Spam & Mullets: Because who remembers the BAM?

[GolferGirl]

We are home but wow is it a mess out. No snow fell but it is really slick on the streets. We did not take the freeway because we saw like four firetrucks and ambulances getting on the freeway between here and the city. Got Chris his late Valentine's Day gifts. He got a big container of chocolate covered cashews and chocolate covered almonds and some really good peanut brittle. I took him to lunch at Chez Tousignant and picked up some dogs for the girls. I do not know if Chris is making dinner tonight. He got a 2 new Legos from Fed Ex. The first one is a haunted house and the other one is some green sports car with an Italian name. He said he is going to start in on the haunted house today, so I do not think dinner will be something like we have had lately but probably something quick like salads or sandwiches.

I just got Chris something more for Valentine's Day. He knows what I am ordering because I had him go to his favorite Japanese action figure site and pick out 2 figures he wants but does not have. He picked out a set of his favorite pink and blue haired twin sisters in skimpy maid outfits. I just got off the phone with Chizuru and she said Shota can get them faster than ordering them from a company in Japan and waiting for the order to be filled and sent by Fed Ex. She said she will pay for one because Chris is such a dear friend and we both started crying because we cannot visit each other. She said she misses us a lot and I said I miss her huge, too. She said to tell Chris a huge thank you for helping out on the payroll and stuff this month. She said it is rough right now because half of the stores and suppliers who buy their stuff are having a hard time paying for orders. I asked Chris how much he gave them and he said a drop in the bucket. That is like him.

I wish this stupid whatever they are calling it now would end soon. I do not know if I am getting what Chris calls cabin fever or if I am just bored. I wish I could find hobbies like Chris can but except for exercising, there is not much I can do that is interesting. I can read some books but the thing I am missing is spending time with my friends and having lunch and stuff with them. The girls are great, but they have a lot in common with Chris and I try but I am just not a big fan of scary movies, Japanese cartoons or computer games. Chris asked me if I would like a gaming computer and find some games that might be fun for me. I might just do that. Paula is the same but she has the little ones and their schooling and stuff to keep her busy. Chris said that might be an idea, he said I should ask Paula if she would like some help with the little ones on the school stuff so she can keep up on her work. So, laters, I am going to call her and see if she wants my help. Wish me luck.

 

[Matthew]

A little late on this, but a belated Happy 21st Birthday, Mary! Hope it was fantastic!

 

[GolferGirl]

A little late on this, but a belated Happy 21st Birthday, Mary! Hope it was fantastic!

Thank you, Matthew. I knew you would get to me. Do not worry, you are still before my sister and my 2 brothers. I am watching it snow a little outside and warming my feet. I got a great haul. New golf clubs were the best but Chris got us a new golf cart with fridge thing in the middle, so we can have water or juice and it is cold. I hope it gets warm soon so I can test out both new gifts. Got my new belly button diamond and it is neat. Mikki and Jill gave me a big gift card for Best Buy because Chris let them know he was going to suggest I get a gaming computer because I am bored and have cabin fever. So, I am just waiting for him to take me there and pick out a pretty one. They also gave me, well actually Jill because she knows my sizes, 3 pairs of skintight leather parts because when you are 52, you want to dress like you are 18 and three matching corsets and jackets. I am going to look great riding out picking up our dinners because you have eat at home or outside in the parking lot. The pants fit great but leather is kind of cold and it was some scary moments when the cold hit my bladder. Tight is wonderful except when Mother Nature calls. Chris had to help me out this time.

So, how are you doing? You can get back when you can. I got all the free time in the world. I started a book today but I read like a snail. Laters, going to the stores.

 

[GolferGirl]

Hi, I got my new computer and it a pretty white one called Alienware. I did not know you had to buy each piece alone. I got a keyboard, a neat monitor, headphones and this big white thing that is the brain. Chris set me up with an account at Steam and I already got four games. Mostly stuff like Sonic the Hedgehog and The Sims. But, right now, Tatianna is getting it all set up for me because she begged me to share and I said I would if she would help me with the hard stuff. Chris gave me like $500 on Steam to buy games. Some games are really expensive, but some are like free or for like a dollar. So neat.

