Thursday, March 31, 2022

Postcards From the Edge: Mom's Family Cards 8

A Christmas card with poinsettias.   



A Valentine card with a Love stamp no less.


Holland America to the Caribbean is the name of the painting, but the card is postmarked from Tennessee.    


Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Postcards From the Edge: Mom's Family Cards 7

 This first card is unique as it has a seal on it and folds out.



Postcard from Branson, Missouri.  I've been there once in the 80's.  I didn't enjoy it, but my relatives say it's gotten more accessible since then.



Card from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  That's more hospitable than I've ever imagined Delaware looking.


Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Baseball Season Preview 2022

 

So, let’s do this!  I guess.  Whatever.  The whole lockout thing started this season with a gag and a cough, followed by everyone forgetting that it happened. 

 

The entirety of the sports media called the lockout, “100% the owners’ fault.”  That’s true in that the owners initiated it.  Would the Players Union have gone on strike during the season if they hadn’t?  Logically, you’d think they wouldn’t—that they’d be smarter than that.  The public wouldn’t have supported them in the slightest regardless of the media’s opinion.  Regardless of the egos of the player union reps, their lawyers, and their agents, I doubt the rank and file would have voted to strike.  Actually, I know it, because they voted against their union heads to accept the owners’ offer and to end the lockout.

 

What was the outcome of all this labor strife?  We got the DH (and 3 ½ hour games on average this season because of it).  I guess there was also a playoff format change to make it more difficult to follow.  (I don’t know if you want have a postseason format that compares to NASCAR’s in complexity.)  Yeah, there was millions of dollars at stake in the various parts of the agreement, but it was nothing more than squabbling over loose change.  Nothing major was decided about how the sport would be run, so this was all a waste of time.

 

Frankly, a hard salary cap would be the best thing for the sport.  It would allow (with a minimum salary floor to go with it) a much more competitive environment for all teams, which is essential in growing the sport.  But that doesn’t help the Dodgers and the Yankees (the sport’s most popular teams), who can spend lavishly every year to maintain their relevance, and it doesn’t help the superstar players get bigger salaries.  The average player wouldn’t notice much difference under either system. 

 

What I just asserted there would take a long time to unpack and justify and I’m not in the mood.  Discuss amongst yourselves.  I’m here to pick winners . . . because I’m a creature of habit and I’ve done this for the last few years.  I decided not to buy a season preview magazine, since they all came out while the lockout was still going and a whole bunch of free agents still hadn’t been signed.  This is going to be blindfolded dart-throwing then.

 

AL East

I think I pick the Yankees all the time to compete.  It’s amazing what money will do.  They might be better via the subtractions from their roster rather than any additions.  The Rays did basically nothing.  There may be some Canadian medical weirdness with the Blue Jays, which are projected to do well.  I’m going to pick the Red Sox, since they signed Trevor Story.  The Orioles are a Triple-A team.

 

AL Central

This feels like the MLB player development division.  I guess it’ll be the White Sox, partly from their talent, partly because of the lack of competition in their division.  The Twins made the biggest move by acquiring Carlos Correa, or should I say, the most expensive.  Too bad he doesn’t pitch.  I think the Tigers might be good in the near future, but not this year.  The Royals will be playing games.  That’s the most optimistic thing I can say about them.  I refuse to talk about Cleveland until they rename their team to something else, because their current name offends me.  They must bow to my Internet pressure, as they did to others’ last year.

 

AL West

And another uncompetitive division.  How did the Astros not just cheat their way into winning, but also sabotage every team in their division?  (There may be an update on the Yankees’ cheating at some point this season.  Remember, they got caught, too.  Watch this video.)  The Astros have got a good team and I’m curious how Justin Verlander will do in his comeback.  The Angels still can’t pitch.  (Ohtani is okay, but I worry about his health playing both ways.)  The A’s are rebuilding.  Mariner fans are going to be disappointed again, because they didn’t do enough in the offseason.  The Rangers did a half-billion in free agent acquisitions and all they can hope for is for is MLB expansion moving them into the AL Central.

 

NL East

Hopefully, this division will be a season-long fight between the Mets and the Braves.  With the Mets picking up Max Scherzer and the Braves getting Matt Olson, they’re loaded for battle.  I think the Braves take it with Ronald Acuna Jr. having a healthy year.  The Phillies had some major additions, but will only be putting on some great batting practices.  The Marlins and Nationals have some talent, but are works in progress.

