This summer I signed up to play softball. And I have been — every few weeks.
The problem is that the midwest has been inundated with rain all year. We're soaked, soggy, and flooded. And that also goes for the baseball fields where our softball league is supposed to play each Sunday. We've had so many rainouts I can't keep track anymore.
This past Sunday was to be a doubleheader. I called the rainout number before church and after church, just to be certain. The fields were fine. I was very happy: dry fields and beautiful temperatures (mid-70s). It looked like the perfect Sunday for a doubleheader.
So I drove out and met up with my teammates. We were warming up, and my throws were as wild as ever. Four other teams were nearly finished playing their early games. I was just starting to get loose when the sky let loose a soaking rain.
We took cover under a pavilion, waiting to see if the games would be cancelled. Of course, they were. The infield was just too slippery to be safe.
Some folks went home, but others stuck around. Eventually those of us left on my team and the opposing team started throwing the ball again and practicing fielding out in the outfield. After a bit, we decided to play a game just for fun (and badly-needed practice). At first we were going to play "Indian ball" so nobody would have to run the bases, but then we decided to play a regular softball game … but in the outfield grass.
I have to say it was loads of fun. I went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored — my first hits of the season. I probably could have scored again, but while I was standing on second base another round of rain started up.
I hope we get to play next week. And I hope we have as much fun then as I did yesterday.
Yoli's first-place berry-contest victory was mentioned on the front page of the July issue of the Ferguson Times. At long last, she gets to revel in glory.
Thankfully, they didn't misspell either "Yolange" or "Renaud." Unfortunately, they did transpose her names: "Renaud Yolange."
Oh well!
For quite a while I've been lurking in the shadows, watching as a new web company called Geni.com developed their site.
What is Geni? It's is a "social networking" site, sort of like Facebook or MySpace, but designed around family trees.
The idea is that you get as many family members as possible to sign up. Their profile pages are actually part of the family tree. You can share photos, news, send greetings and gifts … lots of fun ways to stay connected with the rest of your family. And of course, everyone can work on the tree: add new branches of the family, correct stuff that might be wrong, add photos or stories of a deceased loved one … the possibilities go on and on.
Anyway, they recently unveiled the feature I had been waiting for … the ability to import family trees created in other programs. I have been working on my own family tree since last fall, and now I could put it on Geni and invite my own family members to come explore it (and expand and improve it)!
I've been surprised how many have actually responded to the invitations and joined up. Already there have been a lot of fixes and changes.
Best of all, some of my distant relatives (whom I never even knew before this year) are also joining in. I am really looking forward to being able to stay in touch and see photos of their families.
(By the way, if you're in my family and you haven't yet gotten an invite from me, please just drop me a line. I may not have your most recent email address, which I need to invite you to our tree)
My Saturday:
I have fond memories of driving to the old plane-watching lot at Missouri Bottom Road and Lindbergh Boulevard. We would sit up on the roof of the car with lots of other families and marvel as the planes roared right over our heads. In fact, this is one of the fun things Yoli and I did together during her first trip to the U.S.
But then came the billion-dollar boondoggle, as I like to call it; or Bridgeton's Bane, to put a Tolkien-esque spin on it. I am referring to W-1W, the runway expansion plan.
The old plane-watching lot was torn up, major roads were rerouted, and an unnecessary runway and tunnel constructed.
Which brings us to today.
Jadzia, Ludi, and I happened to be driving in the vicinity of the airport. It was a rare moment for us — out in the car, our errands complete, and time to spare before Jadzia needed to take her nap.
As much as I deplore the expense and unnecessary-ness of the Lindbergh tunnel, I have to admit it is cool to drive through. And I know Jadzia enjoys it. So I decided to take her through it.
As we were coming out the other side, I thought "we should go plane-watching." I had wanted to take the girls many times in the past, but it never worked out because of sleep schedules or other looming deadlines.
In fact, we did try once sitting in the airport's new "cell phone lot," but it has a big white fence along one side and it's really not very well situated to see the planes taking off. Plus, it started raining. A total bust.
