Monday, October 31, 2011

Boys of Summer book Entry #81

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 

INTERVIEW: GARY & MARY ANN MORTENSEN
Gary (who has Parkinson's Disease) and Mary Ann Mortensen are a couple we were strongly encouraged to go meet and spend some time with by our MN crew at Hubert's. I wasn't in much of a socializing mood (with tons of unsettled work to be done), but after enough pushing, I said let's do it. We traveled to their house, about an hour south of the direction we were heading, and found them to be most gracious hosts on a beautiful lakefront property. After taking a tour of their home, including Gary's fantastic mechanical artwork and workshop, we took a cruise on their pontoon boat...and talked.

MM:
So has Parkinson’s stopped you from doing anything?

DC:
Well, I don’t work anymore.

MM:
So you retired because of it?

DC:
Yeah.

(Gary retired from teaching math in high school because of his Parkinson’s Disease. He didn’t want to declare his illness, but retired because rumors that he was teaching drunk began to surface.)

MM:
What did you do?

DC:
I was a municipal bonds trader. Bought and sold municipal bonds. My wife was diagnosed with cancer the same week I was diagnosed with PD. So it was kind of a difficult time. That was when I decided I could afford to retire, so I did.

MM:
How is she doing?

DC:
She’s doing real well. She’s had a couple bouts -- dealing with some depression as well. But she’s handled it very well. That was the biggest concern in this trip we’re taking. She didn’t like the idea initially, but it grew on her.

RC:
I was living with mom and dad at that time (when they were both diagnosed) and they were actually kind enough to let me make a movie, partially, inside their house. Mom had a lump that she had known about for a while. And there had been concern. Not that that made it any better. But the Parkinson’s just came out of left field, to borrow a baseball analogy --

DC:
Cancer’s a lot more common.

RC:
Right. Not that it’s okay, but you can say, okay, at least I understand it. But you just don’t know what Parkinson’s is unless you know somebody with it.

MM:
What were your symptoms like when you went in?

DC:
Mostly loss of dexterity. I had gone to my doctor and told him I was having trouble typing at my computer. And it was mostly on my left side. I’m right handed -- fortunately. She was very quick to suspect it. The first thing she asked me was “Do you have any Parkinson’s in the family.” I said no, of course not. She said, well I’m going to send you to a neurologist. And I didn’t really think anymore about it because it really was a faraway thought. So I went to the neurologist and it took him all of ten minutes to diagnose me. He said “we won’t know for sure until we do an autopsy on you but we’re going to do some tests on your brain, but we’re pretty sure you’ve got it.”

But, uh, we’re doing real well, in spite of all that. I’m just very thankful that it seems to be progressing at a slow pace. One common theme I’ve noticed among Parkinsonians is that they’re very resolute about not thinking about the future. Trying very hard to stay in the present. I try to keep reminding myself of that. There’s nothing you can do about the future, other than plan a bit, I suppose.

GM:
You may not make it there. Why worry? I agree.

DC:
Enjoy now.  I see an awful lot of people doing exactly that. It’s very heartening. That’s been the best part about the trip.

MM:
It makes you kick in to do the things you maybe wanted to do or should have done.

DC:
How big is your support group?

MM:
It varies. 12-15 couples. But people vary -- we never get that many people who come all at once. We have two people who are single and I think, how do you do what you do by yourself?

GM:
No one person at our group has all the symptoms I have. But every symptom I have, somebody has that. And it’s just kind of fun to chat with people that know exactly what I’m going through.

DC:
Sure. Just today at lunch it was like, “Oh you did that?” and “How did you handle that?”

GM:
Have you had any of the freezing yet?

DC:
No.

GM:
Something you have to look forward to. There’s all kinds of ways to deal with it. Some people tell you to count. I have a cane that I kick.

DC:
That’s how you get out of your frozen state?

GM:
Yeah. There are like 50 ways you can do it. It’s just fun to hear them all.

MM:
Have you learned a lot about your dad on this trip?

RC:
It’s been more the subtle things. i kind of knew but I was a little surprised to find that most of Dad’s baseball fan ship came about from my being a fan. I guess I thought that dad had more of that (on his own). I remember that dad and I shared a lot of sports. I mean like football -- I used to be a junkie for sports. I went to school for journalism. I wanted to be one of the ESPN guys. Dad would sit and watch the games with me. So when I went away to college I just figured dad would do the same thing. But I talked to mom and she said dad doesn’t do that when you’re not here. I said, “oh”. But I don’t think there have been any other major discoveries on this trip. We’ve kept pretty close tabs on each other throughout the years. Dad?