 

NL Central

How many more divisions are there?  Quick check.  Okay, I’m almost done.  I hate picking this division.  Whichever team can get over 81 wins will take it.  Here’s a hint: it won’t be the Cubs, Reds, or Pirates (at least until NMSU star, Nick Gonzales, arrives in Pittsburgh).  It should be the Brewers, but that Cardinal name and those St. Louis fans are worth more wins than they should get. 

 

NL West

Groooooooan!  Everyone is picking the Dodgers.  They should get a couple of good years out of Freddie Freeman.  They traded off a couple of their best prospects last season and still have a top ten farm system.  The Giants over-performed last year (unless they do it again this year).  The Rockies picked up some sex appeal by acquiring Kris Bryant, which is a really poor way to assemble a roster.  The Padres’ season may have collapsed with Fernando Tatis Jr.’s broken wrist.  GM AJ Preller uncharacteristically made little in the way of moves.  The minor league cupboard may be bare, except for a couple of untradeable prospects.  Oh yeah, the Diamondbacks are still a team aren’t they?  I almost forgot. 

 

Postseason

Well, let’s pick a winner (out of this bag of mostly losers).  Why do I do this?  I took the weekend off from going to Aggie Baseball.  I felt the need to punish myself.  With the expanded playoffs, we will have additional failed teams in the mix, so I’ll just cut to the chase.  (Also, I don’t quite understand the new format.)

 

The AL Championship will be the Blue Jays over the Astros.  The NL Championship will be the Dodgers over the Mets.  Manager Dave Roberts’ guarantee of a Dodger World Series win will come back and bite him as the Blue Jays take it in five.

 

I may issue some more baseball updates during the season, probably at least at the trade deadline.  I’ll keep my picks, though, because last year’s re-picks, weren’t as good as my original predictions.   

Monday, March 28, 2022

Postcards From the Edge: Mom's Family Cards 6

 The General Jackson steamboat in Nashville, Tennessee.  That's the way to travel down a river.




Here's a couple of cards from Oklahoma.  The back of this one says there's windmill somewhere on the horizon, but I don't see it.  



There's a windmill.  I like the stamps on this one.


Friday, March 25, 2022

Postcards From the Edge: Mom's Family Cards 5

A postcard from the Old Monterey apartments . . . in Springfield, Missouri?



A card from the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The back of the card mentions going to Battle Creek, "to see how Kellogg's makes the cereal." 



Dad apparently looked at living at the Quail Ridge Apartments here in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  This was a courtesy card from the visit.  Must be a classy place.


Thursday, March 24, 2022

Postcards From the Edge: Mom's Family Cards 4

Back to the postcards.  (There's plenty more.)  Here's a Christmas postcard.  I like the stamp on the back.

 



The Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas.



A grey whale in Baja, California.  The text on the back of the card is in English and Spanish.
  

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

NM State Aggies vs GCU Lopes Softball 3-19-22 Game 2


If you thought Game 1 of this double header didn’t go well for the Aggies, you might wish to avert your eyes for Game 2.  Ron and I were now sitting in a different row from Game 1.  Thankfully, we could still see the beautiful young woman below us, but now we were seated next to a loud GCU fan.  


We’ll get right into it.  Gianna Nicoletti led off for the GCU Lopes and singled.  In short order, she stole second, stole third, and scampered home on a bad throw by catcher, Hannah Lindsay.  Aggie starter, Jordan King, got a popup next, but then gave up a hit.  Jayleen Burton at short made a nice stop on the next grounder, but didn’t have a play. 


 

Another hit followed.  It was a grounder to short that looked like the runner either interfered with the ball or the fielder, but it wasn’t called.  There was a throw home that beat the runner, but was dropped.  A running-scoring sacrifice and another hit scored two more runs.  Jillian Taylor made a good running catch to end the inning.  4-0 GCU. 

 

What looked like a group of football players came in, maybe linemen.  Later, another group of what looked like football players came in, but they looked more like wide receivers.  The two groups did not sit together.  Ramsay Lopez led off the bottom of the first for the Aggies with a home run to right center.  Maya Martinez got serenaded by the dugout with, “Who’s up to bat with a big, old booty!”  Maya doesn’t look like she has that much junk in the trunk, unless I misheard that.  Katelyn Dunckel at short for GCU made a good running play to end the inning.  She then slipped on the dirt coming off the field.  4-1 GCU.  This is as close as the score will get.