Anyway, I was elated with my plan. I drove down Lindbergh to the relocated Missouri Bottom Road. If you turn onto Mo Bottom, there is a gravel road immediately on the right, which goes up a small hill overlooking the runways. It's a very nice lookout spot, and it seems to be a public area. There are no signs saying "Airport property" or "No Trespassing" or anything.
We parked the car. Ludi had fallen asleep in her car seat, but Jadzia was awake. I waited, watching the runway eagerly. But no planes took off. As the minutes ticked by, I could see Jadzia's interest waning. I thought "maybe they are taking off the other direction today."
At last, in the distance, I could see something shiny taxiing toward the other end of the runway. Could this be it? I saw the plane turn and point in our direction. The way it was throwing off the reflected light made it clear that this was a silvery American Airlines plane. I grabbed Jadzia and pointed out the windshield: "It's a plane. There it goes. It's going faster! It's about to take off! It's in the air! Look, it's going right past us."
It was very cool, but I don't think Jadzia saw the plane until it was very close to the car. Now that I knew they were taking off and heading our way, I got her out of her car seat and we stood outside the car. We watched three planes in a row take off, and Jadzia loved it. After the fourth one, I decided it was time to get going.
And as I was about to set Jadzia on her seat, I looked across the road and noticed a police car. A police car that was now moving and heading in our direction, just like the planes had been. Oh great.
The cruiser pulled up right behind our car on the gravel road atop the hill. I finished securing Jadzia's seat belts and stepped out. The officer was saying something, but I couldn't make it out, so I stepped toward his car.
"You can't park here," he said. "This is airport property. It's not a parking lot."
We were already done plane-watching. But this upset me. I wasn't so much mad at the officer, but rather at the airport leadership.
This is the same airport that, just last month, let a homeless man sneak past security checkpoints. He was found later sleeping onboard a plane.
Instead of wasting police manpower to keep people off public ground, maybe they should spend more effort beefing up security where it actually matters — inside the airport.
Anyway, we went home, and Jadzia was perfectly content. She got to go through the tunnel again.
It's a new season at the Ferguson farmer's market, which means more chances for Yoli to enter contests.
You may recall that last year Yoli took second place in the pie contest.
This year there is no pie contest, unfortunately. In its place, the market will hold several contests for different fruits. Saturday was the first: the berry contest. Any "delicious creation" that featured berries was eligible.
Yoli entered Strawberry Palmiers. It's a sort of sandwich made up of two palmiers with cream and strawberries layered over each. A palmier is a type of puff pastry with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top, then rolled like a jelly roll, cut into slices, and baked. Click this link to get an idea what I'm talking about. Yoli used organic lard and strawberries that she got from the farmer's market.
Yoli has a competitive spirit, and that makes her fit in well with the Renauds. She wanted to make something creative and tasty that would win first place. The fact that palmiers use puff pastry, which she long has been fascinated by, was a bonus.
We spent a lot of time at the market Saturday. Yoli woke up early to get to the market at opening time (8 a.m.) so she could buy fresh berries. Then she came back home and prepared all the ingredients. Her plan was to assemble the palmiers at the market shortly before judging began (11 a.m.).
So, I scheduled a haircut for 9:40 a.m., since the barber is very close to the market. Jadzia and Ludi got to watch me get my haircut while Yoli went back to the market to enter the contest before the 10 a.m. deadline. Then she came back and got the girls took them to the market for storytime, sponsored by the Ferguson Municipal Library.
After my locks were shorn, I joined the family and perused the market. Lots of nice stuff, although all the best stuff was already gone. It was a nice, hot day. We decided to eat some corn dogs and hot dogs to tide us over while we waited for judging time. Jadzia consumed 1.6 corn dogs.
As it turned out, there were only four or five entries in the berry contest, unlike the 35 entries they had for the pie contest last year. We were sorry to hear that. After all, the more competition, the better.
But no matter the number, Yoli vanquished the competition. All the judges sang praises for the palmiers.
Yoli got to have her name announced over the P.A. system and she walked away with the $50 prize.
What a sweet feeling!
(Not to mention, I get to eat the left over palmiers and cream.)