Stayin' Cool

So Marie has been bugging me most of the summer that we need to get a pool for the backyard; what she failed to do, however, was to articulate the preferred size. Hey, Sarah Kay loved it!

Bleacher Bums



In all the years that I've attended ballgames, I have never sat in the bleachers until tonight, and wouldn't you know Marie and I were truthfully 12 inches from grabbing Francisco's home run shot in the 4th. I remember screaming at Marie "Watch out...here it comes!" The ball landed directly in the row behind us, hit once, and then the mad scramble was on for the souvenir. Marie was so... close to snatching it up, only for some guy who easily had a couple hundred pounds on her to get to it first. And what would be a "bleacher home run ball" experience without being doused by some dude's beer...unfortunately, it was my daughter who was the recipient of that episode...(Remember the scene in Jurassic Park/ and the reaction on the little girl’s face when she’s sitting in the tree feeding the leaves to the dinosaur…and then the thing sneezes on her, and she gets plastered with dino snot? Well, that pretty much was the same look Marie had on her face after her beer shower in the bleachers.)


We relocated to the upper deck in the 8th because of the fireworks show that was to follow the game. We arrived to our new seats just in time to see Grady blast a grand slam "way....back...to deep right....it's gone! Grand slam for all-star Grady Sizemore!" (sorry, pretty lame imitation of Hamilton's call, I'm sure.) By that time, the entire stadium was rocking.

The fireworks show was probably the best that I've seen at the Jake. They had a video montage of rock history playing on the scoreboard, a pretty cool light show going on in the infield, and then a guest appearance from Cleveland's very own, Michael Stanley singing his hit, "This Is My Town" To boot, they announced that everyone there that night had just made history as the Tribe had almost 9,000 walk-ups for the evening...the most in Jacob's Field history.

Friends Forever

This may sound kind of odd, but this one picture from Josh's party kind of depresses me. You'd think by the smiles on the faces of these kids, that it would be a picture that you'd treasure and carefully store away in the photo album so that one day you could look back at it with fond memories. But, after showing this pic to Josh, he shared with me that he and his friends here- Alex and Maceo- have all promised each other that they would be friends forever. Each morning as I dropped Josh off at school, little Alex would be there waiting for him- probably to take him aside to plot out which dragons they would slay that given day; and then in the afternoons, there would be Josh hanging with his other buddy Maceo probably stroking each other's Pre-K male egos and wondering what kind of mischief they could get into before the day's end....friends forever, such a simple wish.

I remember making those same promises when I too was in school. But as I look at my circle of friends whom I now hang around with, none of them are from my grade school days...and very few from my high school, college, and even early career days at Hoban- not exactly something that I'm proud of. As my life has changed and taken different paths over the years, so have the friends, who at the time I too thought would always be a part of my life. Now, they're all just distant memories depicted on a few photographs that I've kept through the years.

Having watched Josh open his birthday gifts over the past 6 years, I'd package them all away in a heart beat for the opportunity to give my son his simple wish to remain lifetime friends with these two little guys. The odds are against this ever happening, but Josh has a heart of gold, and it wouldn't surprise me if these 3 Pre-k musketeers stuck around each other for a while...or maybe even forever.

The Birthday Bash

The 6 Year-Old Rock Star



So I had been asking the little guy for the past few weeks what he would like for his 6th birthday. Interestingly, Josh didn't really have any one thing in mind- just the usual pre-k kid toys- action figures, water guns, Lego's, etc...The only thing he had asked for was a birthday party at none other than Chuckie Cheese w/ all his mates from school.



A few days ago, however, I took Sarah and Josh on a few errands including a trip to Guitar Center to pick up some new strings. Josh spotted this junior electric almost immediately and quickly put together a pretty convincing argument that this is what he would like for his birthday this year. At the risk of not really checking with mom for the ok...we made a quick dash to the car, with Josh's new instrument in hand.



So far, I'm pretty impressed with his technique and enthusiasm for learning. I'm planning on working with him for a year or so, and then I think I'll sign him up for some real lessons. In a shameless attempt to stroke my own fragile ego, I asked him if he wanted to learn to play someday like his old man...to which he replied, "No, I want to rock like Dave" (our electric guitar guy from church)...grumble, grumble...