Holy crap, I just saw the receipt. I paid a whole lot of money for this. Well, Chris mostly. My gift card was for 1500 Canadian and it was like over 3000 for all of the stuff and repair stuff. I made out pretty great on my birthday. Dinner is smelling good. Chris is making tacos with either beef or chicken. We had to find the one store in the city where you can get good salsa and the right spices. Chris is making soft tacos because that is what I love. Ok, everyone is home now, even Paula and Thierry because they heard tacos and both had nothing more important to do. I get to show off my new toy and it looks like it will be sundaes or floats tonight because no cake was made for dessert. Laters.

 

[DodgerSSR]

The deep freeze continues in SE Texas and pretty much all of the state. Record cold and power outages abound. We have finally had the rolling blackouts lifted, but another ice storm is in the forecast, so that won't last. The blackouts were in place to prevent the power grid from collapsing under the load. We had an 11-hour outage followed by a bunch of rolling outages. The blame for the rolling outages is the lack of gas to power the generators. Oh, yeah, Washington just shut down a major pipe line project with the plan to be "out of the fossil fuel business in four years". The "alternative" fuels don't seem to be holding up. Over half of the wind turbine generators froze up (thereby saving the lives of many migratory birds who had done a 180 and headed south.). Solar? No sunshine for a week, so how did that work out?

80% of Galveston without power; plus over one million in Houston. The plumbers will get early retirement with all the burst pipes. Plant nurseries are quadrupling their orders. I'd say cut off the flow of fossil fuels to DC and see how they like it.

 

[GolferGirl]

The deep freeze continues in SE Texas and pretty much all of the state. Record cold and power outages abound. We have finally had the rolling blackouts lifted, but another ice storm is in the forecast, so that won't last. The blackouts were in place to prevent the power grid from collapsing under the load. We had an 11-hour outage followed by a bunch of rolling outages. The blame for the rolling outages is the lack of gas to power the generators. Oh, yeah, Washington just shut down a major pipe line project with the plan to be "out of the fossil fuel business in four years". The "alternative" fuels don't seem to be holding up. Over half of the wind turbine generators froze up (thereby saving the lives of many migratory birds who had done a 180 and headed south.). Solar? No sunshine for a week, so how did that work out?

80% of Galveston without power; plus over one million in Houston. The plumbers will get early retirement with all the burst pipes. Plant nurseries are quadrupling their orders. I'd say cut off the flow of fossil fuels to DC and see how they like it.

Oh wow, that is terrible. I just heard about this stuff this morning on the podcast I watch nearly every morning before breakfast and the host, a comedian named Steven Crowder, ripped the people in Washington about that. I am sure they will blame Mr. Trump like they do for everything that they do that blows up in their faces. Oh, that is right no politics. I am just sorry for this just like I am sorry for the pipeline workers here in Canada who no longer have a job because of Joe Biden. Yeah, learn to code or build wind turbines. Good idea, assholes.

 

[KYDodger]

Here is the scene at my house after several inches of snow on top of the mess from earlier this week. I survived a snow covered interstate trip home from work.


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[GolferGirl]

Here is the scene at my house after several inches of snow on top of the mess from earlier this week. I survived a snow covered interstate trip home from work.


Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Wow, that is a pretty picture but I think a lot of people in your neighborhood are hating the snow. We are getting snow right now and it is starting to come down hard. I am worried about Katja, she had to go to the Mohawk reservation today and the roads there are ok, but not as good as the roads here Chris just got back home, he went to the grocery store to pick up stuff like eggs, water and milk and cream for coffee and stuff. He said he really does not want to go out this weekend because a lot of snow is supposed to fall.

