Vacation Report Part 4

Friday, June 18
Dorney Park is an amusement park in Allentown Pennsylvania. When I was growing up it was the place that our family went for our one day "vacation" each year. The park holds a special place in my heart when it comes to childhood and family memories.

I hadn't been to an amusement park in several years. Before my surgery and weight loss I had gotten too large to fit on any of the rides. Now with 170 pounds gone it was going to be different. I was "pumped" full of a new spirit of adventure. I couldn't wait to get on everything. In fact I don’t think there was a ride or water ride that I passed on all day long. I went on all I could.

Going to the park with me were 11 other family members including my sister, Shari and her family and my two nieces and their families. Paula and Bobby, my nepher, (now an Easton High School graduate) decided that they wanted to stay home. Paula isn't much of a thrill ride person and neither is Bob. Paula spent the day at the hotel relaxing, watching TV, and playing video games on her laptop computer.

Before I move onto the story of my personal victory of returning to riding roller coasters I have to tell you a story about getting to the park.

My 8 year old great nephew (my niece, Marci's son) Jordon, rode to the park in the backseat of my car. On the way there we continued a conversation started the night before about Jordan not wanting to ride any roller coasters. I kept teasing him and offering him various degrees of rewards if he rode a "big roller coaster" with me. My "offer" was as high as a $50 and a new I-pod. He still refused to say he’d ride.

He then asked "will you buy me a puppy?” This took me back a bit but I figured I’d found his “price”. I told him that if he rode a big roller coaster with me and his parents agreed (knowing that they wouldn't) I'd buy him a new puppy.

As we pulled into the parking lot we could see the roller coasters all being tested. As we all watch the empty cars go up and down Steel Force, (in the picture above) Jordan, from the backseat in the most resolute and disappointed manner I've ever heard says, "Well I guess I won't be getting a puppy." A classic kids moment for me. I'll be telling that story for a long time.

As planned we were at the park's gate when it opened at 10AM. Once we got inside our group planned on splitting up. Some of us wanted to go on the rides at the Dorney, park and others wanted to go to Wild Water Kingdom, the water park. But it didn't open until 11AM. So we spent the first hour riding park rides that everyone would go on.

We rode the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Whip. The first "thrill ride" we got on was the Sea Dragon. This was my first personal victory ride. Before I lost weight I wouldn't have fit into to the seat and the safety bar wouldn't have latched. But it did now. About half of us rode this ride and some of us did it twice. It was fun but not one of my favorite rides.

After the "riders" and the "swimmers" went their separate ways it was time to get down to the business of riding roller coasters. Shari, Bo, Melissa, Shay (Melissa's roommate's daughter) and I headed for Steel Force. We got on with hardly any wait.

Once again I celebrated the fact that I had no problem with the safety belt and the safety bar. It was a double weight loss victory because for Shari, who sat next to me, it was her first ride in on a roller coaster since her surgery as well. The 2nd time we rode it Shari and I got in the front seat. What a ride. I would only ride Steel Force one more time at the end of the day but I will always remember it as the thrill ride that marked my return to roller coasters.

Over the course of the day we went on to ride 3 more coasters, a log flume, and a ride that shoots up into the air. Shari and I really enjoyed Thunder Creek Mountain, the log flume, because it held a lot of memories for just the two of us from the last time we were at Dorney.

The best coaster was the "Talon". It was a coaster where your seat is below the track. The only thing between your feet and the ground (or sky during when going through the inversions) was air. I only got to ride it once but my sister rode it twice. It was our favorite.

At 1 o'clock the two groups met back at Shari & Bob's van. Shari and Marci had brought meat, cheese, peanut butter, and jelly and marshmallow cream for sandwiches. Marci brought chips and snacks. We had a little picnic right there in the parking lot. It had gotten very sunny and hot so we all had to kind of sit in the vehicles to get out of the sun and off our feet. But it was a great time of being together just as a family.

