Mostly miss indeed. Here's my forecast for another miss: Matt McLain will likely NOT be ready to return in August, maybe not even September - probably should take aim at being fully healthy for 2025. And I say that as one who wishes Matt McLain were healthy and in the lineup every day right now. I also say it as a player whose prospects ended with shoulder/arm injury. Get him fully healthy for next year. Doc, you are Dead On with the close friend/lifelong friend piece. I am fortunate to have multiple friends who have somehow stayed close for over 40 years now (Giving up my age a bit here, though I only claim to be 12). They are great friends despite distance and time getting between us on occasion, but the minute we connect, get together, it's like no time has passed and we just pick up right where we left off last time. Always there for one another, always.
Good to hear...ah...see words from you. I can equate the Reds to my golf game...well at least opening day. I wasn't going to play. 18 holes on a long course after almost a year off last year due to health issue. Played 9 holes twice this year to get ready before it rained and rained. So Wednesday I played because it was an opening women's day scramble. How hard could that be? I got the ball off the T on number 1. That was a good sign. I didn't waste any time at the practice area wasting any good shots that I may need later in the day. The game felt foreign. My body felt okay, but the energy wasn't there. I hit some good ones, trying to do what I remember worked last year. But the old swing snuck right in there and took over half the day. Why can't the new swing sustain as the old one always does? I'll stick with it. But golf isn't going to engolf (sic intentional) me as it has in the past. I will play to have fun, not to "win" or be competitive. The Reds need to have fun again. It makes life so much easier. Let's kick back this year and have fun. I'm ready.
Music always a pleasure. Music is real...life always is not.
Too many utility/ bench/AAAA players on the field right now. Injuries matter, when you are a small budget team. The Reds are like the Bengals. They rarely spend any real money on a deep, talented bench. Injuries ruin teams like them. They, and the rest of us, expected big contributions from McClain, Freidl, and Marte. Big hole instead. This lineup is crippled at the moment. No posse coming from Louiville, either. Last year was the big talent add. Nothing much left down there. Candelario has been a black hole so far.
Strand, Steer, and DeLaCruz have a year or less of experience. Their poise belies how green they are. Strand has huge holes in his swing, and he said last week he has no intention of making any adjustments. Ah, the stubborness of youth. Foolish thinking on his part. I hope he doesn't go the way of Jose Barrero. Huge amounts of talent, no brains. Sad result.
It's all about adjustments. All the time. Till it's over. Not just baseball. I'm talking life, too. Such are the parallels between the two.
Four of my 5 best friends have been my friends since kindergarten (the 5th one moved here in 4th grade). Three of us text during Reds and Bengals games. Sports (and texting) are good ways to keep in touch. I just looked through my phone and I either talked or texted with 7 different grade school friends this past week. A group of us (about 12) are getting together this Thursday at Salem Gardens. I realize that I am an exception, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Doc, good to know you haven't "had went" recently, but what about a misuse of the word "myself"? Ha ha, inside joke with Doc.
Love Robinson Nature Preseve! We took a pair of kayaks out one sleepy February afternoon and we soaked in the solitude & beauty of a little lagoon. Imagine our surprise when the fish started jumping … dozens and dozens. Great memory!
Slumps are more psychological than physical and typically get worse before getting better. They usually start with hard hit balls that are caught, and continue to get worse as confidence is lost and the hitters press. I think it spreads when other players place too much pressure on themselves to make up for those in a slump. I remember when I played softball four nights per week. I would hit over .400 on three nights, but there was always one when my hits didn't fall and I tried to get cute, resulting in a sub .300 BA. I think this is where they really miss Votto. He knew how to help other hitters through their slumps. Hopefully, a few hits will start to fall and a few players will get hot. I wish they would bring up someone to provide a spark, and was disappointed that they didn't give Ford a chance.
I think we both share travel preferences by finding great places that have not yet been discovered by the masses. As they get more popular, traveling off peak helped a lot, but I've found more people traveling 'off peak' to my favorite places, so they aren't as enjoyable and are a lot more expensive. Phoenix and Sedona in March are now worse than FL spring break destinations. We just got back from Charlottesville and loved it. It's a beautiful college town with lots of rolling hills and trees. We really enjoyed Monticello and never realized how interesting and innovative Jefferson was. I also never new his wife died at 33 and he was never really the same after that. My family had a similar experience.
Here is another song that is appropriate (my favorite from the Hotel California album).
