Sorry that it's been so long since I blogged. Thursday evening Travalon and I went to a Mallards baseball game, thanks to Giannis! We got there during the first inning, and nobody was handing out Negro League baseball cards, but luckily they had given us two packs the other week when we tried to go to the Negro League game and they switched the date on us. The pitching was pretty terrible in this game, and there were a lot of full counts, with three balls and two strikes. The game went on forever, but finally it was the top of the ninth, the Mallards were up 5-4, and it was a full count so on the next pitch if it was another ball, the batter would walk, but if it was another strike, the game would be over and we would have won. The next pitch... and it was a foul ball, or what they call a "wiener," laboring under the assumption that someone will be stupid enough to ever take up the Mallards management's "deal" of trading in a game ball for a hot dog. (In front of us were four brothers ranging in age from voice starting to change to still cute and wiggly but definitely school-aged, and the third one announced: "I'm going to catch a foul ball," and lo and behold, within ten minutes he had returned with one! There's a kid with goals! And he was not so stupid as to trade it in for a hot dog.) There was one Mallards player with real hustle, who doubled and then stole third and then on a wild pitch stole home, but since then they had walked him. Otherwise the game had been underwhelming until the fever pitch right at the end. One more pitch... and another wiener. One more pitch, and the batter swung, and he missed!! Mallards win!!! And that's what baseball is all about!
Friday I took the day off of work, and Richard Bonomo and I drove to Cudahy for Ethel's mother's funeral. It was hardly a sad occasion, since she lived a long, full life and left almost a hundred descendants, but there was one moment when a priest concelebrating the Mass had a cartoon voice that I almost lost it. Our parish priest also concelebrated, and Ethel's brother was the main celebrant. I don't talk to Ethel much these days, but she was so glad we came, and she and her priest brother (who is based in Ireland) and her monk brother talked to us a lot. Ethel is the youngest of nine, and I only know the older ones a little bit, but those three youngest I know pretty well, and we reminisced a lot. Then I had to go pick up Travalon's car from the shop, and the guy who works there said how much they love Travalon, he's got a "real attitude of gratitude." Then Travalon came home, and we went to the Union Terrace to hear Steely Dane, who as you can imagine from that name are a local Steely Dan cover band. They wouldn't let us onto the Terrace when we came along the lake - they said it was "full" - but we went into the Union and then went out onto the Terrace, and nobody stopped us. It was a beautiful evening, and after the band finished, we saw fireworks off to the west, maybe from Shorewood Hills. Perfect!
Today Travalon and I met Jilly Moose for coffee in the back garden of Fair Trade Coffeehouse, then she and I went up to the Farmers' Market to get a tie-dyed T-shirt I had ordered, and I also got some terrace chair earrings. Then we went to the bubble tea place for bubble tea, and she got a stuffed bubble tea like mine. Travalon was hanging out down at the Terrace while Jilly Moose and I prayed a rosary in the church library, then we talked about where to go for lunch, and Travalon suggested we try Street Fest again. We went to the Monona Terrace, but for some reason the cafe on the roof was closed, so we went to the hotel next door... and their restaurant only serves breakfast and dinner now. We went to Paisan's, and that was perfect because we sat in air-conditioned comfort while looking out over Lake Monona, and they have the best salad in town. That counts for John Nolen Drive. Then we went to Mother Fool's on Willy Street for iced lattes, and then we went to Atwood Fest for the Atwood section of Street Fest. That's the first time we have gone to an actual festival as part of it! We got there just as Steely Dane were playing their last two songs, so we stayed for some reggae by Natty Nation. We went to Monty's Blue Plate Diner for malts, and then we went to Swad, the Indian restaurant on Monona Drive, to finish up the fourth section of Street Fest. That was the best Street Fest yet! Travalon suggested we do it once a year and go to different places, but I said why not try it again in August if we feel like it? There are no rules for Street Fest, other than we have to go to one place on each part of the giant party street that is John Nolen-Willy-Atwood-Monona, and even that we don't succeed at every time. It's more just about having fun and celebrating the one time my poetry was ever published... on the side of a bus.
Famous Hat
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