After lunch as a group we went back into the park. While everyone else went to use the restroom my brother in law, Bob and I rode the carousel. He's not one who enjoys most kinds of amusement rides but he wanted to go on the Merry-Go-Round. So the two of us climbed onto the up and down horses and off we went. We had a great time. We were just two old codgers riding and enjoying the nickelodeon’s unique version of popular country music tunes. It was one of the highlights of the day for me.

Next Post: Day at Dorney: Part 2

Vacation Report Part 3

Thursday, June 17
This day was graduation day for Seniors at Easton Area High School which included my nephew, Bobby Windom Pearson the Third. Upon receiving his diploma at the ceremonies in the evening he would be the first member of the immediate Havens family to graduate from the rival school.

The day started out with a birthday breakfast for my sister, Peggy, at Williams restaurant. Once again all members of the immediate family were there as well as about a 1/2 dozen of her co-workers. Paula was still exhausted from Monday's trek through Washington so I decided to let her sleep in while I went to breakfast.

During the day I took some time to go visit with my friend, Joe, who still lives in the neighborhood I grew up in. In the brief time I had been in the area I still hadn't had the chance to visit that side of town so I was looking forward to not only the visit but the drive there as well.

This was once again a "time warp" situation for me. I actually hadn't lived on Brainard Street since 1986 but the old neighborhood hadn't changed much.

It was great to spend time with Joe and his mom Judy. We sat in their living room and talked for about an hour and a half. I felt bad that I couldn't take more time to be with them or go to a baseball game or do something with Joe and his brother Joshua. But this was a relatively short visit to the area. I promised him we'd do something together the next time I came up.

The graduation ceremony was held at Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University in South Bethlehem, PA. It was about a 30-45 minute drive depending on the way you drove there.

When we left our hotel we had plenty of time to get there so I decided to take the scenic route. We drove through Bethlehem. We passed the Just Born candy factory. It's the place where they make all the marshmallow peeps everyone loves at Easter time.

We then drove past the newest and most unusual thing I've seen in the Lehigh Valley area in a long time. We drove across the Minsi Trail Bridge and saw the old Bethlehem Steel factory that has been converted into a Sands casino. It's still being built up but it was really strange to see the way it's been changed.

Finally we made our way up over South Mountain and got to the arena. The parking lot was already close to being full. Fortunately we were allowed into the front lot because of our handicap sign.

The arena almost filled with spectators by the time we got there. Shari had saved us seats, which was a job in and of itself. Our seats were perfect because they were just up from where Bobby sat in his chair on the floor. The class of 2010 for Easton High School numbered about 650. But the Havens/Pearson family was there for only one of them, Bobby. He was a little more than halfway back in the 26 rows of chairs set up on the floor.

The ceremony went relatively quickly. Because we were so close to Bobby we all got some really good pictures. I took some cool video as well.

By the time the ceremony was over and we got back to our car it was 9PM. My sister Peggy came home in our car. The traffic getting out of the area was unbelievably slow. It took us an hour to reach the highway back to Easton. I got on going the wrong way and then got lost. Eventually I did get back to Shari's house.

Everyone came back to Shari's and we had sandwiches and chips. We gave Bobby his graduation gift and took some pictures with him. Finally it was a little after 11 when we decided to head back to the hotel.

The occasion and main reason we for our visit was over. Bobby was a high school graduate...an Easton Area High School graduate. A first for our family.

While Thursday was an important day for all of us, the next day, Friday, was the one I'd been looking forward to for a while. We were going to Dorney Park.

Vacation Report Part 2

Tuesday, June 15
Before we went on this vacation Paula and I had been to at least 3 zoos together: Nashville, Philadelphia (twice), and Louisville. But on this day our plans included going to the National Zoo in DC.

We were both still really tired from the long day we had on Monday and the only animals were really interested in seeing were the Pandas. We decided that we would only spend about an hour or so at the zoo, which was located in the northern portion of the city.

