WWU #2
Six-foot-seven. Hard not to immediately recognize the giant of our starting pitcher, even when he walks by unannounced, escorted like royalty by two or three “guards”. Without these guards, no player would make it a yard across the room without being swarmed.
After Adam gave his KMOX radio interview from the booth a few yards removed from our seats, he walked to the other side of the ballroom, entering from behind the red curtain to the applause of hundreds awaiting his autograph. He bowed deeply.
“Oh, I saw you two yesterday,” the older man sitting next to us said. “I recognize you by your boots. My wife and I were behind you on the escalator.”
It was quickly becoming clear to both Linnea-Irish and myself – two days deep into the Winter Warm-Up – that we were being constantly stared at like two exotic zoo animals. What was going on? We weren’t that weird looking. And then it happened.
“Are you two twins?”
“Are you sure you’re not twins?”
“You both twins?”
Ah ha. Get enough of these encounters, and you understand exactly what honest-to-goodness twins feel like. And, no, it didn’t help that we were both wearing moccasin boots, dark leggings, red Cardinals jackets, and had done our hair the same way. All by pure coincidence.
After Adam signed, and Matt Holliday (wearing the usual sock cap on his bald head, high-fiving all the kids), we took a break downstairs to watch Juggling Jeff (often present for events all over the city). After his entertaining presentation – the kids were completely enthralled – he passed out free bookmarks. Linnea stood in line to receive one.
“Do I know you?” he asked, when it was her turn.
“I’ve been to Shakespeare a lot,” she explained.
“Ah, of course! Want a bookmark? Nice nails!”
Keep in mind Linnea hadn’t seen him in at least two and a half years. Not only could he juggle swords and breathe fire, he also apparently had an uncanny ability to remember faces.
Michael Wacha, Seth Maness, Matt Carpenter, Matt Adams, etc. The players kept pouring in to scratch our 400 autographs apiece. Linnea and I just sat, watched, listened, and took it all in.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Oxbear and Puck attended a kids’ birthday party and painted bear masks.
“I made him eat a bite of cake,” Oxbear explained later.