I see your name is Jeff. Good, now I can stop calling you KY. My new gaming computer is the best thing ever. Yesterday, after I had my breakfast and did my 2 hours of exercise, I played Sonic the Hedgehog for like 6 hours. I am not bored now and I want to find more games. It is kind of nice, Chris brings me a sandwich and veggies and water so I do not starve or die and I have fun. Then Tatianna gets home and she set up her little gaming computer in the same room and we play games like Monopoly against each other. Chris played with us last night and he won both games we played. He just is too good at Monopoly. Me and Tatianna want to find games where we can have lots of players.

Ok, time to grab me some carrots and celery and go play some more Sims today. Chris is telling me that I do not need to buy every pack that comes up on that game but I want to get everything so he can afford it. I stuck my tongue out at him and he said something filthy. Laters, my computer is calling me.

 

[DodgerSSR]

Things have returned to normal in Texas. After nine consecutive days of freezing temperatures including lows of 11 and 9F, things are returning to normal. We're back to highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's; what a difference in one week.

Homes here are built with the plumbing routed through the attic. Builders usually insulate them to prevent freezing, but that isn't a perfect design as evidenced by all the damage. We were fortunate in that we had no burst pipes, but we did keep inside pipes dripping to keep the water moving. My sister in Houston chose to shut off her water and the input pipe froze and burst before the valve. The roads were impassable, so she couldn't really go anywhere.

Went to Kroger yesterday. No bread, no bottled water, etc., even though there was a limit of 1 loaf/case.

Golf is back on the agenda all week.

 

[GolferGirl]

Things have returned to normal in Texas. After nine consecutive days of freezing temperatures including lows of 11 and 9F, things are returning to normal. We're back to highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's; what a difference in one week.

Homes here are built with the plumbing routed through the attic. Builders usually insulate them to prevent freezing, but that isn't a perfect design as evidenced by all the damage. We were fortunate in that we had no burst pipes, but we did keep inside pipes dripping to keep the water moving. My sister in Houston chose to shut off her water and the input pipe froze and burst before the valve. The roads were impassable, so she couldn't really go anywhere.

Went to Kroger yesterday. No bread, no bottled water, etc., even though there was a limit of 1 loaf/case.

Golf is back on the agenda all week.

I cannot even imagine what is happening in Texas. Yeah, we got cold and ice and stuff but it is normal here and everything is wrapped up so it will not freeze, but if you are not used to it, it sounds pretty bad. The food stuff sometimes gets limited but that is more for the plague then like the trucks cannot get through on the roads. You are lucky. You get to golf this week. We are getting more snow and it is coming down hard. Chris went out right now to pick up more water and milk, two things we always seem to need here. I hope you guys stay safe down there in Texas. I would say something about the government in Washington but then I will rant and that never goes good.

 

[GolferGirl]

I am getting into a routine here. I get up, exercise for 2 hours, take a shower, have myself an egg and some coffee, play my new computer for like 6 hours with Chris bringing me a sandwich or a bowl of soup and a couple bottles of water and having dinner and then playing with the girls and Chris on a game like the Sims or Monopoly. We girls got Chris to play the Sims with us and he is hooked. It is a lot of fun with a bunch of people. But, he bitches a lot when we buy stuff with his money. He has a lot of it, so he should not be so cheap. Last night was funny, after me and the girls watched the wrestling, we started playing and Jos wanted to spend 50 Canadian and tried to show Chris some skin when he said no. He just said go ahead and keep her clothes on. I doubt she would have showed him anything but her knees or belly but it was funny when Chris said, no not that.

Dinner smells really good. Chris is making something that will warm us up. Chicken enchiladas with green sauce. Right now he is simmering the chicken while he is out. He got a box of green and medium red sauce from California. He found out through a friend that some companies will ship the stuff to you and it is not much more expensive than what you pay up here when the stores might have it. I think we are having refried beans with it because there is a pot on the stove that smells fantastic but I did not open the lid because I get yelled at when I do stuff like that.