Our GPS took us there in way that gave us an unexpected "tour" of the city that featured view of some rather interesting architecture. We circled around end of the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial. So although we didn't get to see it up close we did see the back of the building.

Once we found the National Zoo we were surprised and a bit taken back about its location. It was in a very urban area. Because of difficulty trying to find a place to park, our fatigue issues, and in consideration of plans we had for the week that involved walking, we decided that we would just skip the zoo.

Having made that determination, we headed out of Washington and toward Pennsylvania. I was excited to be getting on I-95. I knew it was the one direct route that would take us to Philadelphia and then we could head toward Easton from there. The bad thing about I-95 was that we went through about 3 or 4 tollbooths. We paid $11 in tolls just to get to Philadelphia.

Once we got on the Northeast extension of the Pennsylvania I decided to stop in Quakertown so we could have lunch at a Boston Market restaurant. It's one of Paula's favorite places to eat. We had turkey and corn bread. The meal was delicious.

We arrived at our hotel (Holiday Inn Express) in Easton late that afternoon. We then went to my sister Peggy's house for dinner. Nearly all of my PA family was there. We had hamburgers cooked on the grill and other picnic type stuff.

After dinner my sister, Shari; Paula; my niece, Marci; her son, Jordon; and I walked to Shari's house (I don't even remember why now) which was about a 2 mile round trip. Paula & Shari walked at a rather quick pace. Marci, Jordon and I lagged behind. We had a great time laughing and joking during the walk.

On the way back we walked past the house where my aunt and her family lived when I was growing up. The house was really fixed up and the yard looked nice. Yet it still looked basically the same as it did 40 years ago or so when I would spend a week there during the summer.

Actually walking through the entire Southside area was like stepping into a time machine. That was the first of several times I got that "time travel" feeling during my visit. More about that a later.

Jordan Peter was so much fun on the walk. He gave his mom and I laughs all along the way. He managed (although not on purpose) to get15 minutes of comedy material out of a lightening bug landing on his finger and just staying there.

After getting back to Peggy's house the kids were asking for ice cream. There wasn't any in the freezer. So I loaded the kids into my Vue. We went to the store to get 1/2 gallon containers of ice cream and take them back to Peggy's.

About 10:00 both Paula and I were very tired. It was time to say "goodnight". We left and went back to our hotel. The bed was very comfortable and gave us both some very much needed rest.

I fell asleep happy about the fact that for the next couple of days I would be spending time with my sisters and their families in an area that I had once considered my home but hadn't seen in over 3 years. It felt good to be back.

Wednesday, June 16
The only "set" event on our calendar for our first full day in Pennsylvania was dinner at my niece, Melissa's, house.

After sleeping in we took our time at the hotel and then went and did some grocery shopping at the "Giant" food market.

During the afternoon Paula went shopping with Shari, Peggy, and Teejai. She had to get some groceries to make a side dish for the meal at Melissa's later that night.

I had agreed to pick Melissa up from work and take her home. At 12:30 I went by the downtown Easton WaWa to tell Melissa I would be there at 3 to take her home. That left me with about 2 1/2 hours on my own. I decided to go visit the cemetery where my parents are buried.

I took my time getting there and cruised Phillipsburg just to look around. I got lunch at the new convenience store (A WaWa market/gas station) that had been build on the site where Mom & Dad's bank had been for many years.

I spend a few minutes at Mom & Dad's grave "talking" to them. I told them all about what my life is like now (or as much as I could in such a short time). I told them how happy I am and that I am doing my best to actively follow Christ and minister to others. I also added that I would like to think that they would be proud of all I've accomplished since moving to Kentucky. I left by telling them that I filled with hope for the day I will get to see them again.

Soon it was time to go back to Easton and pick Melissa up from work. I took a back road that I used to drive all the time when I was an auto parts delivery driver. I even stopped at one of the garage's where I used to take parts. Hendershot's Garage was still open and the same father/son team worked there.

