connell

I’m come to the conclusion that Binghamton’s not so bad for one day a year, or even one and a half as I subjected myself to this weekend. I limit myself to people I like, places I like to go, and things worth seeing. Takes about a day and a half. Plus, you bring a cute baby with you and people pretty much treat you like royalty wherever you go.

Now back in Loudoun County (also known as the anti-Binghamton) I go back to living my real life, away from people I know and the usual collection of Rust Belt troubles. Same time next year, Binghamton. If nothing else I know you’ll be exactly the same.

Last night I watched a one-hour special on TCM celebrating the 20th anniversary of the movie channel in general and the great Robert Osborne in particular. Hosted by Alex Trebek, the show featured a coterie of A-list actors and celebrity well-wishers and a musical performance by Michael Feinstein. Yeah, it was classy, and all I could think was, Damn, what I would give to be any one of those people.

Luckily for us we got to see it all on TV. And it strikes me as the kind of thing TCM will show about once a week for the next decade. Apparently the show’s actually a year old, having taken place and been filmed in 2014, but no worries, it’s a timeless piece of Americana. Robert Osborne, of course, is a national treasure. It’s proof that even in an era in which pretty much any movie is available to you at any time, you still want to watch it on TCM because Robert Osborne is going to talk about it for 90 seconds.

And if I’m never a famous actor or television host, just let me be the guy who watches movies on TCM 24 hours a day when he’s old. That’s retiring in style.

It’s that time of year a man’s thoughts turn to golf, and the classy strains of “Augusta” touch his ears like rolling greens. Boy, do I love rooting for an underdog, and this year that’s Tiger Woods. Nine shots off the lead after Round One? Yup, setting us up for a great comeback.

My favorite number from Thursday, of course, was not 73 but 71. As in… Watson, 71. That’s Tom, age 65, and Bubba, age 36 and winner of two of the last three Masters tournaments, shooting the same score, and a good one at that. My congrats, Watsons. See you on the weekend.

Opening Day. NCAA Championship. Better Caul Saul season finale. The conclusion of a Sinatra documentary I found surprisingly good last night. (As a Sinatra expert I assume nothing made for the masses will ever be that good for me, but the folks at HBO unearthed some gems last night.)

And then there’s Mad Men. You know it’s good when it raises more questions than it answers. I consider myself a Mad Men expert too, and I was left stumped a few times last night. My what a good time to be alive. Now… go, Yanks, and… On, Wisconsin!

I’ve come upon that feeling again, in which I just can’t bring myself to do anything for free anymore. Therefore, today’s post will be my last at mikeoconnelljr.com.