Katja is home early. She said she was told by some of her contacts to not bother, they are either too busy to see her or the roads are for shit by the Vermont border. She came in with 4 boxes of donuts because she likes to bring donuts to the staff of the places he visits. Always easier to sell stuff when you have a donut and a coffee in your hands. Looks like donuts for dessert and breakfast. She does not go cheap. Lots of jelly filled and cream filled donuts. She is going to play with me when she gets changed and does some reports. So, like in an hour. I cannot believe she went out in a skirt that was way too short and regular tights. I asked if she froze any and she said not much. She thinks she is getting too used to the weather around her and the cold does not bother her much. Ok, well I got my snack, I tapped a little bit on the computer and now the people I was playing with on Monopoly are back, so laters.

 

[GolferGirl]

More slush and snow today. That is ok, Chris dragged me out today to get coffee and a really good fried egg sandwich. The dogs liked the walk with their new booties on their paws. Poor Violet got soaked because she is so low to the ground but she did not care. She and Ally tried to catch snowflakes and then ate some snow. The place we went would not let dogs in to get the food, so I had to go in and pay while Chris held the dogs. He was soaked too. When we got back home, my new gaming chair was left at the door. Took Chris like an hour to put it together because it had some electrical stuff, but it is super cool and comfy. It even has a warming thing that heats up my butt. I bought some more games and The Game of Thrones one is really fun. I also got 2 kinds of the Game of Life, which I loved as a kid, to play. I still got a buttload of money to spend on games but I want to play these ones first and then buy more.

Katja was lucky today, she was in the city and she was happy about that. She hates when appointments are cancelled because she likes to see her favorite people and I guess she is a really good salesperson because she keeps on getting raises and bonuses, which she does not spend. She has a really nice savings account, well both her and Jos and like Jos says one day we will have to find a nice place but why leave when we got it so good. Tatianna should be doing ok, but she likes to buy nice clothes and she just spent a lot of money on new furniture for her bedroom. She is asking Chris if she can take out the wall to the guest bedroom and make her room bigger. Right now, we have two guest bedrooms and one could be smaller because it is not like we have a ton of guests here ever. Chris was going to talk to Nestor on how much it would cost to take out the walk in closet in the guest room and make Tatianna's room bigger. I think if we put a small closet where the tub is at in the bathroom, it might work. Listen to me, I watch all those DIY shows and I think I know stuff. Tatianna wants a place where she can put a sitting area where she can watch movies and play her games. I would say yes but Chris is the one who will be spending the money and that is another thing.

Speaking of the master chef, he is making something called Cacio e Pepe and breaded pork steaks. It smells so good. The noodles are red, green and the usual color and the sauce tasted really good when Chris let me test it. I cannot wait. It is funny, the last few times he has cooked something Italian, which is almost every day, he shows off by talking in Italian, but he is still learning. He wears his headphones which are hooked up to his class and you can hear him repeating his lessons and it is funny. He knew some Italian just by watching some Italian TV on the cable and stuff he picked up at restaurants back in Seattle. He kind of ticks me off because he can learn a foreign language really fast. I think he understands me and the girls when we start talking in Portuguese because when we say something funny, he will laugh too. I hate it that he can understand us but we cannot understand him and Mikki when they talk Swedish. I know they do it to make us mad. Jill hates it too. When Jill and Mikki were first married, Chris, Mikki and Ben would talk to each other in Swedish and she said it was like she was not even in the room. Jill thought and I did too that this was Ben's way to be an asshole. Not missing him now that he is dead. Girls still love him because he gave them something in his will. Dinner is ready, time to eat before Katja starts on seconds. Laters.

 

[GolferGirl]

It is kind of warm today. The snow stopped but it is cloudy and we went for a walk with the dogs to pick up lunch. I was worried it would start to snow again but we were lucky. We got sandwiches and fruit salads which were so good. I got a grilled turkey and swiss with onions and arugula which was nice and peppery. Chris got the reuben because he loves spicy mustard and sauerkraut. I had to have a bite or two and he is right, they do make a good reuben sandwich.

