March 25 – “The B&B Tournaments”

Well, OK then.  Once again we wake up to 39 degree weather.  But word has it that we will hit at or near 80 this afternoon.  Pass the layers of clothes, please. 

 

We had a great start to the day yesterday, thanks to our hosts.  Cary cooked up a great breakfast of bacon and eggs and biscuits.  Hard to beat that good ol’ down home favorite.  Then it was on to the first “B” Tournament of the day … Baseball.  The baseball field for the day was quite a ways from the Winkle house, up in North Arlington.  Sounds far, doesn’t it?  Well, it just took us about 15 minutes to get there, so not really.  The park where the fields were was really nice.  The field was in really good condition, too.  Best part of the games, though, was the home plate umpire.  Very entertaining dude.  Kel started right off with his usual fan banter, questioning calls.  But this guy took it better than most.  In fact, he found funny ways to reply.  After one ball call that Kel questioned, the umpire turned to the stands and held up his hands with his pointer finger and thumb held just a few centimeters apart, as if to say, “Missed it by this much.” 

 

The games themselves were really exciting as well.  The first one ended in a tie, 3-3 after the goody guys made a last-inning comeback that fell just short of victory.  Jachin played right field in that one. 

 

After that game we took Micah and Josiah with us and headed out in search of some lunch.  We were going to a WalMart, but Google George was taking up toward a major freeway, so instead we popped into a Tom Thumb store right down the street.  Tom Thumb, in spite of its name, is not a mini-mart, or even a gathering place for short people.  It is actually a code name for a Randall’s imposter.  The logos are suspiciously similar, and their computer even accepted my Randall’s card.  Good to know for future reference. 

 

Back to the field to enjoy our baked potato soup and chicken salad sandwich.  Guess who had what option.  We arrived back just as Jachin was getting ready to throw in his first pitch.  He did really well for the three innings he pitched, working his way out of several jams, and giving up just one run.  Sadly, his offense wasn’t able to muster up any runs at all, so the bad guys won this one, 1-0. 

 

Afterwards we went with the team to downtown Arlington, where they joined up with the varsity team to inundate a local burger joint called Twisted Root Burger Company.  Interesting place.  It has been featured on the Food Network show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  Not sure which category this one fit in, but it was certainly … unique.  Had to walk past a buffalo head to make our order.  Over in one section of the very large room was … not kidding here … a motor home.  Inside the building, mind you.  Apparently it didn’t operate, but there it was, taking up space anyway.  It provided the separation between the diners and the bathroom area.  The bathrooms were resplendent with quotes exalting Chuck Norris.  One wall of the restaurant was covered with old tailgates from various trucks.  Under those was a small array of arcade games.  Seating ranged from bar stools and high tables to long banquet-style tables with wooded benches to an outdoor area with covered picnic table options.  Definitely unique.  Chris ordered a burger.  I wasn’t hungry, so I settled for one of their signature drinks – root beer float.  Good stuff.  We were most impressed with Jachin’s JV team.  They all squeezed into one of the banquet tables so they could be together.  Nice display of team unity.  They play two games again today, and then they will find out if they are among the finalists for one of the two games on Saturday. 

 

Back “home” at the Winkles, we joined them for a small bowl of beef stew and ultimately watched some college basketball.  That’s the second “B.”  Of course I didn’t forget March Madness just because we weren’t at home.  Arkansas knocked off number one seed Gonzaga in a huge upset.  Texas Tech lost a tough one to Duke, ending my dreams of an all-Texas finale.  But University of Houston knocked off the other number one seed, Arizona.  These games have been amazing.  Keep them coming.

 

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

 

Father, thank you for the impressive display of team unity we saw in the JV guys yesterday.  Help them remember this experience going forward and allow it to influence other relationships in their lives.  Amen.