Are you aware they are considering putting up a parking deck at Manatee Beach? It will help with parking, but bring even more folks across the bridge. The residents, like my mom, are fighting it like crazy but there are so few of them now. Enjoy Robinson. One of my favorite places. Sunrises and sunsets are good there too!
I was at the Smallpark yesterday and it was rough to watch in the field. But it was a gorgeous afternoon. To my right, my eldest nephew. To my left, one of my godsons (whose parents are friends of 30+ years now) and his girlfriend. We talked slumps and streaks, player development, walk-up songs, baseball road trips we've taken and ones we'd like to make. And plenty of stuff unrelated to baseball. It'd be nice if the players made some contact and scored some runs, but the contact with those young men is far more meaningful, more memorable and more valuable to me. It's funny, but I'm more invested in the result when I'm listening on the radio or watching on TV. But when I'm there, I'm way more interested in the experience. And yesterday's was certifiably great.
The triple stabs to my Reds baseball heart came early, with the news about McLain, Marte and Friedl. It definitely put a damper on the season, but the guys persevered. For awhile. Steer, the steady one, played and hit SOLID, my word for him. Elly, the X factor, became even more Xciting. But that's pretty much it. Other guys took turns having their moments, until they didn't. The pitching has been pretty much where I felt they'd be. Mostly solid performances, with occasional lapses. But a team has to hit. This team slump has put pressure on everyone, and like you say, something most have never experienced, and don't seem to be handling well. So far.
We just got swept by the team I picked to represent the AL in the World Series, and this month's schedule is brutal, so a terrible time for a slump, but slumps don't last forever. Hopefully. Go Reds!
The Reds' hitting woes...it would be more than nice if they strung a few hits together. The consensus looks to be "don't overthink it" and "this too shall pass." My uneducated, hair-triggered response is let's get a new hitting coach, or, maybe take a few pitches. Easy for me to say...
Friends, I still have few from elementary school in the early 70's, more from high school and college. I don't hang with them all that often or talk daily, but when we do, the conversations are picked up effortlessly. My friendships have been, with no exceptions, easy to maintain. Now, my "friendships" from my dating days...not so easy. All save those stories for TML - After Dark!
So, I saw a snowy owl the night my mother died in 1977. Didn't see one before, or since. I believe my mother reaches out to me all of these years later through cigarette smoke. She was a heavy smoker. If I smell cig smoke where I shouldn't smell smoke (on a hike, for instance), I believe it's her presence. My grandpa J Wilbur reaches out to me by presenting face-up dimes on the ground. The always great wife believes her grandma reaches out to her via hummingbirds. You know, I believe what she believes. Her gm was feisty as all hell, just like hummingbirds. My faith gauge sometimes run on "E", but I believe what I believe and I believe that when we die, we don't leave this world without leaving traces and remembrances.
Beaches in Florida...go early and/or pick your spots. You are screwed, Doc in Bradenton or Sarasota. Crazy crowded!
That's the one thing about the Derby - it is all or nothing in that very moment. The money for the owners/trainers is great, but they will never get that split second back again. Period. That's what makes a second place finish both compelling & tragic.
Friends. I have a few I have kept up with over the years. A couple childhood friends and high school friends. It is definitely one of those "we'll catch up in a few years" kinda deals, though. I sometimes ask myself if that is "normal" or "acceptable." But, it is both normal and acceptable in my life, so I guess it is. I do have a good friend I haven't connected with much in about 15 years coming to visit, and I am excited to see and catch up with her.
Currently most of my friends are connected through kids' activities over the last 15+ years. Which ones will stand the test of time? I am confident a couple will. Most will not and that is OK. For decades this Billy Joel "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" lyric has replayed in my head when contemplating life shifts - like what's left in the wake after both my kids head into college and adulthood:
Dave coaches like he’s running a child day care. He needs to coach like he’s running boot camp. Until the boys man up, there will not be a change. This slump is Dave’s.
I don't think there is a manager today who manages "like a boot camp". Those days are long gone. Players make too much money now and it is too easy to change teams. Yelling at a player is not going to make him hit.
Being a certifiable OG, I’ve seen slumps like this before. Hell, I saw the great BRM go through a few. The only attitude to have is… “this,too, shall pass…” and it will, hopefully sooner than later.