Katja is already home. She was supposed to leave the island but the freeways are a mess and on the other side of the river it was snowing really hard and some roads were closed. She was all pouty because we did not bring her a sandwich, but how did we know she would be home. Chris said, how about you take care of your wife and bring her a lunch. She stuck her tongue out at him and told him that he is not that smart. He said all he has to be is smarter than her. That started it, she tried to step on his food and he was too fast and somehow she fell on her butt. She is out now going to get something for her and Jos to have for lunch. I am sure Chris will be getting a call from Tatianna that she feels left out and would he bring her a hamburger or something. There it is, Chris says he will be going to 5 Guys to get her a burger and milkshake. She just has to act sad and Chris is out doing something for her.

Nice and quiet now. I am gong to play some Sonic and see if I can talk to Chizuru. I do not know what time it is in Sapporo, but I miss my friend and need to hear her voice. Last time I called, her daughter had her phone and I had to talk to her for like 30 minutes before Chizuru asked where wsa her phone. Her daughter is fun to talk to but her English is not that good. Chrizuru's English is really good because she went to college in the US and she worked for a year in some kind of business in San Francisco back in the 80's. Yes, she is older than me and I have to call her senpai, which Chris says is more polite than Chizuru-chan. She calls me her oni-chan or little sister, which I love. I wish she was my sister because I love her a hell of a lot more than my real sisters. Ok, I better stop. Chris is back and I need to make this call and start Sonic. Laters.

 

[GolferGirl]

Ok, it was like 4 in the morning there, but I was lucky, Chizuru was awake because in Shota's business, there is never too late or too early. She was up making sure that the staff who was there were eating right and not missing any deadlines. We had a fun talk and she said she does not know the difference between night and day anymore because she seems to sleep mostly during the day when a lot of the kids who work there catch up on their sleep. She said this cannot go on in the summer because it is too hot and sticky to sleep during the day even though it is not as warm as it is in Tokyo.

We mostly talked about our kids, what we are dong to not go crazy and when we might get together again. She says they are waiting on their shots and I told her we might get ours this summer and she just laughed. She says every one of these people in charge need to get to the back of the line and then we will see how fast the shots come. I just want to get my shots over with so maybe I can get rid of this damn mask. I do not care for them because they never fit right and I sneeze in mine every time. Really nasty. Ok, back to having fun with Katja, she is back home and she is all happy. I am scared she might have gotten jiggy in her car at lunch. I hear you have to pay like $10 to watch that stuff in New York City. Ok, bad joke but it made me laugh. Chris was watching Super Troopers last night and I remembered that line. Laters.

 

[GolferGirl]

Hi, got in my morning exercising and some yoga. It was all kinds of noisy this morning because Jos and Tatianna were running late. Jos could not find her bag and she had one of those times when you cannot find the right shoes or boots. Then Tatianna overslept and I had to help find an outfit because she said her head was not in the game today. Finally put something together for her that would not be too warm but warm enough. Weather is weird today, it was snowing, now it is raining and it feels warmer than the weather bimbo is saying. Chris took them to work because Tatianna was still kind of out of it and he did not want her to drive and Jos's little car would not start. Chris told Jos it might be time to see about a new one. She said, she knows but cars are so expensive and all that, but Chris said I know what you make at your job so you could probably buy a nice new car and the payments would not kill you.

Chris is back and he said that we are going out for lunch when the girls get their lunch break and even if we have to eat in the car, he wants us to have lunch together. I am down with that. Look at me, talking all hip. Stupid cramp in my calf was killing me. I have to remember to drink more water in the morning. I think the 3 cups of coffee were a bad mistake. I actually slept really good for a change. The last couple days, I have been up and down with potty runs and restless doggies. And Chris has been an octopus at night. I almost had an accident because he was holding onto me in his sleep. He gets like that where he is all cuddling and will not let me go. Sorry, dogs needed to go outside and bark.

Not much else is happening. Chris is going through the freezeer for something for dinner tonight. He just said he is glad he froze up some of the sausage he made because it might be a great base for some killer chili he found a recipe for on the internet. I am great with chili as long as he makes some of that pecan and honey cornbread. There is never any leftovers of that stuff anymore. I used to have the leftovers for breakfast with eggs and sausage. I was good today, just a bowl of fruit and half an English Muffin. Sorry, Jill called me to tell me that Mikki is trying to get the ok to come over and visit us. It is like the hardest thing to do to cross the border unless you are essential. Chris said if the weather was nice, we could drive to the line and yell across the border to each other. I told him that was a funny idea. People would be stopping to see what the idiots were yelling about and might tell someone to lock us up. Ok, time to take a shower and help Chris make the bed. Laters.

