"If You Build It, He Will Come" -- Barry Zito Rehabs @ The Ports 6/6/11

That's baseball, and it's my game.  Y' know, you take your worries to the game, and you leave 'em there.  You yell like crazy for your guys.  It's good for your lungs, gives you a lift, and nobody calls the cops.  [Cute guys], lots of 'em.  ~Humphrey Bogart

Okay, okay...so Bogart said pretty girls.  I'm sure there are a few of those there too.  But that quote pretty much sums up how I feel about going to the ballpark.  I can go with friends or alone.  But I never feel alone when I'm there.  Maybe it's the shared camaraderie of cheering for your team.  Or maybe it's just the peaceful feeling I get sitting outside with sky and grass surrounding me (yes...even at the "ugly" Coliseum...).  I feel as one with nature and humanity for those few hours.

Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton for the Athletics Single A club is wonderful in every aspect.  For the low price of $12, you can sit in the front row with nothing - and I do mean nothing! - dividing you from the players and field.  It is an absolute must to keep your eyes open and be aware.  Foul balls can and do come screaming into the seats at what seems like a trillion miles an hour.  Observe the views...

Never Forget! September 11, 2001

down ~ by Jesse Glass 

down
it came

down
from the
autumn sky

down
it came

down

& everyone
rose

& wept
in the city

(my city)

& some were
flying

& some were
falling

& some were
running

& some were
burning

where were you 

listening

watching then?

in the
shattered
earth?

in the broken
air?

in the oily
fire?

in the tainted
sea?

where were you

listening

watching

then when
everyone
rose & lookt 

at the sky

lookt at the sky

where they
stood

in my
city

& wept ?

I remember.

How could I forget?

Memorial Day with Mom 5/30/11 - The Average American Is Nothing If Not Patriotic

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. ~~ Mark Twain

5/29/11 There's No Crying in Baseball! O's @ A's @ OakCo

On a very rare occasion where Adie and I had the same day off, we headed for Oakland to see my two favorite AL teams battle it out, East vs. West style.  

I know some might question my love for the Orioles since they have not been a good team of late...but it has to do with a superstar hero with a pair of  to-die-for blue eyes.  The love affair started over 20 years ago and my loyalty remains to the only organization he ever played for. 

Okay, so I took that picture at Angels Stadium...whatevs. ;-p

Honestly, since this was a while ago and in the midst of the drama with my mom's illness, I don't remember too many details about the day.  At least at the beginning.  So I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves & narrate when I have something to say. Let's start with the visiting Orioles.

7/21/11 State Fair! I've Been Around...Does that mean ( I'm) a bad girl?

Wow...I really can't believe that I am this far behind in posts.  I still have Sharks games to edit and post!!  That's what happens when a major shakeup happens in life.  So my "diary" - which I vowed would never be posted out of order - is now going to be crazy, messy, and -- out of order. 

Especially since my photo cd's are lost in the thousand boxes I currently have littering my home and the storage unit I had to rent.  Which reminds me...need to pay my storage rent...ok done.  Thanks for waiting.

Hopefully I will be able to get my shite together soon and find my photos which are precious to me.  But in the meantime, here is the latest in the out of order events of my life.

After working in the morning and then prepping for the adventure by taking a nice nap, Adie and I headed to the fair at about 2:45 p.m. The plan was to arrive just in time to see the fmx demo...but traffic and stupid parking rules/lack thereof dictated otherwise. 

We arrived at the end of the demo, just in time for some backflips...but not in time to get in a good position for photos.  Happy to see that the riders were still two of the old standbys - Tommy Clowers and Myles Richmond.  And a "local" whose name I did not catch.

It was pretty hot, so we quickly headed for the indoor exhibit buildings.  We don't do too much on the midway...Fair time is usually all about the exhibits, horses, shows, etc., as you will soon notice.

Life Lessons thru Bad Parenting - Washington Capitals @ SJ Sharks 2/17/11

I'm working through my extreme lack of energy to post this.  The photos have been (roughly & quickly) edited for weeks but life has been coming at me too fast and too depressingly for me to find the wherewithal to put jumbled thoughts to fingertips to screen...

But without further ado, 

 The life lesson I learned at the Capitals/Sharks game:

Bad parenting and a bratty kid trumps 
well-behaved kid and meek parenting.
  

At least when it comes to getting hockey pucks.

Here's the story.  We arrived pregame and took our customary place in the second row (okay, our customary place is often right on the glass but that hardly matters, now does it?  Back to the story.) on the visitors side.  There was a woman sitting with two youngsters, a girl and a boy, right in front of us on the glass.

The girl was a bit cra-cra as we like to say. Yelling, running back and forth, banging the glass, etc.  All in good fun.  The boy was also having a good time, talking excitedly, laughing, etc. They were wearing Capitals gear and had made a couple of signs for Ovechkin.

 They were sitting with a nice woman we shall call Mommy. Daddy, apparently, was sitting over on the Sharks side.  So after causing a bit of mayhem, the girl decides she wants to go see her dad.  Mom says okay.  Exit the kids.  

Return the kids + the dad who now sits about 3 rows behind us.  The kids make their way back to the glass and resume sitting in the exact seats that they were sitting in before.  

Nostalgic for Disaster ~~ Oakland Supercross 1/29/11

Once upon a time back in the day when I actually had free time and money,  I went to as many MX/SX/FMX events as I could.  Fun times resulted as well as some ridiculous drama.  For the record, I definitely don't miss the drama...  But I do miss the bikes and riders and smell of premix in the morning.

So I decided to have Whit work for me and take the day off from responsibility to head over to Oakland for the AMA Supercross.  Well, part of it anyway... 

No one was available to watch me mum, and  Adie had to work so I had to head back to be home to help her with dinner and get her ready for bed.  BUT I was able to wander the pits and watch practices in the rain and generally have a really relaxing fun time.

So here, without further ado, are my photo memories from that day. As I mentioned, it was chilly and raining - at times fairly significantly.  So pictures were hurried, camera didn't like to focus and I didn't like to take the time to make it focus.  Sos you gets what you gets.

The day didn't cost much except for the commute costs since I had a free ticket; when I got there shortly after 12:30 p.m. there was a practice going on so I stopped there first.