Day 101 ~ I Got This

Day 101 ~ I Got This

Apr 11, 2014       

My first: I accepted an invitation from my mom to attend a Cardinal game with her, my brother and my sister.

My younger brother Dale gave my mom 4 box seat tickets to a Cardinal game for her 86th birthday, so Mom invited my brother Bruce, my sister Karen, and me (the three locals) to accompany her. The evening was perfect and I was open to any and all spontaneous possibilities.

While Karen visited with a vendor/friend outside the stadium, I eyed this young man dressed like one of the Blues Brothers (except his tie was Cardinal red). He was standing there in line minding his own business when I went up to him and asked what was up with the Blues Brothers outfit. He enthusiastically explained that he likes to dress differently than everyone else. He tries to get his friends in on it too, but they don’t always “go the distance” like he does.  I shared my experience I had with the Blues Brothers impersonators in Branson last November...they were really great and uplifting. It's amazing how those brief moments spent with this guy gave me joy…I sure hope they did the same for him.

Of course, I had many conversations with my family and lots of strangers that night. Josh, the man sitting next to us was constantly cracking up at the pokes Karen and I were exchanging with him and with each other. We also asked a young gal to take our picture and had a great time “interrogating” her. She had fun with it too!

Eventually, it was time for me to take a break. I left my “fam” and took a walk around the entire stadium on the level we were on. I spoke with several people along the way like it was not our first time, nor our last…but it was. Funny how I have crossed paths with strangers all my life and have never FELT the ripple like I do now.

At the end of my travels, I found a souvenir store and stepped inside. I got this idea…imagine that! I searched the shop for the most “economical” baseball to purchase.  As I left and walked back to my place in the stadium, I planned my prank. As I got closer to my family, I rushed up to them holding the ball in my cupped little hands (covering the embossed cardinal symbol). Sounding as excited as I could, I said “Look, I got this ball hit to me while I was out walking!” And for that wonderful millisecond, they believed me. The fans sitting close by probably thought I was a bit off my rocker. I confessed to everyone in hearing distance that I had bought it! It’s one of those “you had to be there” moments.  

The game went into extra innings that evening which allowed us to move to seats vacated by disgruntled fans, four rows away from the dugout. Our relatives that were watching the game at home told us we were even on TV. To our dismay, the Cardinals lost 6-3. But that’s okay because we had our game ball.

When we got to my brother’s house, our original meeting point, we went inside for a moment. I asked Mom, Bruce and Karen to sign the alleged foul ball. I was last to sign and then date it. We all stood together and took a “selfie” photo with our ball…a moment and a memory.