 

[grabarkewitz]

Yesterday, my brother came upon a box of my old little league stuff at his place. He thinks, when the dad died, he grabbed the wrong box and he was going through it and sent me some copies of the pictures and he said it looked like I grew like a foot from when I was ten and when I was twelve. I said, I remember that well. The funniest thing was when dad signed me and BJ up for baseball in 1968. BJ was starting farm ball which was what they had for seven and eight year olds and I was in my last year of little league. Anyway, the guy who took dad's money, I wish I could remember his name. All I remember was that he was the manager of the Red Sox and was one of those scream and yell guys. Sorry, got lost in the moment. He told the old man that he did not think the league had a jersey or pants for a kid who was over six feet tall. The uniforms were pretty generic back then. Gray flannel with the team name on the front in block letters. But, I was in luck. It seems like that like four years before, a really tall kid played and he played for the same team as mine, so I had a uniform that fit okay. The pants only went the middle of my calf, so I showed more stirrup than any kid in the league and that caused some consternation because of reasons. Remember, this is the late sixties and even in a small town in northern California, you toed the line or you were a hippie.

I am now remembering how much fun it was that last year in little league. Our team was really good, I like to think we did not lose a game and I was one of the stars. I remember we had three lefty hitters in our lineup, me and two other guys, and because the way our field was set up, lefty hitters could hit home runs because of the late afternoon breeze which blew out to right field. I pitched and played mostly first base or centerfield depending on who was pitching. We had two lefty starters, me and a kid whose name I cannot remember and then had a third pitcher who threw really hard but was younger than us, the reason I had to play center was because the other lefty arm was kind of chunky and was probably the slowest kid in our league. Lucky for us, he hit a lot of home runs. I also remember our catcher was this kid who might've been five feet tall and the gear would hang off of him but he was fearless. He was one of those kids who just caught everything and was covered in dirt before the game even started.

Oh wow, this is a weird memory. When I was ten, I think my mom washed my uniform once during the season and you had to turn in your uniform, stirrups, pants and jersey at the end of the season. So, there would be twelve boys changing out of their uniforms in the dugout at the end of the last game. I can remember that there were all these girls who only came for that last game if only to catch of glimpse of their classmates in their tiny whities in the dugout. It was so crowded in there that some kids would change out on the field. When we did this routine when I was twelve and before we got our all star uniforms, it was hilarious because some kids had progressed to boxer shorts, me included, and the kid who played catcher was too exuberant and yanked down everything when he was taking off his pants and his mother screamed at him about being an embarrassment to his mother and father for being a nudist. The things you remember. Still, it was a fun time and I particularly remember one home run I hit that ended up in the parking lot by the fields. I want to say it was like a hundred feet from the fence and I hit a car in the second row with the ball. That was so cool. There are other things I remember, like that the mound was almost flat and when I stepped towards home I was like on top of the hitter and I threw hard, relatively, to the other kids and it was fun to watch most of the kids step in the bucket when I pitched. That ended pretty soon. As I progressed, I didn't throw any harder and the distance was farther, so I had to learn something other than fastball. When we moved to Walnut Creek, the coach there taught me how to throw a good change up and for a while I had a decent curve. I was still one of the tallest kids on the team, but it didn't seem as weird as my little league picture where I was like a foot taller than most of my teammates. The other thing I remember was our first game of the season when I was twelve, I was playing first base and we turned a real 6-4-3 double play and one of the coaches on the other team screamed it wasn't fair because when I stretched, it seems like I could touch second base. It wasn't that close but I did make it easier to turn a DP and our second baseman was one of those kids who just knew how to make the pivot at second like it was instinct. He was our third lefty stick and I remember seeing him playing for UOP when we were played them six or seven years later and he was probably the best player on their roster. I don't know if he ever got a shot at pro ball, but he was one of those pesky leadoff types who got on base any way possible and would stress out a pitcher because he could run like the wind. I remember his name was Mark something or rather and this is going to mess with me the rest of the day because I cannot remember his last name to save my life. Just thougt I would share some over fifty year old memories.