FRIENDS…It’s funny you mention this since I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and soul searching about this very subject. While a student at UC back in the late 60’s-early 70’s, I met 2 people both of whom I’ve stayed in touch with, maybe not regularly, but in touch. For one that continues, the other, not so much. We were close friends for 40 some years. Then we weren’t. Yeah, there was that moment when I received notice from him, via email, that we were no more. Of course, it had something to do with our spouses and some planned trip that my wife had to cancel out of. This was followed by me being told that the cancellation had cost my friend $250. This was followed by my wife mailing a $250 check to the friend’s wife then my wife receiving the ripped up check in the mail. That happened over 10 years ago and I have not heard from this friend since. Mind you, we became friends in college, shared an apartment at our first job, were in each other’s wedding, and associated with, traveled with, had UC season football tickets, etc; all those years. THEN, it was over. My late father used to say that, in life, you can count true friends on 1 hand. Obviously, 40 some years or not, Dad was right and this guy was not, is not, and never will be a true friend. That said, it still stings.
Losing a friend is always painful---whether through distance, betrayal, or death. It saddens me that the art of the apology, followed by forgiveness, is an anachronism. It's gone the way of the horse and buggy. These were such useful tools to keep love going between humans. But then so many situationss require honesty and forgiveness from both parties. and it seems to me it's grown too one-sided. Real, sincere honesty from both sides of a conflict is badly out of style these days. Maybe someday you and your friend will recover what's been lost. That would be nice. Unfortunately time waits for no one, and pretending it does only keeps us stuck in the past.
I’ve got a childhood friend that I thought would last forever and then he married a woman who had few friends and a dysfunctional family. My friend did not. And instead of taking that opportunity to have more friends and a family of in laws who were and are good people, she slowly used his insecurity to chip away at every friend and family member he had before they were together.
What happened? Eventually all of us guys would get annoyed at his excuses and no shows and then lash out. And she would say, see they aren’t true friends. And now he has zero relationship with five of us that grew up together, we’re in each other’s weddings, and his family is also out.
Do you think you can have true friends that don't stay your friend forever? Maybe that's the question - sounds like your ex-friend was a true friend for a time, then he wasn't. Could be just the nature of time, you know? What's a true friend anyway? Anyway, I like your phrasing. "...was not, is not, and never will be a true friend. That said, it still stings." That's just honest.
That’s a great question and I appreciate it a lot. There are, I think, “true” friends whom you don’t see a lot but, when you do, it’s like you’ve never been apart. Then there are those relationships like the one I described that last a long time but the entire duration you just kind of know that you’d never be able to count on this friend when needed. This person proved that to be true over and over again and, yet, I’d hang on to that relationship…until he cut me off. YES, that still stings and leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth. Great comment in your part though.
The only consistent thing about the Reds is their inconsistency. It takes a few years of adjustments to develop a true " back of a baseball card ". One of the stats cited about the Derby is that there were close to 18, 000 thoroughbreds born in 2021. Only 1/10thof one percent became one of the 20 entrants. All those odds, then being nosed out ! My Grandpa was a big feeder of Cardinals. He had a huge feeder outside the dinette window. One morning, he made us stand out of sight and we heard tapping on that window. It was the Cardinals letting him know they wanted food ! He told me that they were relatives of ours impatient for the feast ! I really believe in that spirit ! My best friend , Maggie, and I dated in high school. Our Dad's worked together and we have known each other for fifty four years. Sadly, cancer finally won and took her after years of fighting, two weeks ago.
Old friends have died on me. Closest of those became friend when we were four. Big gap after I moved away. Reconnected in 93.Email and phone. In person visits infrequently. She moved to Pittsburgh for second time beginning 1998. I went to visit there four times. She threw three day Derby parties because she said nobody there knew what they were. Party ended when the piano player left. Theater folk. Never took her up on that invitation.
My cousin, shared a room with for last 2 and a half years of high school, is back in my life though. Lives 20 miles or so away. We get together for lunch, share texts , stuff like that.
Less said about Reds right now the better. Brother David decided to watch finale of Jodie Foster’s season of True Detective because he had not been able to get into it. Turns out he had never watched the first episode. 😁
I have two good friends that I have known for 58 years. Since Kindergarten. A few years ago I decided to close the deal on "let's get together soon" . Those two guys and couple of others now get together three times a year. We call it The Good Guy Summit. I have made it a point to do the same with some other friends. Time passes so rapidly after 60. Memories are good for the soul.
