Oh, the memories! I was such a baseball fan as a kid, and now I’m thinking it would be so much fun to re-connect with the game. I don’t even care that the Royals are having a lacklustre season. Well, of course I care; I just mean it doesn’t discourage me from wanting to go to a game. I googled to find their schedule, and guess what! They have home games all this week and some of next. How cool is that?!
I loved going to a baseball game with my dad. I even remember the Kansas City Blues! And what a deal it was when the A’s came to KC. All ancient history, of course. My dad used to be an umpire. Not in the big leagues, but in the men’s leagues locally. I don’t recall what they are called, but most teams were sponsored by local businesses. I used to go with him to watch sometimes. Dad had a nifty little gizmo–about 2″ by 1″ in some sort of faux ivory, with three little striated wheels on one side that he rolled with his thumb to register the number of balls, strikes, and outs. I still have it.
I wanted so much to be able to play the game, but I was hopeless at any kind of sport. In the case of baseball, it was not for lack of trying. I spent hours most summer days playing catch with a neighbour, or even Dad once in a while. I was pretty good at catching, but I couldn’t throw the ball. Or hit it. Or run. Needless to say (but, as usual, I’ll say it anyway) I was always going to be the last one picked for a side. More often than not I preferred to avoid the humiliation. Besides, I was asthmatic and it didn’t take much exertion to put me out of action. I outgrew the asthma, but I still throw like a girl.
For the first few years I was in Oz I suffered baseball-withdrawal. These days it’s played in Australia a bit more, but 30 years ago it wasn’t much of a deal. It was twenty years before I came to terms with cricket, so I was comin’ up pretty short in the ballgame stakes. I’m now a cricket tragic, which I’ve written about previously, but once again I’m going to be out of the country for the cricket season. BUT, come to think of it, I’ll be stopping in several of the big cricket cities on my way home…who knows, I may be able to catch a match in India or South Africa. Meanwhile, I’m determined to see some big league baseball. WooHoo!!!
And, as if that weren’t enough, I’ve got tickets to see LEON REDBONE!!!! I may have mentioned it here before, but I’m sort of a Leon Redbone fan. Sort of. Okay, I would be a Leon groupie if I lived here. I’m gonna have to go to Dallas to see him, but it’ll be worth it. I’ve been to three of his concerts: one in Boise, Idaho in about 1976, one in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1981, and one on Washington DC in 1991. You can see how long I have to wait for these moments, so a wee trip to Dallas is certainly not a deterrent. And just in case there is anyone out there who is not familiar with his music, I have a treat for you. Then we’ll both be Leon fans!
I Want To Be Seduced (Leon Redbone)
Okay, okay–you want more. Here’s another one, with great video as well:
I feel I’ve done my good deed for the day. That surely must have put a smile on your dial and a song in your heart. It did mine! 🙂 MM
P.S. The 50-year High School Reunion is next weekend, so stay tuned!
The Meandering Matriarch 
Definitely a dialed smile here 🙂