DC:
We’ve stayed pretty close. We certainly haven’t slept in the same bed since you were a little guy. (laughs)

RC:
I feel sometimes strange about being in control of things here because I’ve been used to dad taking control of things in the past, especially on road trips. And this is definitely my show. Not in a bad way. So I’m running things and sometimes I find it a little disorienting because I just expect dad to make a decision on something and I suddenly realize, oh, I guess it’s on me.

The film dictates a lot of what we’re doing. If we were just going on the road to see baseball games and we didn’t have a two-month agenda, it’d be entirely different. But because the film is a huge part of what we’re doing, it dictates an awful lot of what we’re doing and where we need to be. And then you throw the two-month timetable on top of that...and what we need to cover and I need to direct my dad through some of the silly little things we do from time to time -- the movie needs it!

We went to a theme park the other day. We were camping right next to it in Cincinnati and thought the roller coasters with the peaks and dips were kind of symbolic of the trip so we decided to see if we could ride one. We went over the next day, I talked to security and asked to speak to their P.R. department. She was a wonderful lady, said yes right away and took us right over.

MM:
So you’re a good sport for doing all these things.

DC:
I try to be. It felt kind of good to do it. Not doing it, but having done it. I had never been on a roller coaster that big before and so I felt like I had accomplished something. But I kept watching people come off and nobody looked like they were bloody or...

GM:
They had smiles on their faces?

DC:
Almost all of them. One lady had a real bad look on her face, but. I figured it was a personal thing. Everyone else looked pretty good.

RC:
We had about the nicest marketing person you could imagine.

DC:
Maureen Booth.

RC:
Maureen Booth. She just couldn’t have been nicer or more accommodating. And totally on a whim. It wasn’t like we called ahead.

DC:
She said, “What can I do for you?” That was her opening line. And it’s certainly a good metaphor for the trip we’ve been on. We’ve run into some very special people. And you all are a part of that.

RC:
Absolutely. Different people have different reasons for connecting I suppose. We do ask, a lot of times, for people to contribute or donate. We’re constantly...I walk into a restaurant and say, would you mind donating a meal? And I can tell right away if they’re listening or if, the one that hurts my feelings and I try to detach from it, is when I get that look like they’re saying, “You’re trying to scam me” or “What are you trying to get away with?”. And I show them, here’s the tax-ID number from NPF, here’s the card with all the sites, here’s my dad. I don’t know what else to show you. You could go check the web site. I hate having to defend the project.

MM:
You wish they’d just say no.

RC:
Exactly. But you know when you meet the right people, because there have been an awful lot more good than bad experiences out there, I walk away with the feeling like, I’ve given them as much as they’ve given me. They are so happy to give. When people are properly aligned. I know, in my life, when people ask me for something and I can give I love to be in that position. It’s very fulfilling. And I think it’s a very core human thing to give. But often people don’t know how to give or what to give to, that’s going to do good. Or that isn’t going to be a scam. We experienced that with our very first event. We had 107 people there and there was this really powerful feeling of community. People certainly got their money’s worth.

DC:
They kept thanking us for inviting them.

MM:
Isn’t that nice?

RC:
And we raised a good amount of money. They got the game, the food and the community experience. And that’s the kind of thing you can’t put a value on, like you were talking about. It’s the same thing with any kind of community experience. You feel like you’re part of something special.

DC:
And they were.

RC:
Yeah, and we were, too and we were the facilitators of that so there was that much more to it.

DC:
Sometimes it’s about just allowing to happen, instead of making it happen.

RC:
I get down or hurt or angry on this trip from time to time. Today was a hard day for me. But then we get reminders like Jack was a great reminder today. He made a big deal about “What a neat thing you guys are doing” and I think he was kind of speaking about his son, like he would like to be doing something like this with his son. And we’ve gotten that from other people, other fathers and sons we’ve run into. And...I got an e-mail last night that just...really...It really shook me up a little bit. But it reminded me when I was feeling kind of down or really tired...it was about two in the morning and I was like, “God I’ve gotta get up at six and we’ve got to get to the game and a bunch of things aren’t settled.”

A friend of mine emailed me to say “Hey Bob, just wanted to tell you how happy I am for you that you’re doing this trip. My dad passed away about three weeks ago.” And it’s like it’s really important and meaningful that you’re doing this.” And those reminders that this important, not just for us, but for other people, too because they get life force and energy and inspiration from all the things we’ve done in the same way we get it. We are passing along inspiration...and that’s very meaningful.