Mostly miss indeed. Here's my forecast for another miss: Matt McLain will likely NOT be ready to return in August, maybe not even September - probably should take aim at being fully healthy for 2025. And I say that as one who wishes Matt McLain were healthy and in the lineup every day right now. I also say it as a player whose prospects ended with shoulder/arm injury. Get him fully healthy for next year. Doc, you are Dead On with the close friend/lifelong friend piece. I am fortunate to have multiple friends who have somehow stayed close for over 40 years now (Giving up my age a bit here, though I only claim to be 12). They are great friends despite distance and time getting between us on occasion, but the minute we connect, get together, it's like no time has passed and we just pick up right where we left off last time. Always there for one another, always.
Good to hear...ah...see words from you. I can equate the Reds to my golf game...well at least opening day. I wasn't going to play. 18 holes on a long course after almost a year off last year due to health issue. Played 9 holes twice this year to get ready before it rained and rained. So Wednesday I played because it was an opening women's day scramble. How hard could that be? I got the ball off the T on number 1. That was a good sign. I didn't waste any time at the practice area wasting any good shots that I may need later in the day. The game felt foreign. My body felt okay, but the energy wasn't there. I hit some good ones, trying to do what I remember worked last year. But the old swing snuck right in there and took over half the day. Why can't the new swing sustain as the old one always does? I'll stick with it. But golf isn't going to engolf (sic intentional) me as it has in the past. I will play to have fun, not to "win" or be competitive. The Reds need to have fun again. It makes life so much easier. Let's kick back this year and have fun. I'm ready.
Music always a pleasure. Music is real...life always is not.
Too many utility/ bench/AAAA players on the field right now. Injuries matter, when you are a small budget team. The Reds are like the Bengals. They rarely spend any real money on a deep, talented bench. Injuries ruin teams like them. They, and the rest of us, expected big contributions from McClain, Freidl, and Marte. Big hole instead. This lineup is crippled at the moment. No posse coming from Louiville, either. Last year was the big talent add. Nothing much left down there. Candelario has been a black hole so far.
Strand, Steer, and DeLaCruz have a year or less of experience. Their poise belies how green they are. Strand has huge holes in his swing, and he said last week he has no intention of making any adjustments. Ah, the stubborness of youth. Foolish thinking on his part. I hope he doesn't go the way of Jose Barrero. Huge amounts of talent, no brains. Sad result.
It's all about adjustments. All the time. Till it's over. Not just baseball. I'm talking life, too. Such are the parallels between the two.
Four of my 5 best friends have been my friends since kindergarten (the 5th one moved here in 4th grade). Three of us text during Reds and Bengals games. Sports (and texting) are good ways to keep in touch. I just looked through my phone and I either talked or texted with 7 different grade school friends this past week. A group of us (about 12) are getting together this Thursday at Salem Gardens. I realize that I am an exception, but I wouldn't want it any other way. Doc, good to know you haven't "had went" recently, but what about a misuse of the word "myself"? Ha ha, inside joke with Doc.
Love Robinson Nature Preseve! We took a pair of kayaks out one sleepy February afternoon and we soaked in the solitude & beauty of a little lagoon. Imagine our surprise when the fish started jumping … dozens and dozens. Great memory!
Mullet, most likely. Can't catch 'em with a rod and line. Only a net.
Slumps are more psychological than physical and typically get worse before getting better. They usually start with hard hit balls that are caught, and continue to get worse as confidence is lost and the hitters press. I think it spreads when other players place too much pressure on themselves to make up for those in a slump. I remember when I played softball four nights per week. I would hit over .400 on three nights, but there was always one when my hits didn't fall and I tried to get cute, resulting in a sub .300 BA. I think this is where they really miss Votto. He knew how to help other hitters through their slumps. Hopefully, a few hits will start to fall and a few players will get hot. I wish they would bring up someone to provide a spark, and was disappointed that they didn't give Ford a chance.
I think we both share travel preferences by finding great places that have not yet been discovered by the masses. As they get more popular, traveling off peak helped a lot, but I've found more people traveling 'off peak' to my favorite places, so they aren't as enjoyable and are a lot more expensive. Phoenix and Sedona in March are now worse than FL spring break destinations. We just got back from Charlottesville and loved it. It's a beautiful college town with lots of rolling hills and trees. We really enjoyed Monticello and never realized how interesting and innovative Jefferson was. I also never new his wife died at 33 and he was never really the same after that. My family had a similar experience.
Here is another song that is appropriate (my favorite from the Hotel California album).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ETN21RZwwI
Are you aware they are considering putting up a parking deck at Manatee Beach? It will help with parking, but bring even more folks across the bridge. The residents, like my mom, are fighting it like crazy but there are so few of them now. Enjoy Robinson. One of my favorite places. Sunrises and sunsets are good there too!
