Happy Birthday America!!!! My Favorite Panamanian and I are scheduled to leave shortly for the annual 4th of July party hosted by a member of the Latina Mafia (an honorary member of the Panamanian Mafia but Peruvian, so there). On Thursday I had what we called in the Army “a wild hair” (I won’t, in the interests of decency, complete the saying). I reached out to Keene Friend to find out when my hometown would be holding their annual baseball/fireworks at Alumni Field. He and his lady were planning on attending that on Friday night and I finagled an invite to join them.
My Favorite Panamanian was all in as
well as she also has great memories of past 4th of Julys spent on
the outfield grass at Alumni watching the fireworks. The first for her was
iconic and continues to live on nearly forty years later in family lore. My daughter
had just learned to talk and was a decided fan of the color pink (I believe it
had something to do with Barbie dolls). As the fireworks bloomed over the field,
the little sprite kept excitedly exclaiming “PINK!!”. It’s become emblematic of
the celebration of the 4th ever since, much to the annoyance of that
now 40+ year old daughter. She just rolls her eyes as she knows her siren call
is now indelibly linked to our day of independence. Everyone I talked or texted
with yesterday found a way to issue a “PINK!”. The author was characteristically
quiet as she is still trying to quiet the deluge of recognition.
At the Game Last Night
My own association with Alumni, of
course, goes much further back. I remember going to it when my parents were
still together and marveling at the display. The year my parents first split up,
my mother got tickets to the game and celebration. Great Aunt and I attended
the game and then the fireworks (I still remember the chicken was undercooked).
While I’m always immersed in nostalgia when I return to Keene, it was in definite
overload last evening. When we sat down in the bleachers, I could see Keene
High across the field and the window of the classroom where I took sophomore math
in 1971. While I played very few games on the field itself, I attended
countless games there while growing up.
Looking Across Alumni Field Towards Keene High
It was something of a social event
for both Keene High and Legion baseball games. It was definitely a “girl
watching” place for myself and my friends. I was smiling last night as the
crowd gathered and I realized somethings were still the same. What the PCR and
I used to call “Bettys” and “Snappers” were circling in the same size groups they
did fifty years ago while the guys, intensely interested, were trying to be too
cool to notice. It was a special night as the waves of nostalgia inundated the
game and the crowd. It was a great time sharing with Keene Friend, his lady,
and my wife.
Great Game Also
As the game wound down, we moved to a
nearby field to watch the fireworks. We thought they no longer allowed people
on the field (they did) but the location we ended up at was even better. There
was no surface battle between battleships that were a staple of the shows from
our youth. I’m guessing they became too dangerous with all the pine trees
around. The fireworks show was incredible though. One of the best things about
being at a small-town celebration is that even though the crowd was huge, by
Keene standards, we were able to get close and enjoy the fireworks going off directly
overhead. I was transported again back to a four- or five-year-old version of
myself watching from nearly the same location with my mom, dad, and sisters. That’s
what my hometown does for me and why I love going back.
The Crew Setup for Fireworks
We drove back to Worcester last
night. In a major shift in assigned duties, I was doing the driving. My Favorite
Panamanian remarked how strange it felt not to be driving back. I’ve usually sent
too many beers downrange to attempt the drive. We’ll have to search way back
into the dusty annals of history to find a First Friday of the Week where I didn’t
have a single beer. I’m thinking it had to have been in Saudi Arabia in the late
nineties for the last time that happened. But that is an indication of how
intoxicating nostalgia can be because I didn’t miss it all. 
Latest Puzzle
The Failed Step 
Digging Out 
Trench Ready 
Concrete In
In some housekeeping items, I finished
another 1000-piece puzzle. This one was a Christmas themed one. That’s another thing
I’m an absolute sucker for. I’ve started following a series of reels of Christmas
scenes and music from days gone by on Facebook. It still brings a smile to face
and that feeling of the holiday season even as temperatures head for triple
digits. I also finished another backyard project. The step onto my backyard
path that runs between the terraces and Deckzilla had failed, as I dug it out
and backfilled the base with a stray bag of concrete (not cement as my son would
insist I say). Of course, the day I chose to do it was the hottest in three years,
but I got it done in the early morning before the temperatures soared. It seems
to have worked. So, I hope you are heading out to celebrate the day with friends
and family. I am so thankful to have grown up in the best of all countries and
to have had the opportunity to serve it in uniform. Here are some of the Alumni
Field fireworks to send you out to partay!!!!
End Product
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 her single days in
Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends
along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); 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 3rd 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; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex
and my wife and I; Soxfather – my
brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever explain); Tia Loca –
wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my
son in law; Upstairs Neighbors – American
couple and great friends who live in condo above us in Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course
No comments:
Post a Comment