July 4, 2006
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I had big plans for the 4th of July today, John painted the frames
around the windows the other day and today, I was just going to grab a
chair and sit and stare at them as they dried. Perhaps I would drink
maybe a bottle of water during the drying process, perhaps I wouldn’t
drink anything. Either way, the sitting, the staring and the paint
drying equals fun.Today was the big 4th of July baseball game. We arrived at the park
right at 12:30 and much to our surprise, Keith was actually the first
person there, which is probably………..no, it IS the first time that
has ever happened. I think he might have just never left since the last
time we played. Anywho, we actually didn’t hit around at all, after
playing catch for a few minutes, we actually got started, because for
the first time in a long time, everybody arrived fairly early on. Of
course, Mark and I were captains and I tried to pick a team with all
the youngest players, thinking that they would be better and also more
in shape to play. This idea worked for Rene’s son Tony, but that was
about it. Speaking of Tony, we had 4 guys named Tony playing today and
they were all left handed, how odd is that? Come to think of it, my
cousin Tony, who did not play, is also left handed, as is former
Detroit Tiger Tony Clark. Hmmmmm. Guess if your name is Tony, you are
left handed. Anywho, our team started off good, scoring 8 runs in the
first inning. I wound up playing 2nd base which I normally don’t do
because I can’t catch. Well, as it turns out, I guess somehow, I
learned to catch. I must have learned in my sleep, because its not like
I have been practicing. It also helps that after 30 years, I’m no
longer afraid of the ball.One highlight of my day was throwing Mark out at 3rd. He hit a ball
into the outfield and assumed nobody would be able to field it
properly. Well, shortly after Mark passed 2nd, the outfielder got it
back into me as I was standing at 2nd and I made a soft, yet accurate
throw to 3rd to nail Mark.As for the rest of the game, although we stood ahead of them for a
while, eventually, our defense self destructed and we wound up losing.
Still, I played about as well as I have ever played. I think Rusty is
right, I seem to be getting younger as I get older, its like I have
found some sort of athletic fountain of youth.After baseball, we went back to my house to bbq and play beanbags.
Keith and I wound up on the same team and for the most part we kicked
ass, losing only one game, which was to Mark and Dave, but we more than
avenged that loss, as we beat them 3 out of 4 games.We decieded to watch the Romeoville fireworks, so we (me, 3 of my
siblings, Amy, Addison, the Johnsons and the Chvoys) walked down to a
field in the middle of AVM to watch the fireworks. At first, Dave and I
were both disappointed because we weren’t right at the Rec Center,
which is where they would be lit off. But, as we sat down, we were
actually surrounded by fireworks from several subdivisions along with
from some people’s houses. It turns out, it was like non-stop fireworks
from any direction for the better part of 45 minutes. The Romeoville
fireworks were disappointing, but being able to have a buffet of
fireworks more than made up for it. Shit, even back home, people the
next block over were having quite a firework show of their own, good
shit too. Secretly, I was hoping that they would start my garage on
fire. For those of you that don’t know, I have been trying to get
various contractors to give me quotes and replace the siding and
shingles on my garage.Which begs the question, if you are watching other people’s fireworks,
isn’t that kinda like stealing? I mean, I didn’t pay or contribute to
those fireworks in the least, so what gives me the right to watch them?
In a way, its almost like watching your neighbor’s tv, or even watching
your hot neighbor swim in the their pool. I could go on about this, but
my body is sore and it hurts to think. Happy Independence Day
everybody.
