16 : 435 : 6 : 2

For Yali’s eleventh medical appointment of his short tenure with the little Silverspoon family, he received a neck massage which didn’t seem to sit that poorly with him. There certainly weren’t any complaints. Plus, the allure of plastic stacking cones in bright colors and a giant blue exercise ball as therapy aids also helped the situation.

Earlier, while we sat in the waiting room, he shared Puck’s joke book with a stranger on the other side of the room. This kid doesn’t understand the meaning of “stranger danger”. In fact, he doesn’t understand the meaning of danger in any category whatsoever. Fortunately this time, the gentleman in question was a friendly older man who used to fly into Bogota on business. But I’m going to have to watch that kid.

Yali flew into his big brother’s arms after school as we walked back down the hall together. Lately, the big thing has been stopping at the drinking fountain, both of them. Puck snags the taller fountain, Yali the shorter. Whatever Puck does, Yali does. Or at least tries.

I left the boys with sandwiches, corn dogs, – maybe a stray donut hole or two – and The Magic School Bus late that afternoon at the Big House while Carrie-Bri and I packed up for my sixteenth game of the season.

We left an hour and forty-five minutes before game time, stopped by Walgreen’s for Reeses Pieces, beat most of the traffic, but still only got to our seats just after the National Anthem. Traffic patterns in St. Louis for any game night are always unpredictable.

There was a smattering of boos that night for visiting Nationals Right Fielder Bryce Harper. St. Louis doesn’t boo often, but usually when they do, it’s for a good reason. This time, however, I think it was mostly because of his ridiculous hair.

Anyway, it was a good comeback win for the club with the best record in Major League Baseball, hungry for more travels through the post-season. A few popping red fireworks, and we hustled out, still managing to get home just a little before midnight.

CARDINALS:

5 games up on Pittsburgh: 85 and 46; 31 games remaining.