Talking Bella out of school to see The Mets

5/10/17 20:53

This was one of those events which took years to accomplish.  Three years ago, we were at church.  I was with Bella and we were walking to hall where there’s coffee and snacks after service.  I helped Ruth, an old woman retrieve her walker and she thanked me. She looked at Bella and me.  I’m not sure what triggered her memory but she said, “I remember my father taking me out of school to see the Brooklyn Dodgers play.”  That memory triggered Bella.  And on our way home, she asked if I can do the same for her.  Like I said it was years in the making.  Major League Baseball does not play many games during the game and barely any during the school year.  But I remembered.  I didn’t need to be reminded by Bella.  The child does not let anything go.  I called Ali and let her know what I wanted to do.  I put in for a day off which was approved.  She slept in that morning and we left the house around 11:00.  Before we left the house, she wanted to know who we were seeing. The Mets.  Oh, she said, I thought we were seeing the Long Island Ducks.  I explained that R.A Dickey was pitching, and he was a special pitcher since he throws a knuckle ball.  The ball floats in the air and is hard for a batter to pick up and make contact with.  I don’t think she cared.  She was off from school.  On the way in, I asked her what a full count was.  This is a question I ask her each time we are at a game.  We discussed baseball in general, the rules and the teams we were going to see.  As luck would have it, there were discount tickets in Group On, we paid $20.00 to sit at field level, but we were far back from any action, way back in the right field.  Paid $25.00 to park and I explained how The Mets use to play in Shea Stadium.  We found the bases which are marked in the parking lot.  Took pictures around the stadium and discussed Jackie Robinson.  I was at Shea when President Clinton and the commissioner retired number 42 from all teams.  She may have been off from school, but there’s always time to learn.  I bought a sausage and pepper and a Stella beer, $19.00.  She didn’t want anything to eat.  We took our seats, the sun was slightly breaking through the clouds.  It was a good day for baseball, but not for the Mets.  Matt Harvey had a great first inning and let the air out after that.  He served a three run dinger to the Brave’s catcher who was batting 166.  RA pitched well.  I saw him the day he won his 20^th on September, 27^th 2012 when he pitched for the Mets and won the Cy Young award that year.  Yes, I took that day off as well.  I read his autobiography, which is a great book.  You can say I am a fan of his, so I was happy to hear he was pitching, and it was his first start at Citi Field since he was traded five years ago.   The Mets were getting blown out of the water and we left.  We picked up Ali at work and were home in time to make it to confirmation class.   The next Sunday, I saw Ruth take her seat before service began and I made my way down to speak to her.  I have to let you know, you inspired me to take my daughter out of school to see a baseball game.  She held my hands with in her fragile grasp and remembered telling me about the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Now it’s your turn.

Thank you for reading this.

A Bomb explodes in Boston a block away from my daughter

There is a lot to write about since this past week I was on vacation.  Let’s start with the bombs in Boston.  That Monday afternoon, I was paying for some food at the super market and had all the kids when Ali called.  She said Amanda just called her and she is Okay, but I will hear soon enough that two bombs exploded in the city.  She was walking towards to finishing line and then the bombs,,,she was safe, but was running away from the explosions with another friend from Simmons.  It was a terrorist act.  Being so far removed from Boston and trying to buffer the kids from what occurred was frustrating.  I wanted to drive up there and take her home. No child of mine should have to experience this.  Soon the rest of them found out what occurred as we turned from the Disney channel and watched the horrific news - a panic set in.   What was that red stuff?  Bella asked as the picture hovered over the sidewalk where blood was splattered, not sure I said, it could be fabric.  Yeah, she said there are a lot of flags there.  Listening to Amanda I could hear the shock in her quiet, shaken voice, that tried to sound controlled.  She repeated like a monk in a mantra, yeah….yeah…yeah after every response.  Evidence of post traumatic stress.  Violence changes life rapidly.  Earlier that day – Patriots day in Boston - she texted me, telling me she was on her way to see the Sox play.  I was happy for her, but she said she missed me.  The city of Boston and The Red Sox have a special place in our lives.   What a general statement without real resonance.  There is a charm Boston retains that appeals to our senses, the way history and dusty decades remain with a New England pride for generations.  Over the years, I brought Amanda to a couple of Sox games.  Once when she was a little girl we flew up there using discounted - standby tickets which someone from Delta lent to me.  For about thirty dollars we flew to Boston and back.  This was before 9/11…and caught a game on a warm autumn day.  Since we flew stand by, flying home was a bit of a challenge; we had to sit separately. It didn’t upset the curious and personable child who bid me farewell and told me she was fine, she sat back in her seat, feet dangling over the seat and struck up a conversation with the woman next to her as I sat alone and pondered how I was going to explain to Ali that our precious five year-old daughter sat next to a stranger on the flight home.  We survived.  After the bombing she was picked up from her dorm by Katie and Ben and brought back to Watertown - where they live - to get out of the city.  It helped, but she was still shaken and did not attend classes on Tuesday.  Simmons College gave the women the option of not attending.  On Wednesday she was back in class and feeling better.   Each day Amanda called Ali or I...yes sometimes I got the call...on the rare chance Ali was not available.  Funny how we always go back to our mothers when we encounter something horrible, but no mother can be prepared to console a child who witnessed two explosions.  Ali was in her element.  By Friday night, after being locked down on campus all day - Mo Cheeks and the rest of Boston and Watertown were dancing in the streets.  We survive through another day and grow stronger, but live with that uneasy feeling - and the unanswered question, why do this? Yesterday, I drove into Citi Field for the first time this season.  This was Bella’s first trip to Citi Field and since she is my baseball buddy as she tells me she is, I felt it was appropriate to ask her if she wanted to go.  Sure was all she responded with.  The other kids could care less about baseball.   Although it was a chilly day we made it to the stadium in about an hour, paid the $20 for parking and passed through security.  I wanted Bella to experience the rotunda at Citi Field, and pointed out the pictures of Jackie Robinson, one with them at a graduation procession and she was impressed with the link to history.  We went to the fan center where kids can play waffle ball and other games and then bought some pizza.  Standing while the national anthem played, with our hands on our hearts, we then took an escalator up to our section 307.  After an inning there it was due time for my sausage and peppers and down we went to find the vendor. I bought her some ice cream as well and we shared a Pepsi.  The wind was picking up, foolishly I wore shorts and we were in the shade.  It was freezing.  The seats will be perfect if it was raining, but it was cold and she didn’t want to move to the warm open seats in the sun light in case we were kicked out.  So we stayed and watched The Mets come back and then headed off to our car and drove to Queen’s museum.  I asked if she wanted to see the globe from the World’s fair and she did…after that I drove around the expressway and felt my steering wheel pull to the right, I thought some part or belt came lose or was damaged.  A van passed us and the passenger pointed to my front wheel, You Gotta Flat!  I changed it with the Manhattan skyline in the distance and gave Bella a lesson on changing tires.  It was the first time I changed a tire in years and felt lucky, it was not raining or bitter cold.  We were done and back on the road to home.   After a dinner at Friendly’s – it was her choice, we watched some videos on You Tube, decent music like The Clash and Cracker (her request) Fishbone, Problems Arise and I played Camper Van Beethoven, Take the Skinheads Bowling, which is now one of her favorite songs.  This morning we came downstairs, I gave her the medication and she played Take the Skinheads Bowling and sang along to it….Everyday I wake up and pray to Jah…