 

Between innings, it was quiet enough in the lightly populated stands that I could hear the GCU pitcher talking with a very pretty assistant coach.  Glamorous blonde, Macee Barnes, led off for the Lopes with a first pitch home run to left center.  Next came a walk, a fielder’s choice, and a stolen base.  Denae Chatman came up and fouled a hard pitch into the Aggie dugout.  She then got a hit.  There was a play at the plate where the throw beat the runner, but was again dropped. 

 

Then there was a double and then Kristin Fifield came up and blasted a two-run homer to the left center.  She was endowed with a gold chain around her neck when she got back to the dugout.  Jayleen at short dropped a grounder next, which finally precipitated a pitching change.  Hannah Burnett then stole second and advanced to third on a dropped third strike.  Hannah then stole home on a passed ball before the inning finally mercifully ended.  11-1 GCU. 

 

The Aggies just went down in order in the bottom.  The Pocket Contest returned.  A GCU fan lady ran down for a prize, but was beaten out.  One of the items called for was a $2 bill.  A couple of people in the small crowd did have one.  They must have been here before, because this item has been called for before.

 

Lindsay had had a bad game behind the plate.  It wasn’t surprising to see a new catcher, Jaelah Burrell, come in for the third.  Right after a leadoff single, there was a wild pitch that advanced Gianna to second.  A bad pickoff throw by Jaelah advanced Gianna to third.  She then scored on another wild pitch. 

 

By this point, it was getting a bit colder with the sun going down and I was zoning out.  There was a walk that followed that I didn’t notice.  I had to ask Ron how that person got on first.  Stephanie Reed came up and hammered one to straight center into the (thankfully) vacant camera platform.  After another single, Jordan was put back in to pitch.  A pinch runner was actually thrown out trying to steal second.  She looked safe and I thought she’d been called out for leaving early.  Ron said she should have slid.  That was the first out of the inning.  Thankfully, the next two batters went down.  14-1 GCU.

 

Finally, a little life came into the Aggie offense.  Ramsay singled.  It could have been ruled an error, but it was a slow, deflected roller.  Jillian drove her in with a home run to left center.  14-3 GCU. 

 

Meanwhile, a perhaps more important drama was playing out off the field.  Ron nudged me during the inning and pointed out that Coach Rodolph and Associate Coach Heifner were out talking to each other out of the dugout and away from the bullpen.  Maybe they didn’t want the players to hear them.  I didn’t notice, but after the game, Ron told me that they never came back to the field.  They left with the game still in progress.  I suspect this ties into what that fan lady said during Game 1—that Coach Rodolph’s contract hasn’t been renewed.  We’ll see how this story develops. 

 

My notes started getting skimpy as my interest in the game waned.  The Lopes scored three more runs on a Dunckel three-run homer in the fourth.  The Aggies changed pitchers again to get the final out.  17-3 GCU. 

 

There was another retro Men’s Basketball jersey toss into the crowd in the break.  The girl at the scorer’s table, who’d wanted one so bad during Game 1, was now mad dogging the Marketing intern doing the toss.  There was drama everywhere.  The Aggies got two on in the bottom.  Their dugout got loud, but the inning ended with a strikeout.

 

For the fifth, the Game 1 catcher, Melika Ofoia, was inserted into the game.  The GCU coach tried to do the Aggies a favor and flushed his bench and subbed out all of his hitters.  Even this couldn’t help the Aggies.  Two walks started the inning and a run-scoring double and a run-scoring single followed.  The first baseman then changed positions with the pitcher.  Kayla Bowen, now in the circle, had trouble fielding the next play.  Felicia de la Torre, now at first, dropped an easy grounder on the next batter.  The GCU fans actually laughed.  Somehow, the inning ended.  21-3 GCU.

 

We had the fifth inning stretch and I made up new lyrics to Take Me Out to the Ballgame to reflect the current game.  I don’t remember them now.  It was all freestyle.  Ron was amused.  He pointed out poor out poor Adam Young, who was calling this double header for the WAC Digital Network.  He was up in the pressbox with binoculars trying to sort out all of the player changes for the bottom of the fifth of this hopeless game.  The Aggies only managed a walk, before Reed in centerfield ended the game on a nice running catch.  21-3 GCU wins.                      

