A seldom heard from voice has resurfaced. Thanks for dropping by Ritch. Just one thing though, I don’t remember asking what the weather was like in KC, just like I don’t ask Derek what the weather is like in NC, and I don’t torture myself with the weather reports of say the Bahamas, or Hawaii, or Tahiti for that matter. I’m not trying to draw a comparison between KC (the fine city that it is) and the any tropical paradise, but compared to what we’ve got right now 60 degrees might as well be a sun drenched island in the South Pacific.
Let me begin by offering an explanation to my somewhat cryptic clue in my previous post. As many of you know I did stats for my high schools varsity baseball team all fours of high school (Yeah, even us non-athletic types should be able to earn letter jackets). During my freshman year we played an away game at one of conference rivals (I use that term loosely here). Our first baseman, a senior at the time, was covering the bag as there was a base runner on first. A rather sharp grounder was hit toward him. I watched as he hunched over to field the ball. In less than a second the ball took an unexpected bounce which lifted the kid several inches off the ground. After he dropped to ground in the fetal position everyone there knew he forgot one very import piece of athletic equipment. Thus, I learned the importance of plastic. The coach, or someone, went through the guys bag to find his cup, which was walked out to him as he was helped back to his feet.
My other significant memory of this place involves Derek. He was my stats colleague for my last two years. Due to circumstances that I don’t full remember (hey, this was more than 15 years ago folks) he arrived at the game with a bladder that was nearly at capacity. This was a miserable game day, weather-wise. Really the only thing I remember from this game was Derek jumping around, squirming in his seat, and nearly crying the whole game. Derek probably would have benefited from the use of a different kind of plastic cup at that moment.
The site of these games, and the place that I am visiting this weekend, is the no longer existent Lutheran High School West in Detroit. Along with Lutheran High East, and I’m not sure how many others closing, the presence of Lutheran high schools in Detroit has shrunk significantly. The building that once housed West is now a k-12 Lutheran school. So I guess it’s good that there is still that presence in, from what I remember, is a pretty undesirable neighborhood.
The people that run this school have been soliciting help from the area churches to do basic maintenance things, like painting walls and doors. A few of us from my small group decided that this is something that we can do. Plus it will give us the opportunity to mingle with other similar groups from around the area. It will be a lot of physical labor, but it should be a good day.
This coming weekend also holds another celebration of my nephews birthday, and bolwing. I'm sure I'll feel the need to fill you all in on the results of those games.
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Ah, the wonderful memories I provide people. To be totally honest, I think it was the weather that made me need to pee so bad. It was about 40 degrees, raining, with a pretty good wind, making it feel like about 25 degrees. Add to this the fact that we were pummelling West (as we normally did), the game just kept going. I also remember that despite the rain, the dirt from the field was still blowing in our faces. Even with a couple of jackets and gloves on, my hand were still pretty numb by then end of that game.
I also recall immediately following the game ending, giving you either the scorebook or the clipboard (can't remember if is was doing book or pitches) and sprinting for the closest building for what I believe to be the longest pee of my life. By the time I was done, everyone was on the bus just waiting for me.
The only other thing I remember is Arndt's little brother (who was about 3 at the time) standing there in the letter jacket that went down to his ankles, also trying to stay warm. That remains the gold standard of miserable baseball weather. Even the game in Fenway wasn't that bad.
The reason I asked about the bus was that I thought you might be sharing the story of the "opportunity" you were presented as a a freshman. I'm sure your fans would love to hear that one.
How'd the bowling go on Sunday?
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