Back to the Ballpark

It was truly appropriate that last night was Italian Heritage Night at Polar Park here in Worcester. Polar Park is the home of the Worcester Red Sox, known locally as the WooSox. Appropriate, because the night was replete with memories of Soxfather as Great Aunt journeyed north to join my Favorite Panamanian and I for a WooSox game. The fact that my sister enjoys baseball games can blamed totally on Soxfather, although she does seem to have an almost unhealthy appreciation of ballplayer posteriors, dating back to Dwight Evans in the first game Soxfather ever took her to. She came up early so I could continue her exposure to the wonder that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the first (and some say best) Ironman 1.

At the Game Last Night

We arrived at the ballpark to see the grounds crew putting the tarp on the field instead of off. Not a good sign. My Favorite Panamanian who professes to be allergic to rain, despite coming from one of the wettest countries on earth, began to panic. A brief shower passed through delaying the game for nearly an hour which allowed us to grab dinner and eat on the covered concourse. Once under cover my enterprising wife took advantage of the delay to do some shopping in the team store. Consistency. The game was about to get underway when we noticed a beautiful rainbow over the right field wall.

Great Aunt Waiting out the Rain

That Rainbow

As I sat next Great Aunt during the game the conversation inevitably returned time again to Soxfather and the many memories he bequeathed both of us to us through his love of baseball and the Red Sox in most particular. We could almost see, from where we were sitting, where his grandparents, fresh off the boat from Italy had first settled in the United States. The game got off to a great start once the tarp was stored with the Sox quickly up by six runs. That all changed with one of the longest innings I’ve ever seen as the bad guys scored nine, yep, nine runs in the 6^th inning. This all happened after the Sox took their starting pitcher out to be followed by two guys who served up the nine runs. It’s kind of appropriate that one of the pitchers that got torched was one of the guys the Sox got for Kike Hernandez in a trade. He pitches as bad as Kike fielded.

Great Seats

Due to the delay and Great Aunt’s need to drive back to Rhode Island, we left after the seventh inning debacle. Note – Soxfather would not have approved. He must have been watching because we learned this morning that the Sox rallied to win the game 10-9. The game didn’t end until almost midnight so our decision was valid. Nothing could detract from the time I got to hang out with my big sis though. Time well spent. I’m hoping my younger sister’s husband’s health improves to the point we can all go to a game together. Soxfather would approve.

Wingman and Favorite Daughter, Best Weekend Ever #1

Yesterday and today were also noteworthy as they marked the wedding anniversaries of both my daughter and son. I always remember them as the Best Weekends Ever 1 and 2, separated by five years. My daughter’s was special because it marked the best time we ever had in our beloved Charlton home as we were immersed in the great assembly of family and friends for the weekend. I still remember the heart clenching emotion as the church doors opened as I had to walk my daughter down the aisle. It will be one of those memories I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. Likewise, the same moment, five years later, in a different church, we were standing next to my son when the doors opened and he saw the ABFA in her wedding gown for the first time. If there had ever been any doubt in my mind (there hadn’t), I knew I was in the presence of true love. Another one of those memories. Spookily the reception took place just down the road from the home of my first fiancé, different class of memories.

ABFA and Favorite Son, Best Weekend #2

Jumping back to the present. My son and his family successfully if, regrettably, redeployed back home from the beach. Both the BSR and BR3 enjoyed rooming with each other so much that they wanted to keep doing it back home. The parents, envisioning bedtime antics, firmly rejected that offer. Since the BRS has finished with the Day Care center in preparation for her entry into kindergarten shortly, she is spending this week with her other grandparents, the ABFA’s folks. This led to an incredibly funny moment for BR3. She was a little put out to see the BRS packing up and leaving with her dad. She told the day care teachers that her dad wouldn’t be picking her up because he had left, quote, “on vacation with her sister and left her behind”. Too funny. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the FBR is in full preparation mode for her two weeks with us later this month. During each call she reminds us of what she expects in the way of events for her, the BRS, and BR3. Anticipation, at the grandparents level is starting to peak.

Spiderman Spotted with the BRS

Who is that Masked Superhero?!

None other Than BR3

Then it was Disney Princess Time with a Friend

FBR Garbed Up for Summer Camp

Two movies fell in my A-Z watch, both keepers, Fast Five, getting series back on track, if silly, the safe through Rio - classic; and Fast and the Furious 6, when we really started to go bonkers taking on a tank on a Spanish super-highway.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course