 

I told Ron immediately after the game that I was done with Softball this season.  I don’t care how pretty the girl sitting in front of us was, it wasn’t worth it.  I’ll keep an eye on Softball, because I’m expecting some coaching news to drop, maybe even before the end of the season.  I’ll give Kristin Fifield on GCU a gameball for her 2 for 3, 4 RBI game with a home run.  At least things ended in time for us to go get something to eat and be close to on time to watch the basketball game.



Ron and I went back to my apartment to eat our dinner from What-a-burger and watch the Aggie Men’s Basketball second round NCAA Tournament game on my new Internet connection.  It was a tense, defensive struggle, and that was just getting the game to come in on my computer.  The actual game was even more dramatic and sexy.  The “sexy” part was me flipping over to watch Dizzykitten on Twitch during the long commercial breaks.

 

More seriously, it was a great game, but the Aggies did fall to Arkansas, 53-48.  There was no goat player on the NM State side, no bad coaching decision that cost the team the win, and the refs mostly stayed out the deciding the game.  The contest was very evenly matched and could have gone either way.  We do have an Aggie hero, even in defeat.  Johnny McCants, in his final game as an Aggie, was the team’s leading scorer, ended up on the floor drawing several charges, had a highlight reel jam (with the national announcer even stealing Jack Nixon’s, “Here’s Johnny!” line), and he never gave up and wouldn’t let the team do so either. 

 

After the twin softball losses, Ron was so depressed, he left before the end of the game.  My dad is a fan of both schools, so he was okay with the outcome either way.  My Aunt Judy in Missouri had the Aggies going to the Final Four, but another aunt is a big Arkansas fan, so one of them was happy. 

 

Nixon interviewed an Aggie fan after the game, and she reported that much of the crowd had been won over into rooting for the Aggies.  The TV coverage really seemed to favor NM State, too.  At halftime, Charles Barkley was even impressed, “You guys played the worst half of basketball possible, your leading scorer has been shutdown, and you’re still in it!  Game on!”  As for me, I was just happy I could get back to watching Dizzy uninterrupted . . . err . . . that the Aggies acquitted themselves so well in an entertaining game. 

 

The next day we got the long-expected news that Coach Chris Jans had gotten a new job with Mississippi StateAD Mario Moccia was talking about him leaving even before the WAC Championship game.  After Jans won that first round NCAA game, he was going to be able to get a good job.  Jans did a tremendous job here, so it was a very mutually beneficial relationship.  NMSU did give him a chance when most schools wouldn’t have after a scandal, and he delivered a winning program in return.

 

I guess it was a bittersweet weekend for Aggie fans after losing two basketball coaches, potentially the softball coach, some bad softball and baseball loses, and losing a possibly winnable trip to the Sweet Sixteen.  Still, I think I think most Aggie fans (including myself) where happy to have a team to root for in the second round of the NCAA tournament.  Hopefully, Mario can work some more magic in his coaching searches. 

 

I have to brag about Sunday’s sports.  I got together with Ron to watch the NASCAR race at the newly reconfigured Atlanta track.  I finally talked him into going to Caliches, not just for the frozen custard, but for a meal.  He had a couple of their hot dogs and couldn’t have been more pleased.  I had a croissant sandwich which was as great as the last time I’d had one.  Of course, we had sundaes, too.  I’d told him they had good food there, but he didn’t believe me.  I thought the race was great (unlike apparently a lot of fans), but was about 100 miles too long.  This was certainly a memorable sports weekend altogether, even with some disappointments. 

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

NM State Aggies vs GCU Lopes Softball 3-19-22 Game 1



I’d had an exhausting week at work.  Frankly, I didn’t want to go to a Softball double header today, much less write about it; I’d rather have slept in.  I’d seen enough of the softball team last month (2-13-22) and they’d only gotten worse since then.  The game time had also been changed from 4:00pm to 2:00pm, but for a good reason.  The Aggie Men’s Basketball team, after winning the WAC Championship, had gone on and won their first round NCAA Tournament game over UConn.  It was a #12 seed upset of a #5 seed.  This time change was done to accommodate the 6:40pm game time for the Aggies’ second round game.

 

It was a good change weather-wise, too.  Ron had been at the Friday evening Softball game and reported it got good and cold when the sun went down.  At least it was really nice out to start the games.  The Aggies did beat GCU that night, which seems incredulous given what happened on Saturday.  Meanwhile, Aggie Baseball was having a brutal road trip.  They’d dropped two to Nebraska mid-week—one close loss, one not.  They next went to Dixie State and were pummeled in consecutive run-rule losses.  The team did come back with a close win on Sunday. 

