Boston Bound to Watch the Cardinals Play the Red Sox -- and World Series Memories

I’m so happy that my niece left St. Louis early this morning bound for Boston—not that she’s leaving town, but that she will get to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play the Boston Red Sox tonight in Game 2 of the World Series at Fenway Park.

Talk about the luck of the Irish!

For baseball fans there's nothing like the thrill of being inside the stadium during a World Series game.

 

My one and only inside-the-stadium World Series experience was in 1964 when my sister Kathleen and I went to Game 7 and watched Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the New York Yankees. Our parents were huge Cardinal fans, but we still were surprised when they let us skip a day of high school to go to the game.

 

The night before, Kathleen and I bundled up in blankets, along with some of her friends, to spend the night  on Dodier Street outside Sportsman Park. On that chilly evening, we took turns running to the YMCA on Grand Avenue to warm up and use the bathroom.

 

Our efforts were rewarded when we bought $2 tickets to sit in the bleachers. In fact, we were able to buy two tickets each. We then sold our extra tickets for $5 a piece to a friend of my sister's, who undoubtedly resold those tickets for even more. But our combined $10 covered the cost of our admission with enough left over to buy snacks during the game.

 

Anyway, my niece is traveling to Massachusetts today to visit her good friend and former college roommate, who is married to a player on the New England Patriots football team, who also is from St. Louis and a Cardinal fan. I'm not sure how she scored her ticket for tonight's game, but you can bet it cost a lot more than $2.

After the Cardinals' ugly loss last night, I’m hoping she will bring along some of our family’s Irish luck while she’s cheering for the Red Birds. 

So, if you see a dark-haired, gray-eyed beauty sporting a St. Louis Cardinals cap in a sea of Boston Red Sox fans, be sure to wave.

No doubt she will return home with lots of special memories of her own after watching the Cardinals win (I hope) a World Series game.

Watching the Cardinals Win, Home from Bunker Hill and the Winner of Baker Mountain

Last week was busy and a ton of fun, but somehow time got away from me.

I had intended to post the name of the winner of Baker Mountain on October 3, but life got in the way of my good intentions.

The winner's name is posted at the end of this here's-my-excuse-for-posting-late ramble.

Wednesday I got a call from Las Vegas from a very generous writer-friend, who was returning to St. Louis around midnight.

She is a season ticket holder for the St. Louis Cardinals and had some extra tickets to the Cardinals first playoff game. She knows what big Cardinal fans my grandchildren and I are. A few weeks ago I mentioned that Cari and I made it to one game this year with her Irish dance studio, but the only game Michael got to was the game he went to on a school field trip for being on Safety Patrol.

"Would you like to go to the game tomorrow?" she asked. "I have some extra tickets."

"Are you kidding? Of course!"

"Great!" she answered.

We chatted for awhile before I thought to ask.

"How much are they?"

"Don't worry about it," she said.

I told her how good she has been to me and my family and how grateful I was for her thoughtfulness -- not only was she giving me tickets to the Cardinals playoff game, she had let us use her beach house in South Carolina for a week in June.

Did I mention she is very generous?

So, on Thursday I picked up Michael right after school. We grabbed a quick meal before heading down to the ballpark for the 4 p.m. game, where we scouted for a parking place before picking up tickets at the Will Call booth. 

As we entered the stadium, we were given rally towels, which we waved frequently during the Cardinals 9-1 win. It was hot that day and supposed to rain. I brought a jacket and an umbrella. Thankfully I didn't need either. It was a perfect evening.

During the game I offered to buy my friend something to eat or to drink. "No, thanks," she said.  While there was no way I could repay her generosity, she graciously let me buy her a bottle of water.

Michael and I had a wonderful time at the ballgame. We have a special memory, one I'm sure Michael will remember until he's my age or older--and the Cardinals brought home a winner. I'm hoping they'll win two more to move on in the playoffs.

Friday was occupied with getting ready for my trip to the Missouri State Teachers Association third annual Creative Retreat at Bunker Hill, Missouri, on the Jacks Fork River in the heart of the Ozarks.

Last fall, while I was a speaker at a writing conference in Columbia,  I was invited by the managing editor of the MSTA magazine to be a presenter during this year's retreat.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd taught adults before on my government jobs, at writers' conferences, and a college seminar, but teaching teachers? I was a bit anxious. Teachers are so smart. What if they asked a question about writing I couldn't answer? I planned and organized my material, prepared handouts and hoped for the best.

My publisher-friend Lou was also invited to be a speaker. Friday afternoon Lou and her husband Squeak arrived at my house, where Squeak and my husband Walt loaded up my VW Passat. Well, almost everything got put in my car--but that's another story.

On the drive down to Bunker Hill, Lou told me a friend of hers called right before she left to warn us to be careful because we would be driving through "Winter's Bone" country, where if someone tells you they're a cook, they're more of a cook like Walter White than a fry cook at McDonald's. We didn't she any sketchy characters or run across any meth labs, but we did see lots of strange colored mushrooms--more about them on another day.

I had a wonderful time during the retreat. It was a full schedule and I met some amazing and talented writers, who happen to be teachers. Teachers really are smart, but they also are very kind. Before we left I took  time to take photos which I'll share on another post.