I prayed for peace today. I meditate before I eat. I can never take those moments to breathe enough and this, being out here, is an answer to that. Especially being out here on the lake. Lakes have always been very special to me. So thank you guys for providing peace. I feel so much better than I did before I came here.

MM:
You’re welcome.

DC: (To Gary)
What did you do for a profession?

GM:
I taught math at a vocation school. About three years ago. We were married 15 years ago, and what? 14 years ago, six months, we got the diagnosis.

MM:
When you first find out, it isn’t that big of a deal. Well, it still isn’t because Gary makes it easy. But, at first it was like, Parkinson’s? What’s Parkinson’s? So you’re just getting a little slower? That’s fine. We can do slow.

RC:
Were you scared?

MM:
No. I don’t think we were. We cried, but it was more because he had something. We didn’t know what to be sad about. Because he still worked. We had the kids. Life went on, everything was fine. But it’s little things. The little increments that change it, that: “Oh that’s right -- you’ve got Parkinson’s.” Because you start to live with it and you don’t see it anymore. I remember the first time his head tilted and it was like, “Oh, Parkinson’s.” We laugh about it and we’re very fortunate to have friends who will laugh about it and talk about it. They’re not afraid of it. I think it’s probably harder for our kids. Because when they come home they see the next jump. The day-to-day, you don’t see it.

RC:
I noticed a little of that. A the beginning of the trip I had a hard time with my dad -- I was taken aback a little by the slowness and some of the lack of coordination occasionally. I found myself for almost a week or so keeping an arm out.

DC:
Because I looked unstable.

RC:
Yes. And I think as much as anything I was projecting my fear on to that because you know, the worst thing in the world is if something happens to dad. Mom’s going to kill me if I let you fall down. But, Dad’s always been a strong guy. He has a little bit of difficulty lifting or pulling things down but I don’t know how you get ready for Parkinson’s other than you see it and accept it -- it is what it is. We talked about that changing of the guard thing with me making more decisions. That was somewhere, again, where I saw myself and said, okay I’m taking over that because...that’s part of my role in terms of this trip.

GM:
We went to Nepal. And for some reason the Nepalese people just stared like crazy. They’d turn around and watch us go until we were completely out of sight. And if we’d go into a restaurant, there would be like 20 people outside to watch me walk out. And that was like five years ago. That was when I wasn’t nearly as bad as I am now. I felt like I was actually pretty normal. But they would just stare like crazy.

RC:
They don’t have Parkinson’s?

GM:
I don’t know. I never saw anyone with it. But they sure looked like they never saw it before.

Park Number 15 (of 30), Metrodome

Minnesota 7, Tampa Bay 5
WP: J. Romero (5-1)   LP: T. Harper (2-2)

Sea 4, Oak 2
 

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Boys of Summer Book - Entry #80


July 22, 2004 - DAD

New Lisbon, WI
We are up and on the road early on our way to Minneapolis and the Metrodome. We have some trouble finding parking but finally do about 5 or 6 blocks from the park. By the time we get inside it is the bottom of the second inning. We meet fellow Parkinsonians, Jack and Jacqueline. We find out after several requests that we will have the opportunity to meet Burt Blylevin, former pitcher and current announcer for the Twins, whose father has Parkinson.
  
Unfortunately our story of who we are and what we are doing, has not been completely relayed to Burt and we only spend a minute or two with him between innings (as he has to get back to calling the game).  
After the game, we go to Hubert’s for some food, drink and conversation with Jack and Jacqueline. After Hubert’s we are invited to Mary Ann and Gary Mortensen’s house. Gary is a fellow Parkinsonian who despite physical difficulties, remains a remarkable craftsman. He takes us on a tour of his house that is filled with his creations.
His theme is to take discarded items of all sorts and make them into interesting and useful new items, furniture and accessories.  Gary and Mary Ann live on a lake and we take a cruise around it on their pontoon boat just before sunset.  
Afterward, we say good bye and drive until midnight in the direction of Chicago.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Boys of Summer book Entry #79

The Boys of Summer roll along, but we need your help to complete this year's journey. Please see our site for the latest on how to contribute. Thank you!

July 21, 2004 - DAD
Madison, WI

I woke up at 7 a.m. to a beautiful sunrise. Our goal for the day is to find the "Field of Dreams" , the farmhouse location for the movie of the same name. 

