Cubs Coffee Talk: Pandemic? Let’s go to the casino!

Chicago Cubs: Everyone pays when even a few take no personal responsibility

“Were the girls still there in the morning?” I asked.

“Well, they weren’t in the room in the morning, and neither was any of the money I won,” Howard said.

“Oh, boy,” I said.

“Besides losing all my money, I was about 10 minutes late for the business meeting, which didn’t go over to well. I tried to play the dumb tourist, saying I couldn’t find the building, but between my appearance and smell, I didn’t have time to take a shower; I think they knew what was up,” he confessed.

“So did we get the deal? What did the bosses at work say? And when did you find out you had COVID?” I asked, trying to get to the bottom of the story.

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“Well, it looks like I caught COVID at the casino from someone; I’m still not sure who. The worst part is that I then unknowingly infected the people at the business meeting as well. Our future business partners are now under quarantine. Despite the worst meeting ever, they accepted our deal. They probably were going to anyway,” Howard said.

“No way…” I said in disbelief.

“Yea – this is really a nightmare. The whole reason I was on the road was for work, and I end up screwing them and us because I was careless. I don’t know what came over me? But once I was in the casino, all the personal responsibility and duty to our company just went out of the window. I got sick on the flight home, and because I was traveling, my Doc sent me for a COVID test the next day, and my worst fears were confirmed; positive for the virus,” Howard said.

“Are you fired?” I asked.

“I thought I would be for sure, but the bosses are way cool because of COVID and because we did get the deal. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to travel again for work, but right now – I’m still employed. It’s true Goose; I had the opportunity to do the thing I love and show everyone what a rock star I was for the company, but instead, I wasted the opportunity on a foolish night. What was I thinking? I know the virus is out there, and I took a chance and lost. Right now, they are trying to do contact tracing to find out who else may be paying the price for my night of fun. Boy, I’m in trouble,” said Howard.

“I don’t know what to say, buddy, you gotta take care of your health now – this isn’t a game – it’s life and death, and then all the other stuff will work itself out,” I said.

“You’re right as usual, Goose, thanks for listening, man. Hey, how the Cubbies doing?” Howard asked.

“They are on fire and playing together and winning like never before. I really believe Ross has got a good grip on this team and is keeping them in line. I hope they just keep winning, but we’re supposed to have a series against the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend, and they always play us tough,” I said.

“Wow, I just remembered one of the girls, Nicole, told me she was hanging with a couple of St. Louis Cardinals earlier that night at the casino; small world, huh?” Howard quipped.

“With the virus still alive and kicking, the world is too small to take chances,” I added.