I took Melissa home and headed back through town to pick Paula up at Shari's house. I decided to go down Northampton Street, the main street in Easton. I parked between 9th & 10th street. I went into the NAPA auto parts store. It used to be Easton Electrical Devices, where I worked for 19 years.

Earlier I mentioned having a "time travel" feeling. Well when I walked into that store I warped back to 1999. The place looked basically the same as it did during my days as an employee. To perpetuate the feeling the guy who was my boss was standing behind the front counter on the phone helping a customer. "Mr. Jim Slifer!" I exclaimed. He looked up, smiled and called out my name. He looked a bit older (I found out that it was his 62nd birthday that day) but seemed to be still the same old nice guy.

We exchanged basic "so what's happening and where have you been" type conversation. I asked about the business and some of the old employees. He gave me an update on most of them. Of course there were comments about my losing weight. Then he asked if I'd like to go over to the office and see his son who was on working on a computer there.

We walked halfway through the store. Looked around as much as I could. The place was still the same. I walked past what was once the small engine sales counter. Past the water fountain under the stair that led to the 2nd level, up a step, through a door and into the office. It was still the same as well. I greeted Jim Slifer Jr. We exchanged brief pleasantries and updated each other on our lives.

It was then that I got a call on my cell from my sister asking me where I was and telling me that they were back from shopping. I said my "good bye" and left the store.

I walked across the street to a place called "Noto's Deli" to get a drink. I walked in and got a bottle of water from the refrigerated case and went to the counter to pay for it. While walking up to it I noticed that woman I used to be married to was working behind the counter. Another employee came over to the cash register to help me. The "ex" didn't speak to or even acknowledge me. I figured I was making her uncomfortable so I didn't say anything to her either. I wonder what she thought of my weight loss? I guess I'll never know.

The evening was a nice gathering of the entire family. There was a wonderful dinner which included meatballs and a Mexican chicken dish. After dinner we all just sat around and talked for a couple of hours. It doesn't sound like much but it was a very enjoyable evening.

Melissa lives in a very nice house in a very nice neighborhood in Forks Township about 10 minutes outside of Easton. I'm very proud of the life and home she has made for herself and her son "Bo".

Before heading back to the hotel I drove up through Forks Township. It's an area just outside of Easton that has really changed since I moved away. I drove through and noticed several new stores, restaurants and strip malls.

Our first full day in Pennsylvania was a long one but in comparison the next day would be even longer. However it would also be a milestone for the family. Something would happen that has never happened in Havens family before.

Vacation Report Part 1

After nearly a 2 month absence I have returned to posting on this blog. I'm not going to attempt to explain why I haven't been blogging or recap has happened to me since the last post. Most of you who know me know the important stuff anyway.

This first return post, and probably the next couple as well, will be a recap of the days Paula and I spent on vacation (June 13-20). This week long getaway included 2 1/2 days of driving, a day in our nation's capitol city, and all or part of 5 days in the area of Pennsylvania where the northern branch of my family lives.

Sunday, June 13
Our journey to Washington DC began about 8:30 AM on Sunday June 13. For the first time we were following the directions of our new Tom-Tom GPS unit. According to my son & daughter in-law (who also have a Tom-Tom) you have to name your GPS. We named ours "Nova."

The reason for this came when we were "off route" in the Washington DC area late Sunday night. While making a "U" turn to get back to where we should be the GPS announced that we should get back on the highway heading toward "Northern 'Va". It actually said "Va" as a word not as an abbreviation. Paula & I thought it was so funny we agreed right then and there that the Tom-Tom's name had to be something that commemorated that moment. So we came up with "Nova" as its name.

Our drive to Washington DC was a day's journey. We passed some of the time by listening to a Patricia Cornwell audio book (Body Farm). We stopped quite a few times to fill up the car and "empty" ourselves. We stopped for lunch at a place in Olive Hill, Kentucky called "Smokey Valley Truck Stop". It was featured on the Food Network in 2007. The food was okay but not great and the service was rather slow. But the novelty of going on to "You Tube" and seeing the segment from the show "Drive-Ins, Diners, & Dives". Will make for a lasting memory of our visit. I told my brother-in-law about it because it's just the type of place he will be interested in stopping on his next trip to visit us.

