Mariners Win!

 

Another guest post, this one from Grandpa Mark.  He sent me this story in an email to share with the kids last year, and it seemed like a perfect blog post.  Grandpa Mark is a great storyteller!  The day after I graduated from high school he and I loaded up my little Hyundai Scoupe and headed west for college.  As we drove from Virginia to Idaho, he shared with me a planner page-long list of stories over the course of our three days together.  We stopped so he could nap under shady trees and we stopped so I could collect my first speeding ticket, but what I remember most about that trip was the endless treasure trove of stories he shared.

And yes, my sister Heather bleached my hair just hours before my high school graduation... but that's another blog post altogether.  

We lived in Washington for 5 years, 3 years at Fort Lewis, an Army post where Dad worked, then 2 years in Edmonds, which is near Seattle.  Dad was going to school at the University of Washington, and we liked to visit interesting sites as a family. Seattle has cool places, like the Space Needle, and Pike Street Market, where you can buy big salmon fish that the fish mongers (sellers) throw around the store.  Better duck!

Seattle also has a baseball team called the Mariners. A mariner is a boat driver, someone who can take their boat out onto the ocean and sail it, sometimes long distances. They use the moon and the stars to navigate, making sure they don't get lost on their long journey.  We would go to Mariners baseball games and sit way up high in the Kingdome to watch the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, or Kansas City Royals. Mom would pack a dinner, and treats, like S'mores! Yum!

One time we went early to watch the Boston Red Sox team warm up. The players would stretch, throw the balls to get their arms ready, and hit practice balls. This is called batting practice.  The best Boston player was Wade Boggs, and when he started batting the balls, he would hit them very far, even over the fence where we could catch them. He was very strong and very good.

When he would hit a long ball, that looked like it would go over the fence, Dad and Aaron would rush over, with lots of other boys and men, and try to get the ball. But only one would get it. It was a real prize, and if you got the ball, it was special. A Home Run!

While Dad and Aaron were chasing balls, Mom started to feed fussy baby Jared. She warned Dad that she wouldn't be able to get out of the way of a long ball over the fence, but Dad said "don't worry, if one comes any where near you, I've got it!"

Sure enough, Wade hit a very long ball that started coming over the fence, and right towards Mom. She yelled, " Watch out, here it comes!" Lots of guys ran to where the ball was headed, but it hit the seats, bounced over all our outstretched hands and heads and landed in the seat right behind Mom! She was able to reach back, and pick up the ball, all without disturbing baby Jared, who just kept on snacking away.  Mom yelled to all the guys " Hey fellas, look here! See! Moms can do two things at once!"

We still have that baseball in Grandma's cedar chest--Grandma and Jared's Wade Boggs baseball! And Grandpa still cheers for the Mariners!

You could also tell about hanging over the bull pen fence where the pitchers warmed up and Aaron telling Mark Langston that Heather had a crush on him. Leah might like that. I think you kids were 5,7, and 9 then.