Now, for the big announcement. 

 

The winner selected at random to win a copy of BAKER MOUNTAIN is:

LISA RICARD CLARO

So, Lisa, please e-mail me at dvolkenannt @ charter.net (without the spaces) with your address so I can get Doyle's book in the mail to you.

Hope you're all enjoying this lovely fall weather--and Go, Cards!

St. Louis Cardinals Prevail in Game 6 of World Series: In Baseball and In Writing - Never Quit

Last night's Game 6 of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers was thrilling!

My teenage granddaughter and I stayed up and watched the game after hubby and grandson called it a night. I was bone-tired after cleaning the house for Bunco--which is at my house tonight--and at one point I told Cari I was going to bed, but she convinced me to stay up till the game was over.

Boy, am I glad I did. It is a shared memory Cari and I will have for years to come. The game didn't start out pretty for the Cardinals--not many hits, three costly errors. Winning Game 6 wasn't look promising. But the Cardinals never quit.

When David Freese tied the game with a triple in the bottom of the 9th, I got a glimmer of hope. Then Texas shot ahead. When Lance Berkman tied the game in the 10th inning, I stood up and cheered, "Lance, Lance. He's our man. If he can't do it, no one can." Then hometown hero David Freese struck again, toppng off the evening with an 11th inning home run. Cheers. Chills. Tears. Unreal.

No matter what the Cardinals do tonight in Game 7, last night's game--and this season--will be one I will always remember. At one point late in last night's game the Cards were down by three runs. They didn't quit. They fought back. To quote Dylan Thomas, they refused "to go gentle into that good night."

Flashback: In 1964, when I was around Cari's age, my sister Kathleen and I and some friends skipped school (with our parents' permission and the good nuns at our high school not disapproving) and camped  overnight outside the old Sportsmen's Park for Game 7 of the World Series between the underdog St. Louis Cardinals and the favored New York Yankees. That October night was cold as we huddled beneath our blanket. But it was an experience I have never forgotten.  Bleacher tickets cost $2. I had saved money from babysitting to pay for my ticket. We were able to buy two tickets each. A friend of Kathleen's paid us $5 for our extra $2 bleacher ticket, which paid for our own ticket, plus snacks at the stadium. What a deal!

A lot has changed since 1964. The Cardinals have moved stadiums twice since then. I heard this morning the least expensive available ticket cost around $400 for standing room only. In 1964, when Bob Gibson pitched the Cardinals to beat the New York Yankees, I climbed down the bleacher wall and followed other fans onto the field while my sister stood in the bleachers holding our blanket, yelling for me to be careful. How crazy was that?

Crazy, but well worth the memory. Yep. Baseball fans and writers have a lot in common; we're dedicated and a little bit crazy.

The resilience, persistence, and never-give-up attitude of the Cardinals is a lesson for me as a writer. In spite of rejections or close-but-not-quite-there placement in contests, I'll keep on plugging away, doing what I love to do--write--oh, and root for my hometown Cardinals.

Opening Day 2009

(Image from St. Louis Cardinals website http://www.stlouiscardinals.com/)

Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: Snow showers, high 41 degrees. Snow on opening day for the St. Louis Cardinals? That's just not right!

Hey, baseball fans! It's hard to believe 2009 opening day is already here. This morning the kiddos were excited because they got to wear Cardinal red to school rather than their school uniforms--of course they're always excited when they get to wear anything other than their school uniforms. The St. Louis Cardinals are slated to play the Pittsburg Pirates later this afternoon. With today's forecast calling for snow showers, I wonder if they will get to play.

This crazy weather reminds me of another St. Louis Cardinals' game I attended--the 1967 All Star Game at the then new Busch Stadium. The weather on that day in July was at the other extreme. Hot and humid and over 100 degrees.

When asked what he thought about the Cardinals' new stadium, Casey Stengel remarked, "It holds heat well." Or something to that effect. It was definitely a scorcher!

The 1967 All Star Game game ranks third in my all-time favorite Cardinal memories.

My second favorite Cardinal memory was in July, 1997. I had entered Walt's name in a Father's Day contest at a local department store. His name was picked as Grand Prize Winner! He got to throw out the first pitch. He won four tickets for seats in the boxes where they serve you food and drink. In addition to Walt and me, Julie and Mikey went with us. Willie McGee hit a homer and won the game for the Cardinals.

My most treasured Cardinal memory is the seventh game of the 1964 World Series, when the Cardinals played the New York Yankees.

Mom and Dad let my older sister Kathleen and me skip school. I tagged along with Kathleen and her friends to camp outside Sportsman Park--the old, old stadium on Grand and Dodier. We bought $2 bleacher tickets, and a friend of Kathleen's paid us each $5 to buy an extra ticket. With $5 to spend, we got to buy lunch at the ballpark. That game was one I will always remember! Bob Gibson pitched; Tim McCarver caught, and the Cardinals won the game. I was one of the crazy people who climbed down the bleacher wall to run out onto the field and celebrate. Kathleen stood in the bleachers holding our blankets yelling, "Donna, don't do that you'll get hurt!" But I didn't.

So, anyone else have a favorite baseball memories to share? It doesn't even have to be a Cardinal memory.