 

I was greeted with a $7 ticket price at the gate.  This was an increase.  I’d thought about getting some popcorn between games, but that $2 went to the extra ticket price.  It was a light crowd, perhaps due to the time change, or maybe they were waiting for the basketball game.  Even the GCU fan representation seemed light.  A security guard asked me before the game where I thought he could see the basketball game.  I suggested the pub across from the university, but I knew that a co-worker had watched the UConn game at Peter Piper Pizza, so it was going to playing at any local restaurant with a TV.  It was announced during softball that Rudy’s Barbeque was the official (sponsored) viewing place.  I’ve got to try that place sometime. 

 

I took a look over the GCU team.  Ron had reported a very large pitcher on the Lopes and I did see her.  Ron said she was good, but I didn’t get to see her play.  I was more disappointed that the cute, freckled redhead, Lexy Coons, had moved on.  There was another very pretty girl I noticed, but I only saw her poke out of the dugout a few times.  I never got her player number.  The Lopes played some hacky before the game.  The Aggies worked on their dance moves.  For the Anthem, a couple of the Aggies practiced their kneeling.  I didn’t get their numbers to properly recognize them.  Ron said one of the girls on GCU had her head bowed, which he is interpreting from watching Women’s Basketball, is also a protest.    

 

This was obviously a rough game for the Aggies.  It was a rough one for the scorekeepers, too.  My scoring differed from the announced scoring at the end of the innings.  (The scoreboard is a bit primitive.  It doesn’t list hits and errors.)  The official scoring differed from both.  For both games, I was tempted to erase my scorecards and start over.  There’s no reconciling them, so these aren’t officially accurate.  (And given the result, I don’t really care.)  Also, there was a really attractive young woman sitting in front of us that was a constant distraction. 

 

GCU’s dugout began the game in full chorus singing.  We were seated around some GCU fans, who were mostly pretty chatty in shouting encouragement to their players.  The game immediately wrong-footed for the Aggies, as GCU led off with a single and the runner took second when the throw into the infield got away.  An error at third put a second runner on.  After a ground out, a walk loaded the bases.  Another walk scored the first run.  Kristen Fifield then got plunked on the helmet, which drove in another run and ran the Aggie starter from the game.  I hadn’t even written her name down on my scorecard.


 

Felicia de la Torre came in and grazed the next batter to force in another run.  Aggie catcher, Melika Ofoia, was popping her hand into her glove so hard, it sounded like a pitch.  It was confusing me, as I was looking down at my scorecard and thought there’d been a quick pitch.  Two more walks and a single brought in three more runs before a couple of fly outs finally ended the inning.  The carnage ended with GCU up 7-0.

 

The talk in the stands nearby was even more disturbing than the team’s performance.  Women’s Basketball Coach Atkinson had already been let go at the end of the season.  While her record at NMSU looks really good, most of her wins came with the previous coach’s recruits.  The last couple of years have been a disaster.  A fan talking to another fan said that Coach Rodolph’s contract had not been renewed.  Now in this case, the coach has been responsible for probably all of the Softball program’s successes and there have been a lot.  I didn’t hear the rationale, but certainly Kathy could have left for a better job whenever she wanted, so I don’t think this is a dispute over money.  Maybe I should have joined the conversation, because I have no explanation.  After what happened during Game 2, I feel like this rumor has been confirmed.

 

The Aggies were not going to roll over, at least to this point (along with some help from GCU).  The Aggies were still singing in their dugout.  (There was also an attractive trainer in there.  I was trying to find entertainment where I could at the game.)   A walk and a single put two on before a bad throw from first base led to a two-base error and two unearned runs scoring.  Another single brought in another run, and a hit batter and another error loaded the bases again.  Jayleen Burton came up and hit one by the third baseline.  It looked out, but the ump, who was right in front of it, ruled it fair, and another run scored.  The Aggies had come back to make it a game for the moment.  7-4 GCU.

 

Catastrophe struck.  The eraser on my pencil popped off.  In trying to find it, I lost the pencil.  Lucky, I came prepared with a second pencil.  (I found the first pencil eventually.  It’s just a stub that I’m going to have to take out of service anyway.)  Denae Chatman (I like that first name) led off the second with a line drive home run to center.  Thankfully, things then settled down.  Felicia only gave up a hit afterward.  Jillian Taylor made a great play in center on a ball that would have gone out to end the inning.  8-4 GCU.

