Welcome to the last Saturday in January. Yep, one month is almost gone. I'll give you a minute to let that sit in. You OK, now? OK, then let's go to the bar and see if we can use Linda G. Hill's Just Jot it January and Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompts to pull David in off the ledge:

"Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: 'let go.' Write about the first thing that comes to mind when you think 'let go.' Enjoy!"

If we were having a beer, you would be flustered.

"Are you paying today, Dan?"

"Some people say 'hello' but yes, I'm paying."

"Sorry, I'm mad. I feel like someone stole my lunch money."

"I guess it's good Dan's buying. If you ask him nicely, David, he might buy you lunch, too."

"For now, I'm just buying him a John's Howell's Special, Cheryl. Maybe a glass of bourbon will help him let go of whatever's bothering him."

"And a Corona for you, Dan?"

"Yes. Now, David, what has you all spun up?"

"UConn."

"Dan, before you continue, let me give him his bourbon, his snifter of seltzer and his glass of ice – and his three cherries."

"Three cherries. I hope there's no extra charge for garnish extravaganza."

"Cheers, Dan. This is just what I need."

"So, tell me about UConn, David. Did your precious women lose a basketball game?"

"A basketball game? A basketball game? How I wish all they had lost was a basketball game."

"Then what on earth did they lose?"

"Not just the women, Dan. The men, the football team, the women's rowing team, the baseball team, the hockey team…"

"David. Slow down. Half those teams aren't even playing now. What are you talking about?"

"The athletic budget."

"The deficit?"

"The deficit. You say that like you were two days late paying your cable bill, Dan."

"I guess I can't get excited about it."

"Dan, when other top division colleges make millions of dollars, UConn is projected to lose forty-seven million dollars this year."

"Forty-seven point one, million, to be precise."

"This is no time for your pedantic precision, Dan. And the news got worse last week."

"Kevin Ollie?"

"Yes, Kevin Ollie. Again, you mention his name like he's an ill-mannered Uncle coming to visit."

"What can I say, David. He was the Men's basketball coach. UConn fired him for cause; cause they didn't have. He wanted to negotiate, they didn't."

"Yes, yes, I know. Then they got all arrogant and forced him into binding arbitration and lost."

"Correct. And they owe him…"

"Eleven million dollars and change – and please spare me you Commander Data of the Enterprise imitation – I know the amount was specific to the penny."

"Thirty-nine pennies, I believe."

"That's going to cost you, Dan. Cheryl, can I have another splash of bourbon."

"Sure. You're hitting the John Howell's a little hard, David."

"It's his fault. If you don't believe me, I can back it up with fifty-eight million reasons."

"David, it's not my fault the University has the fiscal acumen of an eight-year-old. At least the eleven-million-dollar payment is a one-time thing."

"But the forty-seven million might get worse. That's real money, Dan. Real money coming out of your pocket and mine. I mean, it's probably measurable."

"It is. In fact…"

"Don't say it. Do NOT say it, Dan!"

"Sixteen dollars and sixty-eight cents to each of us."

"Ugh! Cheryl, can we get a pepperoni pizza?"

"Of course, David. I'm sure Dan doesn't mind."

"Hey, he doesn't mind paying seventeen dollars to bail out UConn, he can buy me a couple slices of pizza."

"Ok, one pizza, coming up. Dan, how did you figure out how much it costs?"

"Oh, Cheryl, did you have to ask him that."

"Easy, David. It really wasn't that hard. I just added up the costs and multiplied it by the percentage of our budget that is paid by households."

"Are you done?"

"Yes, that's it. Sixteen dollars, one pizza. Like I said, let it go."

"Here, Dan. Here's another beer. Now, without tossing David into a lather. When you say households, you mean that you and your wife are paying the Sixteen dollars."

"Yes, but she doesn't like sports, and neither does David's wife, so I figure it's on us."

"It doesn't work like that, Dan."

"Then divide the sixteen dollars and sixty-eight cents in half. At eight-thirty-four, you still get half a pizza. But you have to give those cherries back."

"Oh no, Dan. There's more we don't know about. The football stadium is losing money and it needs multi-million-dollar repairs."

"Isn't that in the fifty-eight million?"

"No! The State owns the stadium. They lease it to UConn. You'll never find out how much that monstrosity is costing us."

"Yikes, you might have to switch to a cheaper bourbon."

We're supposed to get some significant snow today. I don't know how much. Our weather forecast as of 6:00 pm Friday began with, "Our best guess..." Oh well, it's winter.