Josh, the Jake, and Me = Perfect Father's Day

If memories are the one thing that you can take with you when our time is finished here, then this is one that I'll treasure forever. The little guy enjoyed his first major league ballgame this afternoon, and I truly can't think of any other way that I could have enjoyed Father's Day more than hanging out with him at the ballpark.

We got up there a bit late- right around the 2nd inning. We stopped to have this photo taken, which was Josh's present to me. Next, we spotted the Tribe's mascot, whom Josh immediately recognized as none other than the infamous Slider. After a short hug from him, we then stood in line for what seemed like an eternity for some hot dogs and sodas. By the time we reached the front of the line, Josh looked at me and said that I shouldn't tip the guys working the concession stand because they were too slow! Anyway, once that was done, we headed for our seats.

I had warned Josh that our seats were in the upper deck, and that we would be fairly high up. The look in his eyes as we came through the tunnel and first saw the scoreboard was simply priceless. Josh kept asking me when "the song" was going to be played. All the way up to Cleveland, we practiced "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" so that Josh could belt it out loud and strong when the time came. By the end of the 7th inning, he was really getting into the game. The guys in front of us were beginning to heckle the Brave's pitcher- in a classy sort of way (thank goodness)- and soon Josh began to parrot them..."yeah, c'mon chump...walk the dude!" ("Hey dad, what's a chump?") and on, and on, and on...

And what would a great Indian's victory be if Borowski doesn't come out, give up a few hits, come close to loading the bases, and then finally squeak out yet another save. The short little fireworks display capped off for my son what was simply an awesome time. Thanks for a memorable day, Josh. I love you with all my heart, son.

LeBron's Silver Bullet
for Game #4 of the NBA Finals

Evel Knievel and the Biker Babe


Well, leave it to Marie to teach her younger brother how to tackle a bike with no training wheels. The day began with me being the bad guy by taking Josh's training wheels off early Saturday morning. We started out front going up and down the block with me tagging alongside the little guy helping him with his balancing act. I had forgotten how hard that can be on your back!


Anyway, after an hour or so, we had made a little progress, but he was still not set to take off by himself.


Fast forward about 8-9 hours/ bedtime. Marie took Josh outside in the backyard, and within a 1/2 hour or so, she had him cruisin' around the yard. He was so proud of himself, and I too was pretty impressed. I always wanted a moped as a kid, and I told Josh that once he conquered his bike, then we would talk about upgrading his transportation vehicle...it's just his mom that we'll have to work on!


I also took Ms. Sarah on her first bike trek...the helmet was a bit large on her, but she truly loved her time riding around the block hitched to the back of my bike. Not to mention, this will be good training for me as I try to get myself ready for the Roadrunner Marathon in September.

All in all, a great weekend with the kids.

Father Daughter Trip

Marie and I just got back from a two day stay at Cedar Point. For the first time, we stayed at the Hotel Breakers- located on the east beach side of the park. Having ridden the coasters all day on Thursday, it was nice to simply walk back to the hotel, shower, and pretty much collapse on the bed- only to wake early the following morning to do it all over again!

This was definitely a "coming-out" year for Marie in terms of the roller coasters. We rode em' all! The last five years or so, I had always gone to the park with either Josh or a young Marie, so I too had never ridden the big one- Millennium Force. I'm pretty sure that I witnessed my entire life rush before me as Marie and I plummeted down that first hill. The most terrifying part of the ride is simply the fact that you have no shoulder harness- just a small lap bar to brace yourself as you tumble down over 300 feet from the air- at an 80 some degree angle! Needless to say, after surviving the first ride, we rode it no less than 4-5 more times during the day. Very cool!

This picture is actually from the Mean Streak. You know the lines are pretty small when you can ride a coaster over and over again until you get that one picture that you truly think captures the moment. We actually had the entire train to ourselves when we had this pic taken. Cedar Point's new coaster- The Maverick- is also pretty awesome. (although we had to stand in line too long due to its constant mechanical problems that caused it to stop- over and over again.) It's a combination of the Corkscrew, a Magnum style roller coaster, and the rocket launch characteristic of the Top Thrill Dragster.

For me, it was a great get-away if for no other reason that I know the day is eventually coming- sooner than I care to admit- that Marie probably isn't going to want to hang out with her ole' dad once she hits the high school scene...not to mention those rotten, no good boyfriends who will invariably pop up into her life and have the audacity to actually want to date my little girl...ugh!

My Good Luck Gals

Just one more win...oh please, oh please, oh please...