Farewell, Mad Dog!

I have loved Greg Maddux for a very long time.

He signed with the Chicago Cubs on June 19, 1984, just a year after I graduated from high school (June 19 is my mom’ s birthday, too!).

He played for the Cubs into the 1990s. I could not bear to see him go to the Braves after seven seasons in Chicago (how could they let him get away?!), but I rooted for him when he played for Hotlanta, just the same. And when he returned to Chicago, playing once again for The Good Guys (instead of those nasty South-Siders), my heart skipped a beat. Or several.

Though I seriously wondered why on earth any ballplayer would want to return to the Windy City. NOT because it is not a good city; in fact, it is one of The Best cities in the United States. But because it is not a city in which you want to play if you dream of actually winning ballgames.

(Unless you play for those nasty South-Siders, of course ... and even then, it had been a while ... and I have a feeling it will be another while ... and still, they will probably win at least a couple more World Series championships before the Cubs even get a whiff of the pennant, let alone an appearance in The Big Dance.)

Maddux is on his way to Los Angeles. Not-so-secretly, I hoped the Cardinals would get him, mostly so I might have a few more chances to see him pitch, live, before he finally hangs up his cleats for good. And also because I believe he really could have helped them ... and his presence on their team would have given me a chance, once and for all, to root openly for the dreaded Redbirds. At least when he was on the hill.

I got to see him pitch, in person, last season. And win the game, one of 327 career victories to go with his four Cy Young Awards and 15 Gold Gloves.

And I saw him (on TV) get the win Saturday as part of an eventual four-game sweep of the Cardinals. First time since 1972. The year I became a Cubs fan.

Mad Dog left the field to a standing ovation at Wrigley Field. He waved his cap to the fans; he probably knew he would not be a part of the team once the 2006 trading deadline arrived.

So long, Greg. You are a great ballplayer!

: )

Sunsets & Hibiscuses (Hibisci?!)

Unexpected Fireworks

Good game last night at the ol’ — make that new — ballpark. Got to see my favorite player, David Eckstein, go 4-for-5 with hits in his first four at-bats. Saw Jimmy Edmonds make a couple of great catches in center. Drank a beer in the first inning that gave me a buzz for the entire game. (Don’t go thinking I’m a cheap date/drunk, though; at $8.50 a pop — yes, that’s eight dollars and fifty cents — there’s no way that could be considered cheap!)

Then, after the game: FIREWORKS! Over the Capitol, under the Gateway Arch. Sweet!

(That last one reminds me of chicory.)

Raindrops on Roses Revisited

The rain has begun again. Tonight, it is a drizzly rain that seems to suit my mood.

These, however, are from yesterday. After the rain had stopped, at least for the time being.

Funny, sorta, how rain is liquid, obviously, but when you shoot it, suddenly, it seems solid. Suspended, somehow, in photographic limbo.

I remember very little from high school physics, other than how Mr. Burton lectured one time about how light exhibited qualities of ... fuck, what was it? Waves and ... what? Particles! And he showed us how those qualities could actually be seen or whatever. And all I ever thought of it as was ... well, light.

We probably did some experiments with water, too, but I really cannot remember any. (I swear I was paying attention at the time!)

While Kameron Was Sleeping ...

We set off today for Rend Lake College, where Shelby and Samantha were going to be performing on the final day of dance camp. Or, as Kameron put it, we were going “to watch Shelby dance.”

Somewhere between here and RLC, however, Kam fell asleep in the back seat. The Lovely took Little K on into the gymnasium, while I — looking oh-so-forward to watching dance routines to bad hip-hop music whilst sitting on oh-so-comfy bleachers — volunteered to drive around for a few more minutes so Kameron could sleep a little bit longer.

: )

While he was sleeping, I managed to shoot a few pictures.

Roses at the Park