The only other thing that's noteworthy about our trip was that it was long. It took us about 13 hours to get to our hotel in Alexandria, VA. But once we checked in we went to bed so we could get an early start to our long anticipated visit to the National Mall and the Smithsonian Museums the next day.

Monday June 14
We got up early in order to beat the crowds to the National Mall. We left the hotel about 8:30 and made the half mile walk to the Metro station and aboard Washington DC's public transit train system. We each bought a Farecard for $6 to cover our round trip cost. Once we determined which train we needed to take (thanks to my wife) we got on and road for about 25 minutes.

Once we came up from the underground station we were in the heart of our nation's capitol. We walked about 2 blocks to "The Castle" the welcome center for the Smithsonian. The streets were full of people walking to work as well as tourists just like us. The Washington Monument was to our left and towered over the area. It could be seen from just about anywhere.

We scoped out the Smithsonian museums we wanted to see on the map inside "The Castle". We watched a short orientation film starring Ben Stiller, then walked out the door onto the National Mall. It was about as wide as two football fields. To our left was the Washington Monument about 11/2 miles away and just as far to our right was the US Capitol building. Being there was the first "big moment" of our day. We stood there snapping pictures for about a minute or two.

At 11AM we entered the Smithsonian American History Museum. Visiting here was the reason I'd wanted to come to DC for vacation. I understood this to be a place where lots of pop culture artifacts were on exhibit. Things from TV like the "All in the Family" living room and original set of "The Swamp" from MASH, my all time favorite show.

I guess I misunderstood what the place was because it turned out to be more of history museum than a pop culture history museum. Only about 10% or less of the exhibits were pop culture. There really was only 1 room of that kind of stuff. I know it's a museum but I thought I was going to be entertained not educated. That was not the case and it was rather disappointing.

There were 3 pop culture things on display that really made my day though: An original Kermit the frog puppet donated by Jim Henson, a car from the flying Dumbo ride at Disneyland, and one of the pair of ruby slipper used in the filming of the Wizard of Oz.

We walked around for about an hour. Looking at the 3 floors of exhibits. Soon we knew it was time to sit down and rest. We decided to have lunch in the basement cafeteria. That was a mistake because it was very expensive and caused both of us to have an upset stomach. Still we got 30 or 40 minutes of rest we needed. Soon we were feeling better and headed over to the Smithsonian museum of Natural History.

We walked through that museum looking at the exhibits including one about gemstones and minerals found in the ground. It was labyrinth of displays that seemed to never end. We saw enough quartz, precious metals, gemstones and varieties of rocks & stones to last us a lifetime. We also saw skeletons of modern animals who live all over the world. There was also a room with lots of impressive animals stuffed and set up in their natural habitats. It was like a taxidermy zoo.

Finally we went to the area I was most interested in, the dinosaur room. It was there that we saw several dinosaur skeletons. It's the first time I've actually seen them in person. The T-Rex was the best but the brontosaurus and stegosaurus were cool too.

By the time we finished in the Natural History museum we were once again exhausted. We left and went outside in the heat. The day had warmed up considerably. We got something to drink and sat on a bench in the shade to relax for a few minutes.

We talked about doing a walking tour of the "big 3" (Washington Monument, White House and Lincoln Memorial. But from where we were sitting it was at least a mile walk to the Washington Monument in the hot sun. The idea of more walking in the heat didn't appeal to us at all. We decided that we would try to come back the next day to do the "monument tour".

We walked back toward our Metro station. On the way was the Smithsonian Air & Space museum. I wanted to go there so we decided that since it was inside we would look around before calling it a day.

I was glad we did. Although it was more walking we got to see the Wright Brothers' plane, Charles Lindbergh's The Spirit of St. Louis and other cool air craft. There was also a large exhibit devoted to the Apollo space program. I got to see a very large model of a Saturn 5 rocket.

