Take Me Out to the Ballgame!
March began with us thawing out from our winter
journey to Burnsville, MN to visit Phil and Zuly, not to mention their two cats
(Mickey and Tyler) and their new puppy (Aria). The week after we left MN,
spring began to blossom in Burnsville and Phil and Zuly were at the zoo and
golfing! How ironic … tubing and ice fishing one week, golfing the
next! But, we wouldn’t have traded that week in for a golf ball; it was just
that perfect!
Returning to Ocala, to SummerGlen, brought a
familiarity of “home” that I was looking for, as I had been “referencing" that “home”
was “Port St. Lucie”. It was nice to be “home” again with our new friends in
our new community.
As I start to write this blog on March 17, it is
St. Patrick’s Day, so Happy St. Patty’s Day to all who are Irish, or those who
just wannabe and are out there drinking that green beer! Cheers! Do they have a
green wine I wonder? Hmmmm …
It has been a baseball game filled month for Thom
thus far, and there are more games scheduled; he is in high demand. There are
the good sides and the bad sides of the baseball world in this area. This is no
longer the TCOA and we are no longer in PSL! In short, and in MY opinion, the
umpires here are behind in skills and enthusiasm, and enforcing the rules. They
are quiet in their calls, slow on their feet, and not willing to make the
calls; rather, they question the rule and try to “shrug it off”, even to the
point to proving a seasoned official wrong and making sure they aren’t getting
on the wrong side of the coaches. Again, this is MY opinion, but I’m sure it is
shared with a certain someone who I admire, love, and who always keeps on going
like that energizer bunny from the battery commercial!
Another difference here, in the baseball world, are
the fans. I traveled to Crystal River with Thom on a beautiful Friday night
(the 13th, however) to be his quiet support in the stands, to watch
him call balls and strikes, like I’ve done for over 35 years! When I arrived,
the music was blaring a religious-country style tune and I thought to myself, “this
is different but nice to hear”, thinking the music might reflect the mood of
the folks here. WAS I WRONG! After 3 innings of the non-stop chatter from the
folks sitting right up against the fence, directed towards Thom, I had to go to
the Jeep and watch from left field. The so-called “fans” of the home team
(Crystal River High School) were so mean-spirited, hateful, loud, louder, and threatening. and lacked sportsmanship,
I couldn’t stand it. This has NEVER, EVER happened all the days of my baseball
wife life! Usually the mood changes between innings, but not this mood. I know
Thom tunes it all out, but I couldn’t imagine him “not” hearing the constant
barrage of negativity, but he didn’t. Leaving that game, I did something I had
never done before either, and that was to tell the administration of that
school that I had never experienced such disrespect towards the officials in
all my years and the school not getting involved to stop it, and the home coach
at one point enticing the crowd (yeah, I saw it coach)! And, yes, I told the
administrator she should be embarrassed by her parents/fans in the stands, to
which she said, “well, there are some like that in the other stands, too”.
WHAT? I know Danny Ninestine would never have let this happen, or RJ Costello,
or any other school AD in the Treasure Coast area.
During my “escape” to the Jeep, I started thinking
I may have gotten Thom in trouble with his new association. I have never done
this before and I don’t want to ruffle any feathers for him, so I called our
dear friend Jim Thompson, to report my actions and to get support or a talking
to, I wasn’t sure at that point, and it was great to have Jim give me the
backing that I needed in that I had not done something wrong. Whew! Friday,
March 13th, what a night and Thom should never have taken me out to
the ball game!
Then last night, March 16th, Thom was
asked to evaluate a 3-man crew at Belleview High School. This was a request
from the association’s baseball “director” (not the commissioner). Since we
were just an hour away (Clermont), we decided to make the trip to Belleview so Thom could
do the evaluation. Belleview High School was the complete opposite of Crystal
River. The fans in the stands, the parents at the fence, were so quiet and
there was no cheering on the home team (or the visitors from Gainesville East
High School). We heard one “ah ump” and done so with a smile! Two different
worlds Belleview and Crystal River!
This week, March 15-22, we are on the road in the
RV. We had our small bedroom window replaced in Hudson. We left Hudson
yesterday and headed for Clermont, where we were going to stay at a Thousand
Trails RV Resort; however, when we arrived, we were told the last 50 AMP site was “chosen”
and that we needed to go throughout the park and “find our spot”! WHAT? Yes,
that is how Thousand Trails does it. You join their club (or not, like us), pay
them money, make a reservation for a certain type of spot, and when you get there
you have to find your spot. You do this by unhooking your car, driving through
the park and claiming it, and then getting your RV on the lot! This is crazy. So,
we cancelled and made a reservation a mile down the road with full hook-up,
pull-thru, and 50 AMP just like we wanted (Citrus Valley RV Resort). We are
here to just relax and go to BJ’s, to prepare for the water/power only 5 days
ahead of us at the Florida State Winnie Gators Rally in Orlando, starting
tomorrow, March 18th.
This is part one of the March blog. I will finish
the month with a part two, after this nice break today and upon our return to
SummerGlen after the rally and what the rest of the month has in store for us,
i.e. horse show, dinner out with the neighbors, Mardi Gras dinner for the Bocce
Club, and who knows what else! Life is good.
Friday the 13th - Dunellon High School v. Crystal River High School
Thom and his partner, who wanted to wait on the field to see if a fight would break out after the game, (past history of doing so), all the while Thom wanted to leave, and then his partner wanted to get "free food" from the concession stand! Seriously! And, while this was going on, I'm in the Jeep waiting for Thom, hoping the crowd didn't go at him, even though the home team won, and waited over 5 minutes before I saw he and his partner walking towards me. I was just about to get behind the wheel and see if I needed to rescue Thom and be like Bonnie and Clyde and speed out of there! Aye-aye-aye! Yes, it was that crazy of a night! And Thom, ever the professional, would not leave without his partner!
I took a photo of this man who would not stop glaring at Thom the entire 3 innings and who kept on and on and on, to the point of yelling he (Thom) needed to be taught how to call balls and strikes and maybe he should do the teaching! Good Lord people, it's high school baseball and your kids are not going to be the next Michael Brantley! Watch the game, not the officials!
Very nice accommodations at the glass repair center in Hudson, FL.
The right-hand small window before repair.
Jake watching the glass tech removing the window. He is curious about everything!
We needed coffee and ended up with breakfast as well. This was an unusual place but really good.
Our breakfasts! The biscuits were huge and shared!
Belleview High School, March 16th. It was nice to be outside with Thom sitting next to me, watching a baseball game and not being in a hostile environment!
Small bedroom window fixed; however, it looks like the other small bedroom window may be next!
Citrus Valley RV Resort, Clermont, FL - A 2-day break before the rally chaos!
Fritzy enjoying the front window views!
Ironically, the community this RV resort is located in, we looked at to buy a few years ago. Each of the X-number of homes in Citrus Highlands has an RV port; however, each home is two storied and we didn't want 2 stories, and the location to get out of FL was not as we would have wanted (27 vs. I-75); therefore, we ended up in Ocala!
Until next blog ...
No comments:
Post a Comment