We arrive about 3 p.m. We spend the next few hours playing ball, talking, taking pictures and film of the experience.  The Field of Dreams is a remarkable experience – one I will not forget soon.

After a wonderful day we head north. It must be close to midnight when we arrive. Bob goes to Kinko’s and I go to bed.


THE FIELD OF DREAMS 
We have arrived...
RC:
I’m completely overwhelmed. This, as I’ve said, many times is the inspiration for the trip. This is the Field of Dreams. This trip is all about dreams because, pragmatically speaking, this project shouldn’t be getting made but because of a great organization like NPF, because of the love and generosity of people we’ve met along the way and the great kindness and angels we’ve met along the way, here we are--

DC:
Not to mention your energy and force of will.

RC:
You’ve got to have a little bit of, what is it, inspiration and perspiration, right?

DC:
That’s right.

RC:
That’s what makes the dreams come true. And I’m overwhelmed. This is just beautiful. I’m thankful.

DC:
It’s built like a real ball field. The dimensions look correct. It doesn’t look like a movie set.

RC:
They built it right.

DC:
I can see them coming right out of that cornfield. Right there.

RC:
Yeah. It’s perfect.

DC:
If it’s a set, it’s as real as it could be.

RC:
Yeah. And Becky and Don Lansing, the owners, thank you very much. Two more angels. They get all sorts of opportunities to -- all the time people want to shoot out here. And they said to us, “No problem.”

DC:
“Just keep us posted. We’d like a copy.”

RC:
That’s the payment. That’s pretty fair payment for using this place.

Dan speaks to Field of Dreams owner, Don Lansing

DC:
So did they tell you how they decided to use your place?

DL:
Dubuque, Iowa found it for them. They were contacted by the Iowa Film company which told them what kind of setting they wanted. So they scouted around and they had a couple hundred they looked at. They were looking all the way from Tennessee to Canada.

DC:
Wow. That’s like hitting the lottery, isn’t it?

DL:
Well, you know, I’m very honored to have it. It’s an honor to have my farm chosen. To have them come out here and make a good movie. “Field of Dreams” is a classic. People think so much of the movie. It’s so great to be part of a good movie. It’s about baseball. (But) just because it’s about baseball, don’t mean it has to be a good movie. But it had a good story behind it. It was based on the book, “Shoeless Joe”. It’s just an honor to have (the Field) and people just thank me for keep on keepin’ it. They encourage me to keep on keepin’ it. I didn’t know people would come out here after the movie was over. I was going to keep it for three or four years so when family or friends would come over, we could have a game of baseball. But then tours started coming. The first year we had about 7,000. The next year it went to 15,000 and it’s grown all the way to 60,000 last year.

DC:
So did you used to farm?

DL:
Yes, I was born and raised here. I took over for my dad in 1980. My dad raised four kids on this farm. But now a day it seems you’ve got to deal with it being bigger. I’ve got 100 acres here.

DC:
So you still do farm?

DL:
Yeah. I rent the farm out and maintain the ball field. It’s getting to be about a full-time job.

DC:
I bet it is. A beautiful job you’re doing, too. It looks like the ballparks we’ve been visiting.

DL:
It’s a little different than growing corn, but you learn real fast how to manicure baselines, cut the grass. You meet people from all over the world: Japan, Australia...it’s just a good family sport and family-oriented movie. I come out and people really, really respect the place.

DC:
Your wife seems to enjoy it.

DL:
Yes she does. She talks to a lot of groups and helps me cut the grass. It’s more or less family run.

DC:
She seems to get a real kick out of it. Pretty well organized it seems like.

DL:
She is. I don’t talk to one-tenth of the people that come here. If I did I would never get anything done. But it’s great. Every once in a while I come out here and talk to people like you and everybody has there own little dreams. a lot of people come out here because they seen the movie and sort of relate back to it. Got their own little dreams and they come out here to make their dreams come true.

DC:
I was surprised. The first thing that struck me was that it didn’t look like a movie set. It looks like just a beautiful, beautiful park. There’s nothing phony about it.

DL:
We don’t want to commercialize it. The first year after the movie was made, my phone rang off the wall for big teams that wanted to come out here -- talking teams from Chicago and New York -- and I said no to the first ones and I’m glad I did because that would have opened up a whole new chapter.  I could have a game out here every day if I wanted to. But that would take away from the tours that want to come out here and have their own little family picnics and pickup games.

