Monkeyboy is playing baseball again. How I love to watch! It is kids, having fun, I hope and parents sitting
freezing our butts off, grumbling, even swearing watching with joy as the children learn the finer points of team work. Huddled in blankets, hoods on our heads, hands in our pockets, cheering them on
"just strike out, we don't care, just end the game. I believe it was 20 degrees with a wind chill factor of -50. And the game lasted almost three hours since there were so many walks. OK, I
exaggerate. Not to blame the pitchers, the weather took its toll on their arms and fingers...they had to be numb with the cold. The next game was much warmer. The parents are fun, we all cheer for both teams, perhaps a little harder for our team, but when a good play is made by either team, a cheer emits from the crowd on both sides.
Bean is playing lacrosse. I'm sure I am spelling it wrong, but spellcheck doesn't pick it up, so this is how I am going to spell it. Bean is co-captain of the team. Actually, I think the there are three captains. There are four players on the team...KIDDING! First boy, girl party for Bean last night. There was quite a discussion about it at the ballgame. Should Bean's mom call to see who was chaperoning the party, should she get a list of names,
should they follow Bean to the party and hide in the bushes peering through the windows. First dances, first dates...that anxiety, giddiness, fear. My first date was with a boy named Bobby. We went to the movies (in the day you could actually walk to the movies). His friend met us there and Bobby and friend talked about how the movie wasn't true to the time period. The movie was at the turn of the century and Bobby pointed out that they didn't have zippers in clothing then. Bobby and I left and walked to my house where we sat on the front porch, watching my father (who had been celebrating Saturday night) come up the street. He was walking a bit funny and when he reached the front steps, he kind of sat down and went to sleep on the steps. Bobby and I sat, me trying desperately to ignore the snoring. Finally, Bobby said "should you do something?" and I said "about what?" Bobby got up, walked around my father and left. We didn't have a second date. And I went in the house, leaving my father on the steps, sleeping away. My first date.
Ahhh, memories are great, are they not?
The other picture I posted today is the sight I see every sunny, spring day at Phipps. We have benches outside the conservatory and these three or four men show up every day to meet and talk. They sit on the bench for two hours, looking over Flagstaff Hill, talking. Every day. I often wonder what they are talking about. The weather? The status of the Pirates?
who seem to be even worse this year, losing one game 20-0 The playoff games for the Pens? The young ladies sunbathing on Flagstaff Hill? It's nice to see them. Every day that the sun is out. Doesn't matter how cold, they sit and talk for two hours.
The butterflies are out at Phipps. Well, some of them are out. An inordinate number of them seem to be dying very quickly. And one got into the fern room which necessitated me racing about with the butterfly net, much to the amusement of the children in the room. I didn't catch it, but Ray did. He is the champion butterfly catcher and butterfly expert.
Big day in the 'burgh today...marathon, Pitt graduation, Pens playoff, religious walk. Pens are playing the Montreal Canadians. So, my afternoon will be in front of the television cheering on the Pens. GO PENS. Have a lovely Sunday!
16 comments:
Nice theme, old friends. It's nice, and sometimes sad, to think about old friends. My best friend in elementary school had to move in fourth grade because her father died suddenly. We lived next door to each other and I was crushed.
Hope Bean lets us know about the party. That is hysterical! And baseball, I loved the stories you told about Monkeyboy. That person looks freezing!
I loved all the stories, funny, sad, moving. But the picture in my mind of Mia running around with a butterfly net is the best.
Don't even remember my first date, so it must have been not worthy of remembering. I do remember my first date with Skipper and we are still together after 53 years so it must have been good.
Believe it or not, we sat at a baseball game of our son's and we had snow flurries. That is spring baseball. My first date was a disaster. I threw up I was so nervous. And my older brother has brought it up many times since then. The girl's name was Leslie and she gave me the most awful look when I emerged from the bathroom. One of the great things about first dates is that they only happen once. GO PENS, let's have three more like the first one.
Still laughing, what a great post! I agree, Ginger, thought I have never seen or met Mia, the idea of anyone running about with a butterfly net is amusing to say the least. The picture of the person bundled up is hysterical, and the one of the men on the bench along with the song, is very sweet.
Almost game time! The city is a mess today, lots of traffic and people. Ran right down the street from me. There was a bomb scare and they had to re-route part of it, but all in all I hear it was a success. Congrats to all the finishers.
It's nice to watch baseball, but give me a warm, sunny day with a concession stand that has lots of food. That poor person looks frozen! Have to laugh at the parents wanting to yell. I can't blame them. Who won?
We have a McDonald's that I sometimes stop at for coffee on my way to work. That seems to be where a lot of the retired men in our neighborhood congregate. I have seen it in the parks, too, but not as much. That poor person in the picture! They look frozen!
First date...oh, my gosh! It was a school dance with a boy that I had a crush on forever. My face broke out in a massive pimple explosion two days before the dance and I tried everything to get rid of them, which only made them worse. I saw the boy at our reunion and we had a good laugh about it, but at the time it was the end of the world for me.
Excitement here last night with a bomb scare. Turned out okay, thank goodness. Our marathon here is in November. Quite a sight to see as the runners go through all the boroughs. It has changed over the years, but always a fun thing to watch. I think I would have to leave the game as opposed to sitting there all bundled up like that person, Mia. I can't even remember my first date, too long ago and probably too painful!
Oh, no. A butterfly flying where they should not fly! I can't imagine catching one. When I have tried to take a picture of one, they fly away so quickly. My first date wasn't until I was 16, thanks to my parent's rules. It was to a school dance and it was quite a letdown. I think first dates are vastly overrated, but I guess there has to be one!
My blankets and hoodie would have been better color coordinated.
First date was to Junior Prom. Took me a month to pick out the dress, only to find that three others had the same dress. We had our picture taken together and laughed about it. It was one of those "who wears this dress better?". I, of course, thought I did. So did my date, who later became my husband!
I could not for the life of me remember my first date. I saw the Pens yesterday...hope the do it tomorrow night. That picture of the person wrapped up for the ballgame is pure devotion to some lucky child.
I love to sit in the park and watch people. It seems as though you are watching people watching people! We had a t-ball game tonight and I have to admit, they are great fun to watch. Kids in the outfield looking at bugs in the grass, looking at the sky, everything but the ball. It is funny to watch.
First date, oh, my. It was to the movies. I can't even remember the movie. I do remember that his father drove us to the movie and picked us up and he held my hand in the movie. It was very romantic. Except he tripped going down our steps from the stoop when he took me home, and I laughed. How rude was I?
Mia, we should make a bet...Flyers vs. Pens. Who will make it? I don't know much about hockey...can we play each other?
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