August 28 – “The Baseball Excursion”

I had a tough night on Thursday.  I was awakened by a thunderstorm that never stopped making its racket.  All night long.  One boom after another.  One particularly loud one even woke Chris from a sound sleep.  She said she thought something hit the house.  Sure sounded like it.  Oh, and I also had cold toes.  Not the whole feet, mind you.  Just the toes.  Eventually I put on a pair of socks.  Classy.  Thank you, neuropathy.  Not much sleep for me.

 

Good thing it didn’t affect Chris the same way.  She slept through pretty much the whole thing.  She was plenty rested for our second jaunt to North Texas in as many weeks.  This time we had been invited to check out Arlington’s new baseball stadium.  The one where the Texas Rangers play baseball.  Sometimes.  And it just so happened that we received a bonus treat.  The Rangers happened to be playing a game last night.  And it happened to be against the Astros.  Imagine that.

 

We stayed with the Huntley’s this time.  They were the ones who so graciously invited us.  We picked up the Winkles (our hosts from last week) and headed out for some dinner before the game.  I may or may not have been wearing my Biggio jersey and Astros cap.  I did get some curious glances at McAlister’s Deli though.  Surely that wasn’t it.  Diane did regale us at dinner with stories of all kinds, none the least of which involved her fascination with some kind of Derriere cheese.  I’m still not sure how we got from Gurriel to Guerrero to Derriere – as names of cheese.  But then, I am certainly NOT the gourmet that she is. 

 

The new stadium was admittedly a beautiful one – inside.  Outside it looked like a monstrous barn, tin roof and all.  I understand the roof moves on a railroad track.  OK.  But they obviously spent their millions on the inside.  The scoreboard was a little confusing, but I think that’s because I’m used to the one at Minute Maid Park.  It did explode with some fireworks when the Rangers hit a home run, so we got to see that bit of a show.  They played a lot of game highlights, too.  None from the Astros, though.  Oh, and their fan cam worked overtime.  They constantly showed shots of fans in the stadium on various shades of eating, drinking, dancing, or staring at the scoreboard to see if their picture would appear next. 

 

I may or may not have engaged in some especially vociferous bantering in conjunction with the MANY pockets of other Astros fans in attendance.  The “Let’s go, Astros” cheers regularly drowned out any attempts by the locals.  I gotta admit here … Diane was doing some pretty heavy gloating – right up until the Astros took the lead.  Her devastation was palatable.  How could anyone not feel sorry for such a deep level of sadness?  How could anyone choose to erupt in raucous cheers for the opponent when our host was in such distress?  I may or may not have – well OK – I cheered out the wazoo.  Sorry, Diane.  Great game.  Great game.

 

1 Corinthians 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God!  He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

Editor’s note - This verse was honestly the one provided by my devotional guide for the day.  As far as I know, their decision to use this verse was not based on any propensity to cheer for the Astros or gloat at Diane’s expense. 

 

Father, please bless the Huntley’s for their hospitality this weekend.  Amen.