14 : 357 : 4 : 5
We were now two days away from school. I let Puck organize all of his school supplies into his red Big Hero 6 backpack from Colombia, still a little scuffed from the three planes back home.
Then we hit the store for supplies, essentials like a red Minecraft shirt for Puck, Whoppers malt balls. We got the boring stuff, too, of course.
And finally a couple of dunks in the pool at the Big House for the boys before they chowed down in Cane’s chicken fingers with an episode of “The Magic School Bus”.
Meanwhile…
The sky was overcast and warm as we drove downtown to Game 14 of the season. Irish and Eleda took the back seat of Mom’s Fit as we blazed trails to the stadium.
In what ended up being one of the better games we attended that year, Carrie-Bri and I found refuge amongst genuine Cards fans in the third level of the infield.
“Look,” Carrie nodded to the gentleman sitting next to us, “he’s scoring the game.”
Then she heard the elderly gentleman sitting one row in front of us. “Hey, he used to attend Browns games.”
Safety. No drunk punks hauling babies and beer. Just the enthusiastic serenity of true Cards fans on a near-balmy August evening. We hauled out the Reeses pieces between innings. Carrie was dive-bombed by about three moths. And one of my favorite pitchers on the mound in a winning game, string bean Michael Wacha: 7 innings pitched, 1 run allowed. Against the Giants and their crazy-eyed right fielder, Hunter Pence.
On the way back, we maneuvered around traffic pockets through the city. I hit the brakes as a jaywalker blew right into the intersection without looking, holding up a hand as if to indicate he had the right of way.
“OUR LIGHT IS GREEN!” Carrie yelled at him through the glass. As we continued down the street, she contemplated. “I really wish we kept a stash of stale stinky milkshakes in the car. That way, whenever one of these jaywalkers gets in the way, we can throw it at him and drive off, laughing.”
“Or rotten eggs,” Eleda suggested.
“Yeah … only then they might get sick and we could have a lawsuit on our hands. Besides, there’s nothing worse than a stale milkshake.”
Cards: 6 games up on Pittsburgh, best record in baseball.