DC:
Do you regret that? Have second thoughts about that at all?

DL:
No I didn’t. When they told me they were going to build me a ball field, I liked baseball and I thought, heck this is a great opportunity. There’s no regrets that I have it and as the years go on I really appreciate that we’re keeping it because it makes so many people happy.

DC:
That’s more important to you -- I’m sure it would have been more financially rewarding to go the other way.

DL:
It probably would have. But I’m not in it for the money. I’m in it for the fun and bigger is not always better.

DC:
This is definitely better.

DL:
I had one story one time where this father had two sons that didn’t get along. He invited them out here. They didn’t know that the other was going to be here. And before they left they were playing catch. But before that, they wouldn’t speak a word to each other.

...People ask me how long I’m going to keep it. And I say, as long as people keep coming, it will be here.

RC:
I hope we’re a part of keeping it going. It was the movie and this field that fueled our making this trip happen. This place was always at the heart of it. And rightfully so; it has surpassed my expectations.

DC: Mine too.

DL:
This has all happened through word of mouth. I had a guy come out here with his pregnant wife about 13 years ago. His dream was to have a son. 13 years later he comes back and he’s out here playing catch with his son. So it is magic.

DC:
Another dream come true.

DL:
I’m so thankful and so blessed.

RC:
To be the facilitator of dreams, as you are, you’re one of our angels, as we like to say. On this trip we’ve been loaded with them. Thank you.

DL:
You’re welcome. I had a guy come from California one time. He was playing in the minor leagues, he was a catcher and he got injured. He got up one morning and he told his wife, I’ve got to go to Iowa to see the Field of Dreams. He drove all the way out here and he spent about two hours out here and he told me, “My dream is fulfilled, I’ve got to go back home.” He wanted to get in the Major Leagues, but that didn’t happen because he got his leg torn up. I mean, you wonder sometimes if it’s made up  or not. But I heard it here  just like I’m hearing you guys, so...

DC:
Probably not made up.

DL:
His wife was shocked, but she said you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do, just like in the movie.

RC: Wise woman.

DC: Yeah.

DL: Okay guys. Come back again.

DC/RC: We will.

The Boys of Summer roll along, but we need your help to complete this year's journey. Please see our site for the latest on how to contribute. Thank you!

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


 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Boys of Summer book Entry #76

July 18, 2004 - Dad
Wheeling, WV

I wake up at 7:30 excited to watch television coverage of the final round of the British Open in our hotel. Our schedule allows time to watch most of it.

We are on the road by noon and stop at the Wheeling Casino where they have Greyhound racing. We stay for one race. I bet $5 on number 4 to win and he does. We leave right away so I don’t have a chance to lose the $22 I won.

The next stop is the Cracker Barrel for lunch where the manager donates two meals. The food is not fancy but very tasty and the service is friendly.

Bob:

We’re really at the halfway point calendar-wise today – one month in and about one month to go. We’ve seen 13 parks and  a lot of country.

We’re going to a Reds game tomorrow night. There is a Parkinson group that has promised us a host house to stay in, but I haven’t gotten the details on that. If it doesn’t work out the weather looks good for camping tonight.

Dad:

We drive to King’s Island a theme park with a campground just outside of Cincinnati. The weather is warm and it is a good opportunity to dry out our rain soaked gear.  Tonight  we barbecue, enjoy a campfire and play a game of cribbage. Bob wins again!

Bob:

Checking the big picture to see how many of the states we’re scheduled to touch:

CA, OR, WA, NV, AZ, CO, NM, TX, KS, AR, LA, TN, AL, GA, FL, SC, NC, VA, WV, DE, MD, NY, PA, CT,RI, MS, NY, OH, MI, IN, IL, IA, WI, MN, MO, UT, KY, NE

That’s 38 out of 50 – not bad work for two months. Maybe we should be running for office.

The Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa is just two days away. Just seeing that on the page shifts my perspective. I’m understanding the peaks and valleys of this trip more clearly and with a healthier detatchment right now. I repeat to myself: “Believe”.

Later...

I spoke to Cincinnati Reds Public Relations Chief, Rob Butcher on the phone about our visit. I hoped that he might be able to arrange press passes or aces to interesting parts of the park to show it in its best light, just as we’ve done with all the other parks. He adamantly said he’d never heard of our group or request. I asked if I could fax him over our info (for what would be the third time) and he said “fine” (gruffly). After receiving our media request he called back to say he’d received it at least three times already and sent me e-mails saying they do not honor such requests. He added that he didn’t know if I was checking my e-mails or not, but that’s where he’d sent the info.