I'd heard rumblings. I don't know if that'd make things better. Parking better, maybe. Ambience? Who wants a parking garage at the beach?
I was at the Smallpark yesterday and it was rough to watch in the field. But it was a gorgeous afternoon. To my right, my eldest nephew. To my left, one of my godsons (whose parents are friends of 30+ years now) and his girlfriend. We talked slumps and streaks, player development, walk-up songs, baseball road trips we've taken and ones we'd like to make. And plenty of stuff unrelated to baseball. It'd be nice if the players made some contact and scored some runs, but the contact with those young men is far more meaningful, more memorable and more valuable to me. It's funny, but I'm more invested in the result when I'm listening on the radio or watching on TV. But when I'm there, I'm way more interested in the experience. And yesterday's was certifiably great.
The triple stabs to my Reds baseball heart came early, with the news about McLain, Marte and Friedl. It definitely put a damper on the season, but the guys persevered. For awhile. Steer, the steady one, played and hit SOLID, my word for him. Elly, the X factor, became even more Xciting. But that's pretty much it. Other guys took turns having their moments, until they didn't. The pitching has been pretty much where I felt they'd be. Mostly solid performances, with occasional lapses. But a team has to hit. This team slump has put pressure on everyone, and like you say, something most have never experienced, and don't seem to be handling well. So far.
We just got swept by the team I picked to represent the AL in the World Series, and this month's schedule is brutal, so a terrible time for a slump, but slumps don't last forever. Hopefully. Go Reds!
The Reds' hitting woes...it would be more than nice if they strung a few hits together. The consensus looks to be "don't overthink it" and "this too shall pass." My uneducated, hair-triggered response is let's get a new hitting coach, or, maybe take a few pitches. Easy for me to say...
Friends, I still have few from elementary school in the early 70's, more from high school and college. I don't hang with them all that often or talk daily, but when we do, the conversations are picked up effortlessly. My friendships have been, with no exceptions, easy to maintain. Now, my "friendships" from my dating days...not so easy. All save those stories for TML - After Dark!
So, I saw a snowy owl the night my mother died in 1977. Didn't see one before, or since. I believe my mother reaches out to me all of these years later through cigarette smoke. She was a heavy smoker. If I smell cig smoke where I shouldn't smell smoke (on a hike, for instance), I believe it's her presence. My grandpa J Wilbur reaches out to me by presenting face-up dimes on the ground. The always great wife believes her grandma reaches out to her via hummingbirds. You know, I believe what she believes. Her gm was feisty as all hell, just like hummingbirds. My faith gauge sometimes run on "E", but I believe what I believe and I believe that when we die, we don't leave this world without leaving traces and remembrances.
Beaches in Florida...go early and/or pick your spots. You are screwed, Doc in Bradenton or Sarasota. Crazy crowded!
That's the one thing about the Derby - it is all or nothing in that very moment. The money for the owners/trainers is great, but they will never get that split second back again. Period. That's what makes a second place finish both compelling & tragic.
Friends. I have a few I have kept up with over the years. A couple childhood friends and high school friends. It is definitely one of those "we'll catch up in a few years" kinda deals, though. I sometimes ask myself if that is "normal" or "acceptable." But, it is both normal and acceptable in my life, so I guess it is. I do have a good friend I haven't connected with much in about 15 years coming to visit, and I am excited to see and catch up with her.
Currently most of my friends are connected through kids' activities over the last 15+ years. Which ones will stand the test of time? I am confident a couple will. Most will not and that is OK. For decades this Billy Joel "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" lyric has replayed in my head when contemplating life shifts - like what's left in the wake after both my kids head into college and adulthood:
"So many faces in & out of my life
Some will last
Some will just be now & then
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again."
'Tis the way of things...
Dave coaches like he’s running a child day care. He needs to coach like he’s running boot camp. Until the boys man up, there will not be a change. This slump is Dave’s.
I don't think there is a manager today who manages "like a boot camp". Those days are long gone. Players make too much money now and it is too easy to change teams. Yelling at a player is not going to make him hit.
Maybe not, but putting in more time and effort is needed IMO.
Boot camp develops discipline and team work.
I think that is why they have spring training.
Being a certifiable OG, I’ve seen slumps like this before. Hell, I saw the great BRM go through a few. The only attitude to have is… “this,too, shall pass…” and it will, hopefully sooner than later.