 

[claude osteen]

Yesterday, my brother came upon a box of my old little league stuff at his place. He thinks, when the dad died, he grabbed the wrong box and he was going through it and sent me some copies of the pictures and he said it looked like I grew like a foot from when I was ten and when I was twelve. I said, I remember that well. The funniest thing was when dad signed me and BJ up for baseball in 1968. BJ was starting farm ball which was what they had for seven and eight year olds and I was in my last year of little league. Anyway, the guy who took dad's money, I wish I could remember his name. All I remember was that he was the manager of the Red Sox and was one of those scream and yell guys. Sorry, got lost in the moment. He told the old man that he did not think the league had a jersey or pants for a kid who was over six feet tall. The uniforms were pretty generic back then. Gray flannel with the team name on the front in block letters. But, I was in luck. It seems like that like four years before, a really tall kid played and he played for the same team as mine, so I had a uniform that fit okay. The pants only went the middle of my calf, so I showed more stirrup than any kid in the league and that caused some consternation because of reasons. Remember, this is the late sixties and even in a small town in northern California, you toed the line or you were a hippie.

I am now remembering how much fun it was that last year in little league. Our team was really good, I like to think we did not lose a game and I was one of the stars. I remember we had three lefty hitters in our lineup, me and two other guys, and because the way our field was set up, lefty hitters could hit home runs because of the late afternoon breeze which blew out to right field. I pitched and played mostly first base or centerfield depending on who was pitching. We had two lefty starters, me and a kid whose name I cannot remember and then had a third pitcher who threw really hard but was younger than us, the reason I had to play center was because the other lefty arm was kind of chunky and was probably the slowest kid in our league. Lucky for us, he hit a lot of home runs. I also remember our catcher was this kid who might've been five feet tall and the gear would hang off of him but he was fearless. He was one of those kids who just caught everything and was covered in dirt before the game even started.

Oh wow, this is a weird memory. When I was ten, I think my mom washed my uniform once during the season and you had to turn in your uniform, stirrups, pants and jersey at the end of the season. So, there would be twelve boys changing out of their uniforms in the dugout at the end of the last game. I can remember that there were all these girls who only came for that last game if only to catch of glimpse of their classmates in their tiny whities in the dugout. It was so crowded in there that some kids would change out on the field. When we did this routine when I was twelve and before we got our all star uniforms, it was hilarious because some kids had progressed to boxer shorts, me included, and the kid who played catcher was too exuberant and yanked down everything when he was taking off his pants and his mother screamed at him about being an embarrassment to his mother and father for being a nudist. The things you remember. Still, it was a fun time and I particularly remember one home run I hit that ended up in the parking lot by the fields. I want to say it was like a hundred feet from the fence and I hit a car in the second row with the ball. That was so cool. There are other things I remember, like that the mound was almost flat and when I stepped towards home I was like on top of the hitter and I threw hard, relatively, to the other kids and it was fun to watch most of the kids step in the bucket when I pitched. That ended pretty soon. As I progressed, I didn't throw any harder and the distance was farther, so I had to learn something other than fastball. When we moved to Walnut Creek, the coach there taught me how to throw a good change up and for a while I had a decent curve. I was still one of the tallest kids on the team, but it didn't seem as weird as my little league picture where I was like a foot taller than most of my teammates. The other thing I remember was our first game of the season when I was twelve, I was playing first base and we turned a real 6-4-3 double play and one of the coaches on the other team screamed it wasn't fair because when I stretched, it seems like I could touch second base. It wasn't that close but I did make it easier to turn a DP and our second baseman was one of those kids who just knew how to make the pivot at second like it was instinct. He was our third lefty stick and I remember seeing him playing for UOP when we were played them six or seven years later and he was probably the best player on their roster. I don't know if he ever got a shot at pro ball, but he was one of those pesky leadoff types who got on base any way possible and would stress out a pitcher because he could run like the wind. I remember his name was Mark something or rather and this is going to mess with me the rest of the day because I cannot remember his last name to save my life. Just thougt I would share some over fifty year old memories.

