The Little Red Garden Gnome
15 seasons ago a gang of six forty-somethings, with ties from back in high school and earlier, took in some spring training games in Arizona. It was a mix of planned activities and spur of the moment fun. We didn’t anticipate it would be the inaugural event in a string of annual weekends that has continued non-stop. This past weekend, we marked our 15th consecutive year with a drive across Indiana to the banks of the Ohio River and the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The weather was a challenge, but the fellowship was even stronger than on that first voyage to Scottsdale, AZ.
Some Random Thoughts From Trip Number 15:
- A casino that only has slot machines isn’t worth a visit. Table games are where it’s at.
- A baseball game watched on a beautiful night from the cheap seats is a lot more fun than a game watched in a downpour from the premium ones.
- The poorer the home team is playing, the easier it is to be one of the first 20,000 guests through the turnstile to grab the evening’s give away. As a corollary, probably 15,000 Cubs fans went home with a Cincinnati Reds Garden Gnome. (see example above.)
- What is the point of a local noise ordinance that cancels postgame fireworks shows when the ballpark is in a commercial/industrial area?
- It is possible for a sixsome to back up an entire miniature golf course on a dreary Saturday morning. Same for a KFC buffet line. (Only the first of those two was worth the price of admission.)
- You can usually find enough to fill your stomach at a hotel breakfast buffet, but neither the fruit nor the bagels will necessarily be fresh.
- Playing “Password” until 3 a.m. will make the next day as miserable as if you had spent that time in a bar or club, even without the hangover. Also, it takes a certain type of deranged mind to play “Password” until 3 a.m.
- Putting chili on spaghetti, the sine qua non of Cincinnati dining, makes as much sense as pouring a serving of hot fudge on a Lou Malnati’s Pizza. Who in their right mind would do such a thing?
- There is a comfort in hearing the same apocryphal story told for the 15th year in a row. It’s like reading “Goodnight Moon” to your grandchildren over and over again. You can always do it one more time.
- I predict that within another year or two ALL of the six of us will be UroPartners patients. Even the guy who lives in San Francisco.
So a “way to go” and an “attaboy” to my traveling companions. Let’s start planning #16 real soon.
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Filed under: life style
