Showing posts with label Reds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reds. Show all posts

Friday, October 28, 2011

Boys of Summer book Entry #78

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

July 20, 2004 - Dan
Indianapolis, IN

We have been on the road for one month and been to 14 parks.  Time wise we are at the halfway mark. It seems to have gone very quickly. We pack up and are on the road by 9 a.m.
 
We have a light breakfast of Clif bars and are off to Louisville, a city that seems to have a few blocks of vibrant, new buildings and several miles of tired old ones. We make it to Kinko’s for about 3 hours of work and then to the Louisville Slugger museum.

They do a big business in tours as well as making bats. After the tour, we try to find a place to eat lunch and end up at a Hardees  just outside of our next destination, Fort Knox. It has nothing to do with baseball. I was stationed there 37 years ago for my Armor Officer Basic Training. It was a 10-week course which together with my ROTC training, was supposed to make me ready to be a Platoon leader. I don’t think I have ever felt so unprepared for any task in my life. The main entrance was closed so we went through a side entrance. Nothing looked at all familiar, so after a little driving around we were on our way through Louisville and Indianapolis to a campsite for the evening and some dreams about the Field of Dreams.

July 20 - BOB
Camping NW of Indianapolis, IN

Well we did get to ride a roller coaster yesterday and man what a good time. Maureen Booth was about as nice a lady as I could imagine -- it will make for a fun part of the flick, no doubt.
This morning...my mood is a bit dark. I don’t know exactly why -- I just sort of am. The day is pretty. The campsite has a bit of an odor about it -- it’s interesting. I think we’re going to get to the Louisville Slugger Museum today and see Fort Knox military base. This is interesting to me, dad revisiting his history and seeing what he feels.

What about me? What am I feeling? Indifferent pops to mind and that’s a strand one to me because indifference is usually the last place on my path. I’m a passionate man. Perhaps this is just fatigue. It is good to have the Reds and that little P.R. mess behind us. It’s good as well to open my heart to what’s before us.

We’ll have a nice little event at Hubert’s (MN) -- that will be well. THEN -- my eyes are tired.

I’m a little bit sore, too, from my jogging the last couple of days. I need to jog and be sure to do my pushups as I know my staying in shape and keeping my blood flowing is part of what keeps me healthy. No time for sick out here.

Waffle House today? It may be our last shot at this iconic place (there are over 1400 of these breakfast diners in 25 states according to the web site -- I swear we’ve seen at least a couple hundred). And as this is our last scheduled stop in “the south” we may just have to...

And the mood shifts again: I just feel a bit loopy, truth be told. Life’s all good and happy -- I’m just loopy! I‘m pushing for a good Milwaukee, St. Louis, KC and Denver event -- BAM! Four in a row. That’d be great!

The MN event will have a few people and that’s what makes it fun. What about the ChiSox? Mmmm...I’m just making sure we have tix. Beyond that, it’ll be another ballpark to experience. I don’t think there’s much of a shot for a tailgate there. We need local support and I don’t know where it would come from. Stay open and see what is offered. I know one thing I’m really looking forward to: body boarding in California. Oh man -- to get out there, hit some waves -- yes, that will be fine. I’m dreaming of it, truth be told.

I’ll hit the waves in San Diego (early morning of August 8th). We’ll roll up to LA, have a BBQ, then...I’m so far ahead of myself sometimes...I’m just way up...

Breathe and be, Bobby C.

I bet I can find the old archived stories of when I was writing for the Daily Aztec (San Diego State’s college paper). The columns I originally wrote about the ballparks, volumes one and two. Those would be fun to look back at.

Fun, too, to be right here. Why am I struggling so much with right here? Busy, hectic mind. Busy-busy. Love and be, baby.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Boys of Summer book Entry #77


July 19, 2004 (4:00 AM) - Bob
Cincinnati, OH

A little trouble sleepin’. It’s the middle of the night and my mind is just racing. Sometimes when days or events go so well, I have a hard time letting go of them because I want them all to go that well. I need (in order to achieve my highest good) to stay present. Reflection on the past and consideration of the future have their place, to be sure, but my greatest need is to be accepting of and present in the now.
 
I’m going to go talk to the marketing folk in the morning and see if we can get on a couple of rides at King’s Island Amusement Park. It would be very, very fun and a good part of the trip. I could use the roller coaster analogy for the highs and lows of the trip. And...it would just be fun.

July 19, 2004 - Dad
Cincinnati, OH

We slept well and woke up to a sunny day and dry camp gear.  While getting our gear together, a man and his two sons stopped by to ask about our banner hung on the side of the Explorer. The boys, Brandon and Austin Cooper, 5 and 7 years old, are good baseball players. They have played on the same team despite their age difference. Bob and I interviewed them for the documentary. 

We were camped next to Paramount’s Kings Island Amusement Park.  We had watched the fireworks and could hear the screams from the roller coasters.  Bob came up with the idea that a ride on the roller coaster would be a good metaphor for our adventure – a lot of ups and downs. We pack up and drive the short distance to the park. After a few inquiries, Bob reaches Maureen Booth, p.r. rep for the park. When Maureen heard our proposal, she agreed to take us personally to "The Beast" their oldest roller coaster. I am not that excited about rides and definitely don’t like roller coasters, but nobody loves a coward – right? 

We go to the front of the long line and Bob and I get in the front of the first car. Well, I’m writing so you know I made it but I had my doubts. We thank Maureen and were off to Cincinnati and Kinko’s and more office work. 

Shortly after 4 p.m. we are back in the Explorer looking for somewhere to barbecue. We end up in a motel  parking lot in Covington, Kentucky. It is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati and walking distance to the ballpark. After dinner, we are off to the ball game. The Reds new home, Great American Ballpark is overlooking the Ohio River and Covington, Kentucky.  It is a beautiful night for baseball.

An uninspired crowd of 27,500 watched the Reds beat the Brewers.  I have to say after being among the fans in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, it is a bit of a let down in Cincinnati. After the game, we drive half way to Louisville and stop at the General Butler State Park. We set up camp in the dark and get to sleep about 1 a.m.
Park Number 14 (of 30), Great American Ball Park
 
Cincinnati 8, Milwaukee 4
WP: A. Harang (6-2)   LP: B. Hendrickson (0-2)

Hometown scoreboard: Toronto 5, Oakland 3