We took in a film in the museum's planetarium. It wasn't a real planetarium just a movie theater with a large domed roof that served as a movie screen.

After we saw all the space stuff we decided to head back to our hotel. We got on the Metro and rode back to Alexandria. We stopped at strip mall near the Eisenhower Metro station and had dinner. It was at one of our favorite restaurants, Ted's Montana Grill.

We were exhausted and just wanted to eat and walk back to the hotel. While we were eating a thunderstorm with torrential rain hit the area. We had to wait an extra 15 minutes for it to stop. Once it did we walked the rainbow shaped bridge that led back to our hotel.

Paula spent the rest of the night in the hotel room. I rested for a while and then went to a local Walmart to look for a Washington Nationals baseball shirt. I also picked up some groceries we needed.

We planned on going to back to see the monuments the next day but before we went to sleep just decided to check out and head toward the National Zoo and then onto Pennsylvania.

Our first day in Washington DC had been fun but all the walking and standing around really wiped us out. We both slept very soundly after our first full day of vacation.

Personal Update

As I begin the last week of April, 2010 there's been a big, but not surprising, change in my daily life. As of April 25 I am off of work for the next 6 weeks. I will be off of work until June 5th due to lack of incoming calls at the ShopNBC call center. I've been promised that I will be called back but I'll believe that when I see it.

In the mean time I haven't heard anything from Fruit of the Loom in regard to the job I interviewed for a little over 2 weeks ago. Not sure if I will hear back from them or at least hear back with a positive response. I'll probably get a "thank you for applying" letter in the mail soon.

On a more positive note, it's been a while since I've posted a weight loss update so here it goes. I've now lost a total of 160 pounds. That means I'm under 250 lbs. I've still got about 75-90 lbs. to go. I'm not losing as fast as I had hoped but at least I'm still losing. I just need to be faithful to my diet and exercise while being patient. That's a hard thing to do.

Received some good news this past week. My older sister, who lives in Pennsylvania, just got a date for her weight loss surgery. Guess what? It's going to be on the 1 year anniversary of my surgery. That's right. She'll be having her surgery on July 6, 2010. I think it's cool that she and I will have the same anniversary date.

A couple of days ago I began my next big music project. I'm going to start importing the music from my CD collection (about 800 CDs) to my I-Tunes program on my computer. This will eventually lead to having it all on my Ipod as well. It's going to take some time but I should be able to carry my entire music collection with me anywhere by the end of the year. At least that's my goal.

Last but not least I want to thank God for the opportunity to share my personal weight loss testimony at my church. This past Sunday evening I stood up in front of my Christian brothers & sisters and told them my personal story of how God brought me to my surgery. I explained what my life was like and how it is today. My presentation included the home church debut of my Ruben Nathaniel Young III puppet. Ruben and I had a little conversation and told a few jokes. At the end, together, we sang a song called "The Roux-En-Y Song" written to the tune of the Beatles song "Yesterday".

Although time didn't allow me to present the Bible study I prepared I was pleased with the way the evening went. A lot of people came up to me afterwards and complimented me. Paula was very encouraging; telling me that she could see a real improvement in my ventriloquism over the last 6 months. I recorded the performance on video with my new camera.

So that's what going on in my life right now. I'm just trying to deal with not going to work and concentrating on staying busy at home. I have a lot of things I want to get done. I am looking forward to becoming even more involved with ministry at church while I have the time. I'm going to help with Children's church for the next month as well as Wednesday night Children's ministry. I'm thankful to God for the chance to finally start serving him again.

Thanks for reading my blog and God Bless.

Backyard Baseball

This post is about yet another personal victory. It contains 3 elements that I love to write about: regaining elements of my childhood, improving my physical health, and baseball.