I just put out a Facebook post to my Weaverville friends to see which of them played with you

 

[claude osteen]

I just put out a Facebook post to my Weaverville friends to see which of them played with you

1968, I was starting in the minors

 

[GolferGirl]

We are going to California! I do not know what Chris did but we are flying to visit the Boy for 2 weeks, tomorrow morning. I am a lot scared about riding on a plane with all other people who might have the COVID but I have a lot of masks and I can bring my golf clubs. I hope the weather is good and even though the Boy wants us to stay with him, we are going to stay in a nice hotel in Walnut Creek because they have too many animals like lizards and snakes. Eww, big time. Ok, gotta pack some clothes for warmer weather and yay, we got a jacuzzi in our hotel room. Nice. I am picking some Lysol as soon as we land because I do not trust hotel cleaning people. Laters.

 

[GolferGirl]

Hi, 2 whole days in California and I like some things and hate a lot others. The airplane trip was the worst. I think that both goverments have lost their minds with this travel thing. We had to get to the airport super early just to get on the plane and when we finally landed in SFO, it was hell. But, me and Chris got in a round on Sunday. Chris was all over the place with his tee shots and the only thing he could do right was putt. I sucked for like 10 holes and was like 15 over and then I got my swing back and was -1 for the last 8. Chris's score was like 110 and I finished at 86. We got an early dinner at some place called Gotta Roadside in Walnut Creek and for the 4 of us, it was over $100 but it was so good. I never knew Balsamic Vinegar was good on a hamburger. The only thing that sucked is that we had to eat standing up next to a wood table and the line was huge. Still, we got to see some really stupid stuff like a guy with his car broke down in the turn lane and even with his flashing lights on, people were getting behind him and honking their horns at him. I guess more money makes you stupid here.

Today was better but the wind was stronger and I got off to a rough start, I bogeyed my first 2 holes and then figured out the wind and killed it. I carded a 76 and I think tomorrow I will break par because the greens are really easy to read. Chris did a lot better, he got a 84 and might have beaten me if he had not died on his last 3 holes. He had double bogeys on each of the last 3 and wrapped a wedge around a tree. He usually does not get pissed when golfing, but he did today.

Oh, the worst part was the freeway from San Francisco over the Bay Bridge, it was like people do not know what the turn signal does or love to slam on their breaks. We rented a Range Rover and it seemed like every other idiot on the freeway wanted to jam on their breaks in front of us all the way to 680. Once we got on 680, it opened up, but we were only on there for like 5 minutes before we got off of the freeway. We got an early tee time today and then we spent the rest of the day walking around in Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek. We had lunch at Melo's Pizza and it has went downhill. The pizza was pretty bad and the only good thing was the salad and the waitress who was really nice and apologized for how bad our pizza was. The crust was burnt and the guy cooking it must think he owned the sausage because there was barely any on the pizza. Same with the cheese and onions. Pretty much burnt crust and sauce.

We are waiting on the Boy, who has a long drive before we go to dinner. Domi has it nice, she works from their new house and it is pretty nice except for the animals and reptiles. Tonight we are eating at an Italian place in Pleasanton that is supposed to be really good. Oh, before I forget, the room service at the hotel we are staying at in Walnut Creek is fantastic. I got the best veggie omelet this morning and last night, I got a killer plate of nachos and they even sent up a pitcher of beer from some brewery in San Francisco. I cannot even remember the name of it but went really good with the nachos. I cannot wait for Wednesday, me and Chris are going to an outlet mall over in Livermore and I get to be stupid for like 4 hours. Ok, Boy is home and he is getting changed, then we are off. Laters.