 

Jillian worked a walk to start the bottom of the second, but was gunned down on a steal attempt by Kinsey Koeltzow from behind the plate.  GCU tried to a help with a dropped foul ball for another error, but the at bat ended in a popup anyway.  There was a single following, but a strikeout ended the inning.

 

The Lopes loaded the bases in the third with a walk, a hit, and a hit batter.  That’s the first time I’ve seen a batter given first on a pitch that bounced to plate.  Maybe I mis-saw that.  Two more singles drove in two more runs.  A wild pitch nearly brought in another run, but was thrown out at home.  10-4 GCU.  The Aggies went down in order in the bottom.  There was a Pocket Contest between innings.  Two people with requested umbrellas ran down to the intern and the Aggie fan beat out the GCU fan there.  I noticed there was a group of fans sitting by the Aggie dugout behind the fence.  It was sort of like Baseball’s Diamond Club, but a lot less appealing.  The group had a barking dog with them.

 

A GCU batter was hit in the lower back in the fourth.  This was followed by a single, but Maya Martinez made an unassisted double play by catching a liner and stepping on second.  There was an impressive Jersey toss into the stands between halves.  It was a retro Men’s Basketball shirt.  One of girls working at the scoring table ran into the stands and was begging the Marketing intern for one.  I got a look at one later on a kid, who was wearing his.  It was very cool. 

 

The sun started ducking behind clouds and a cold breeze blew through.  It wasn’t unpleasant yet.  In the bottom of the fourth, an error on a bobbled ball by the shortstop let on a runner.  There was confusion on a popup between the second baseman and the right fielder, which allowed the ball to drop.  This was called GCU’s fifth official error of the game, but usually untouched fly balls are called hits.  On the play though, Jillian was thrown out trying to take home.  (GCU’s second baseman, Macee Barnes, is pretty glamorous with a long, flowing, curly blonde mane.) 

 

A double down the line by Katelyn Dunckel led off the GCU fifth.  The pretty girl in front of us stood up to reveal that she was wearing tight yoga pants.  I was momentarily stunned.  Where was I?  Dunckel stole third and came in on a wild pitch.  It looked like the throw home got her, but apparently not.  Felicia gave up a walk before giving a line drive home run to Fifield that hit the sponsor board in right.  When Fifield got to the dugout, they awarded her with a gold chain around her neck. 

 

The pretty girl came back from the Concessions.  She gave her mom (?) a Coke.  The lady said she asked for a beer.  The girl said, “Sorry, I left my ID at home.”  “You mean your fake one?” the lady answered.  Okay, maybe that’s not her mom.  The girl then started working on eating a big pickle.  That might have been kinda hot, but was mostly really smelly, even a couple of rows away.  Xophia Venegas came in to get the final out.  She tripped on herself during one of her pitches, but Jayleen at short made a great play on a hard liner to end the inning.  13-4 GCU.

 

The damage had been done.  The Lopes were now in run rule territory.  The Aggies, though, went down in order, which finished the game early.  13-4 GCU was the final.  I’m tempted to not hand out any Gameballs for this one.  The Aggies gave up 13 runs and rolled over.  GCU took batting practice, but need more infield practice after giving up five errors.  However, GCU’s Ariel Thompson did go five innings and didn’t give up an earned run, so she gets one.

 

As Ron and I were leaving the stands, we were hailed from the field.  It was our friend from baseball, Michael, who apparently works with the grounds crew.  He wanted to say, “Hi.”  We wouldn’t have recognized him in uniform.  Outside the stadium, there were two groups of tailgaters.  One was literally drinking off a tailgate.  The other had a pavilion set up which said Virgin Galactic on it.  The group had been announced during the game.  They bugged out after Game 1, as did some more fans, who might have wanted to get ready for the basketball game.  Ron and I retired to his car for snacks.  “Hey, did you see that hot girl in front of us?” he asked.

 

On to Game 2.          

Monday, March 21, 2022

St. Labre Indian School Cards 2

Once again, these cards came as a charity solicitation.  Disclaimer: I haven't donated to them, so I don't know if they're a good charity or not.  







Friday, March 18, 2022

St. Labre Indian School Cards 1

I got these cards in the mail as a charity solicitation.  They're really cute.