FRIENDS…It’s funny you mention this since I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and soul searching about this very subject. While a student at UC back in the late 60’s-early 70’s, I met 2 people both of whom I’ve stayed in touch with, maybe not regularly, but in touch. For one that continues, the other, not so much. We were close friends for 40 some years. Then we weren’t. Yeah, there was that moment when I received notice from him, via email, that we were no more. Of course, it had something to do with our spouses and some planned trip that my wife had to cancel out of. This was followed by me being told that the cancellation had cost my friend $250. This was followed by my wife mailing a $250 check to the friend’s wife then my wife receiving the ripped up check in the mail. That happened over 10 years ago and I have not heard from this friend since. Mind you, we became friends in college, shared an apartment at our first job, were in each other’s wedding, and associated with, traveled with, had UC season football tickets, etc; all those years. THEN, it was over. My late father used to say that, in life, you can count true friends on 1 hand. Obviously, 40 some years or not, Dad was right and this guy was not, is not, and never will be a true friend. That said, it still stings.
Losing a friend is always painful---whether through distance, betrayal, or death. It saddens me that the art of the apology, followed by forgiveness, is an anachronism. It's gone the way of the horse and buggy. These were such useful tools to keep love going between humans. But then so many situationss require honesty and forgiveness from both parties. and it seems to me it's grown too one-sided. Real, sincere honesty from both sides of a conflict is badly out of style these days. Maybe someday you and your friend will recover what's been lost. That would be nice. Unfortunately time waits for no one, and pretending it does only keeps us stuck in the past.
I’ve got a childhood friend that I thought would last forever and then he married a woman who had few friends and a dysfunctional family. My friend did not. And instead of taking that opportunity to have more friends and a family of in laws who were and are good people, she slowly used his insecurity to chip away at every friend and family member he had before they were together.
What happened? Eventually all of us guys would get annoyed at his excuses and no shows and then lash out. And she would say, see they aren’t true friends. And now he has zero relationship with five of us that grew up together, we’re in each other’s weddings, and his family is also out.
Like you said, it still stings.
Do you think you can have true friends that don't stay your friend forever? Maybe that's the question - sounds like your ex-friend was a true friend for a time, then he wasn't. Could be just the nature of time, you know? What's a true friend anyway? Anyway, I like your phrasing. "...was not, is not, and never will be a true friend. That said, it still stings." That's just honest.
That’s a great question and I appreciate it a lot. There are, I think, “true” friends whom you don’t see a lot but, when you do, it’s like you’ve never been apart. Then there are those relationships like the one I described that last a long time but the entire duration you just kind of know that you’d never be able to count on this friend when needed. This person proved that to be true over and over again and, yet, I’d hang on to that relationship…until he cut me off. YES, that still stings and leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth. Great comment in your part though.
The only consistent thing about the Reds is their inconsistency. It takes a few years of adjustments to develop a true " back of a baseball card ". One of the stats cited about the Derby is that there were close to 18, 000 thoroughbreds born in 2021. Only 1/10thof one percent became one of the 20 entrants. All those odds, then being nosed out ! My Grandpa was a big feeder of Cardinals. He had a huge feeder outside the dinette window. One morning, he made us stand out of sight and we heard tapping on that window. It was the Cardinals letting him know they wanted food ! He told me that they were relatives of ours impatient for the feast ! I really believe in that spirit ! My best friend , Maggie, and I dated in high school. Our Dad's worked together and we have known each other for fifty four years. Sadly, cancer finally won and took her after years of fighting, two weeks ago.
Old friends have died on me. Closest of those became friend when we were four. Big gap after I moved away. Reconnected in 93.Email and phone. In person visits infrequently. She moved to Pittsburgh for second time beginning 1998. I went to visit there four times. She threw three day Derby parties because she said nobody there knew what they were. Party ended when the piano player left. Theater folk. Never took her up on that invitation.
My cousin, shared a room with for last 2 and a half years of high school, is back in my life though. Lives 20 miles or so away. We get together for lunch, share texts , stuff like that.
Less said about Reds right now the better. Brother David decided to watch finale of Jodie Foster’s season of True Detective because he had not been able to get into it. Turns out he had never watched the first episode. 😁
I have two good friends that I have known for 58 years. Since Kindergarten. A few years ago I decided to close the deal on "let's get together soon" . Those two guys and couple of others now get together three times a year. We call it The Good Guy Summit. I have made it a point to do the same with some other friends. Time passes so rapidly after 60. Memories are good for the soul.