One of the many activities I enjoyed as a kid was hours and hours of playing imaginary baseball games in my backyard using a baseball training device called a "Pitchback". At least that's what it was called 30+ years ago. It basically was a trampoline type net set on a small frame that when tilted at an angle allowed you to play catch by yourself.

The combination of several things: the start of a new baseball season, warmer weather, my increasing ability to do physical things, and wanting to find a wider variety of exercise; got me thinking. It sure would be great to start playing baseball or softball again. I decided that the best place to begin pursuing that activity was to start with playing catch. My problem is that I don't have anyone in my neighborhood whom I can ask to throw the ball around with me. That brought me back to the memory of the "Pitchback".

On a shopping trip to Wal-Mart I looked in the sporting goods department and found a 2010 version of my old backyard buddy. I took it home and put it together this past weekend. I set it up against one of my storage sheds and started warming up my arm.

The years melted away and in my mind and heart as I traveled back in time to the backyard of 30 Brainard Street when I was a preteen. I was reliving a part of my childhood. You can see me playing in the picture posted above.

On Sunday afternoon I practiced again. While I was "long tossing" with the "pitchback" I remembered that on Sunday afternoons our church softball team has their practices. I was excited when I realized I knew where there would be a group of guys who would let me play ball with them. I found out where they were practicing and went to the field.

For the next 2 hours or so I did something I hadn't done in about 15-20 years. I played softball. It was fun and enlightening at the same time. I realized just how limited I am when it comes to moving from side to side to field a ball and when it comes to running. But at least I was out there and trying. That's leaps and bounds above what I was doing last year at this time or ever thought I'd do again.

Although I didn't intend to do so when I started out I have now joined the church softball team. However knowing my limits I will only play when they need me as a 10th guy so they can play a game. Otherwise I'll probably just be the scorekeeper.

I can't do much about my lack of ability to run, but as the season goes along I'm going to look for exercises and stretches that will help me increase my flexibility so I can be a better fielder. I'm looking forward to playing the game I love and the Christian fellowship I miss out on because I can't be at church on Sunday mornings.

So there you have the story of my journey back to playing ball again. I'm excited about being a participant in the game of baseball again. As my wife can testify, I love watching the game; but there's nothing like actually being on the field and playing.

I praise the Lord that He has brought me along to this place where I can participate in things make me smile. But the most important thing is at the same time I'm getting to be with people and be in places that will foster opportunities to serve God through serving people.

Hot Rod's Opening Night

Last Sunday night Ben, my friend and baseball buddy, and I went to the Hot Rods' home opener. We had great seats just behind 1st base with a good view of the entire field. That's our mugs in the picture on the left.

Upon arriving at our seats we were pleasantly surprised to find that the first base coach for the visiting Dayton Dragons (an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) was Ken Griffy Sr.

He was the left fielder for the 75 & 76 World Series Champion Reds. He also played a couple of years for the Yankees in the middle 80's.

Once we saw him on the coaching lines at first we regretted not getting their earlier so we could ask for an autograph. Luckily I had got a 2nd chance to do that at a day game on Tuesday. Mr. Griffy was kind enough to sign my game ticket. The autograph is pictured above. Trust me that's his signature.

The game didn't start out too well for the home team. The Dragons got out to a 6-0 lead after 1 inning. The Hot Rods came back to tie the game in the middle innings. They fell behind again when when eventual winning run scored on a catcher's interference call with the bases loaded in the top of the 9th. The final score was 8-6.

Still the game we really enjoyed being there. Adding to the fun was the fact that the people who played the games in between innings walked by us on their way to and from the field. There were lots of "good job" and high fives exchanged as they went back to their seats. The team's mascots, Axel & Roscoe, also came up and down our aisle on the way to the field. Ben and I even put on camera and shown on the scoreboard.

The most important thing about the night was the renewal of a friendship. Ben couldn't believe it when I told him it had been 3 years since we'd been to a baseball game together. A lot has happened in each of our lives in those 3 years. But with just one night at the ballpark it became evident to me that our friendship will always withstand the test of time. That right there is priceless.