Boys of Summer Book - Entry #95

You can see the complete film "Boys of Summer" for free by clicking here. 

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

 August 1, 2004 - Dad
Milwaukee, WI

Bob and I are up and on our way to Milwaukee and Miller Field.   We have a very good tailgate party and an interview with a local TV station.  The game was very interesting between the Brewers and Pittsburgh.  The Brewers win on a suicide squeeze play.

After the game, most of our group returns to the parking lot to drink sodas and beer while the traffic clears. 

Park Number 21 (of 30), Jacobs Field

Milwaukee 8, Pittsburgh 7
WP: L. Vizcaino (4-2)   LP: B. Meadows (2-3)

August 2, 2004 (Late Night) - Bob
Milwaukee, WI

After feeling numb for much of the trip (with my nose literally to the grindstone), I am starting to breathe a little easier (save for the damned money worries...). I wish there was an easy way to quell them, but hard costs demand hard cash. We’re definitely within range of the end of the trip -- less than three weeks. At the same time, I think I have about one week’s worth of funds right now...

August 2, 2004 - Dad
Vedersburg, IN

Bob and I are up early and go for a long walk in downtown Milwaukee. We walk for at least an hour. 

After that, we’re on our way to Vedersburg, Indiana to visit Don Auter’s family. Don is a long time very dear friend from the state of Washington. We are staying with Don’s sister, Suzy and her husband, Tom. They are very warm and generous people.

I take advantage of the opportunity to take a nap and when I wake, it is dinner time and many of Don’s brothers, sisters and spouses have arrived.  We enjoy a very pleasant dinner and evening with them. Don is the only sibling that does  not live in the Vedersburg area. I feel like these people have opened themselves up to us and made us feel very welcome. At the end of the evening they give Bob an envelope with a cash donation they have collected.

Boys of Summer book Entry #77.1

July 20, 2004 - Bob

Camping NW of Indianapolis, IN

Right now my mood is a bit dark. I don’t know exactly why. The day is sunny and warm. 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.

Maybe we’ll get to a 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...

Dan:

We have been on the road for one month and have been to 14 parks. 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, then are off to Louisville. Louisville seems to have a few blocks of vibrant, new buildings and several miles of tired old ones. We go to Kinko’s for about 3 hours of work. Afterward we go 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. 

Boys of Summer book Entry #78

You can see the complete film "Boys of Summer" for free by clicking here. 

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.