I do check my e-mails regularly. I received emails, phones or faxes from every other team. Rob Butcher never sent me an email. Lorrie Platt (with the Reds Community Relations Department, who very kindly got us tickets for the game) did send me emails which got to me just fine.

What’s not adding up here, Rob? I don’t understand how he could go from not knowing who we are to telling me I’m not paying attention to the emails he allegedly sent denying the request he’d seen at least three times in the span of five minutes?

I understand they get a large number of requests and do their best with what they have. I also understand timing – maybe I hit Rob on a bad day? I don’t have any problem with being told no. I do have a problem with being treated rudely, especially with no provocation!

I wrote two passages of an adaptation of the Tao Te Ching this morning and they flowed quite nicely. It is refreshing to be in an open-hearted position and to write in a quiet, clean and composed manner. It’s especially important to remember the centering words in that book when I get as fired up like I have been since my conflict with Rob Butcher. 

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Boys of Summer book Entry #75

100% proceeds go to the Michael J Fox Foundation. 


Interviewing Karl Bailey
Karl Bailey is a great friend and tremendous piano player who helped support us by getting the crowd to donate at the sing-along bar he plays at, "Sing Sing". Between sets, I pulled him outside and asked him to share a favorite baseball story.


KB:
I haven’t been to a MLB park in 20-25 years, and I got a gig at Anaheim Stadium. And I forgot, they’re such religious places. I got there and it wasn’t a baseball night. It was just a (private) party. So I got there early and it was me and the grounds people. So I walk in and came out the tunnel where the seats are and every hair on my arm stood up on end. It was like a holy place. And I remembered an interview with Paul Simon where he was talking about a song he wrote where the words were “Crosses in the ball field, crosses in the ball field” and he was talking about how he used to go to New York and he used to see their church revivals and the whole thing just hit me. It just -- I’m getting it again right now an eerie feeling -- then the groundskeeper said, “Do you want to go stand on home plate?” And I said, you’re kidding me. And he said, “Nobody’s here, man. We can do whatever we want.” I said, yes please. So he took me down and I walked out onto the Major League field and walked up and put my foot on home plate and just looked out at the field. That’s my baseball story -- and it’s really not even baseball, it’s music.

July 17, 2004 - Dad
Wheeling, W. VA


I wake up to a steady rainfall. Bob has gone to take Annamaria to catch her train. He stops at his office away from home, Kinko’s, then arrives back at the camp in the early afternoon. We decide to pack up and figure out later where we will sleep. Karl and his fiancée, Darah, have invited us to lunch at the Rock Bottom Brewery. The food is delicious and the conversation is lively and interesting. 


After lunch we make our way to PNC Ballpark. It is a beautiful facility, my favorite of the new/old ballparks and a solid second to Fenway overall. Our seats are excellent, behind 3rd base in the first level under the second level. It turns out to be a beautiful night interrupted by some light showers that the players don’t seem to notice. 


The game is an exciting one that the Pirates end up winning, their 9th home win in a row. After the game we take our time to film some of the many visual opportunities around the ballpark.  Since we are packed, we decide to drive a ways to find a motel. We end up in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Boys of Summer Book - Entry #74


Park Number 13 (of 30), PNC Park
Pittsburgh 4, Florida 2
WP: S. Torres (5-3)   LP: A. Benitez (2-1)
ChiSox 5, Oak 2


Interview Pirate Fans David Mullin (Dad) & David Paul (Son)

This is one of the longer interviews on our blog (maybe the longest), but well worth the read. David & David are funny, charming and very kind. We just sat next to them then the conversation started up very quickly.

RC:
How long have you been a Pirates fan?
DM:
Since 1972.
RC:
‘72 -- do you remember--
DM:
That’s when we moved here.
RC: 
Where did you move here from?
DM:
Milwaukee.
RC:
Were you a Brewers fan before that?
DM:
I was kind of a Braves fan and a Brewers fan.
RC:
How long did it take you to transition to the Pirates?
DM:
Right away. Because we were good. We had great teams in the ‘70’s. 
RC:
What was your first memory of coming to the ballpark?
DM:
We all skipped school and came down for opening day. We took a bus down and everybody skipped school and we came down to Three-Rivers Stadium. It was great. I don’t remember who we played but it was fun skipping school.
RC:
What grade was that for you?
DM:
Seventh grade.
RC:
Did your folks find out?
DM:
They knew we were coming.
RC:
So your folks were behind the skipping school?
DM:
Of course. It’s a sports town, you know?
RC:
What was the first game you went to with your father?
DM:
It was actually a Brewers game. You know my dad took us to a lot of sporting events.
RC:
Do you remember, as a little guy, that it was important to you? Did you know that time together was valuable?
DM:
Oh yeah. It was great. I had six brothers and sisters. But (Dad) took a lot of us to the games. Usually it was the boys. It was a lot of fun.
RC:
Was there any time you felt baseball was a way, maybe, you could communicate with your dad and maybe it was an inroad when you had a tough time talking otherwise?
DM:
I didn’t communicate very well with him, even at a ball game. But, you know, I think he was right about a lot of things. That’s how (my son and I) are now, we disagree on everything. He’s 14, we can’t agree on anything.
RC:
David would you say you disagree with your father?
DP:
Yeah.
RC:
Well now you just agreed on that.
DP:
Oh no, then I don’t. 
RC: (To David Paul)
When was the first game you went to with your dad -- do you remember?
DP:
No.
RC:
Was it here? At PNC?
DM:
Three Rivers. 
DP:
Three Rivers.
RC:
Do you remember liking it?
DP:
Yeah. 
RC:
Who’s your favorite player on the Pirates?
DP:
Right now? Jason Bay.
RC:
Why?
DP:
Because he’s the best player on the team.
DM: 
Well he’s hot right now, you know, Rookie of the Month.
RC:
So you went to Cooperstown with your dad, right? To the Hall of Fame? What did you think of that?
DP:
It was awesome. They had all the baseball players on the wall and stuff.
RC:
What did you say your favorite movie was?
DP:
The Natural.
RC:
Now, is that one of your favorites?
DM:
Yeah. Of course. Roy Hobbs.
RC:
You also mentioned Field of Dreams.
DM:
Field of Dreams is great.
RC:
Bull Durham?
DP:
I don’t know that one.
DM:
I don’t think he’s seen that. Great move. Little racy for him. 
RC:
Yeah, I was gonna say...
DM:
Not quite ready for it. 
RC:
There was--
DP:
“Angels in the Outfield”.
DM:
Great movie.
RC:
How about “The Rookie”? Have you seen that one?
DP:
Yeah, I have that one.
DM:
The Rookie’s really good. True story.
RC:
Yeah, I thought Dennis Quaid was great in that film. So what other parks have you guys been to together?
DP:
Fenway, Yankee--
DM:
Tell him what you said. We drove all day to get to Yankee Stadium through the rain. We get there, David and his two cousins.  We get to the game, get to our seats -- what did you say?
DP:
These seats suck.
DM:
I almost drove him right back home. He says, “These seats suck”. And I almost threw him back in the car to go home. We saw an amazing game. Clemens pitched. He had like a --
DP:
Clemens choked.
DM:
No, Clemens pitched really well against the Angels. He had like a five run lead.
DP:
They blew it.
DM: 
They pulled him. We left because we were driving up to Boston. And, uh, the Yankees ended up losing the game. Erstad made a diving catch in like the 11th inning, then came back and hit a home run in the next...you know how you make a great play and then...so we missed that. We left the game too early. We’ll try not to leave too early tonight.
DP:
Jason Bay caught, that’s why I like him.
RC:
Now how did you feel about leaving that game early?
DP:
I didn’t want to stay.
RC:
‘Cause the seats sucked?
DP:
Yeah. They -- we were all the way up in F.
DM:
We were actually in the last row you could be in. Our backs were against the concrete. I don’t think there’s a bad seat in Yankee Stadium, though. 
RC:
Where’s the best food - the best ballpark food?
DP:
Probably...
DM:
What about Cleveland? Did you like Cleveland?
DP:
Yeah.
DM:
Cleveland’s a good stadium. The Jake. 
RC:
What makes the Jake special?
DM:
It’s intimate, like this, you know? Cleveland’s a small town like Pittsburgh. You know, they had a lot of success with that stadium and...it gave us hope for this thing. I don’t know if we’re going to achieve it. It’s pretty hard to compete without pitching and it’s hard to get pitching with a payroll like we have. But we’ve won 13 of 17 games and it feels good here, right?
DP:
I like this ballpark because it’s the home field. We don’t have to travel. I like the Pepsi can (a giant neon Pepsi Can adorns right field) and the infield is nice. I hate that the umps suck.
DM:
What does that have to do with--
DP:
(Looking at the outfield big screen)
I like the wall screen.
DM:
Yeah, that’s good, actually. 
RC:
Now, David, do you suppose you could drive one out of here if you teed it up on home plate?
DP:
Yeah. With my driver. I could put it in the river, probably.
DM: 
Yeah, he could put it in the river, probably.
RC:
(to DM)
Did you play baseball when you were a kid?
DP:
No.
DM:
Yeah. 
DP:
No you didn’t. You played hockey.
DM:
I played baseball, also. I played second base.
RC:
Were you any good?
DP:
No.
DM:
I thought I was, but I really wasn’t. David’s a pretty good player. 
DP:
I batted .300.
DM:
His cousin’s a good player.
DP:
My cousin batted .471 and made the all-star team.
RC:
What position do you play, David?
DP:
Hot corner. 
DM:
He plays third, he plays some outfield, too. 
RC:
Now would you ever say there’s a life-lesson involved with baseball?
DM:
Yeah, it’s a--
DP stands as the crowd roars, following a hot shot down the third base line.
DP: Get down!
It falls foul. The crowd groans,. DP sits.
DM: I think sports are great for kids. You should never give up. Always play hard. I always tell David to play hard. When the game’s over go over and shake the guy’s hand. But don’t even play if you’re not going to compete. I don’t think we teach the kids to compete anymore.
DP: No.
DM: We live in a little town and they say, don’t worry what the score is. I say that’s crazy. You should teach the kids to try to win. When the game’s over, it doesn’t matter, but you should teach the kids to try to win. 
RC: So you think there’s a swing to maybe being too careful?
DP:As long as you...
DM: I think we want to...everybody’s too worried about being politically correct, or whatever. But that’s why things are more mediocre. 
DP: Just like my dad said, try to give it all you got. Well, he didn’t say that, but...
DM: That’s what I meant, though. See, we’re communicating. 
RC: Why come to the games together? What’s important about this for fathers and sons?
DM: It’s a commonality. We both love baseball. I have come home every weekend for about the past four years. And I go to his baseball games and we play golf together. We haven’t come (to the Major League games) much this year because he started playing golf. I can’t get him off the course, actually. 
DP: I even played today in the rain. (David stands with the moan of the crowd and yells at the ump): YOU GOTTA BE KIDDIN’ ME!
His father laughs. DP sits, stands again briefly then sits again, looking for a fan to share his frustration with. 
DP: That was way in-freaking-side.
RC: I don’t think you have to worry about his competitive nature.
DM: I think baseball’s the one thing...it’s sort of anchored with its roots. The uniforms are the same, the stadiums are the same --
DP: No it’s not.
DM: --the bats are still wooden. You look at all the other sports and they’ve all seemed to change a lot. I don’t know if it’s steroids or money, but this sport is still about, you’ve got to hit a ball that’s going 100 miles per hour. The thing I like about baseball is the more you know about it the more you appreciate it. There’s all this downtime that leaves a lot to the creative imagination. That’s why I think really creative people, all these artists and writers always liked baseball. And you know, you’re sitting here watching the Pirates, we’re this little team, but you know, everyone is hoping that we’re going to go to the World Series somehow by some miracle --
DP: (to the game): Hey! You stink!
DM: --and we’re gonna compete with George Steinbrenner and the Yankees. Maybe that makes us all kids or something. It’s what I’m hoping is going to happen, we’ve won 13 of our last 17, we’re on a roll here. 
DP: I think we’re gonna win the last 20 of our games. We’re not gonna lose at all.
DM: Well, we have about 70 left.
DP: No, maybe like 98 or 99.
RC: So hope...that’s a good thing.
DM: Yeah. What do you think?
RC:  I think hope’s a real important thing.
I went on to explain more about the reasons for our trip to Big David. As I did, I could tell he was genuinely interested. He was nodding appropriately and perhaps even getting a bit choked up. 
DM: (Your Story is) beautiful. I think it restores your faith in people in America. Maybe that’s where baseball is at. It’s still pretty innocent. Whatever is happening on the field for nine innings, it’s still pretty good. All the periphery that surrounds it, the money and the trades, I don’t know about that, but, right now, we’re just watching the game and nothing else matters. 
Just at that moment, the fans, in unison, begin to wave the towels they’ve been given for the evening. Jumping sports to the Steelers, it is very reminiscent of the “Terrible Towels”. They have a terrible team and, yet, somehow they believe. It's awesome to be a part of.