May 7 – “Semifinals”

We got off to an early start yesterday for our first 9 a.m. game.  Kel and Jachin had to leave really early to get to the field for batting practice at 7:30.  To do my part in the morning scurry to get ready, I was enlisted to help the final stragglers rise and shine.  And how else would I do that but through a rousing rendition of that wonderful classical piece, “I’m a Nut”?  It ended up serving its delightful purpose for all four of the younger children.  They absolutely loved it.  Josiah was especially enamored when he received assistance with shedding his covers as well as a little hauling from the mattress by his ankles.  Sigh.  Such fond memories we are building.

 

Of course some memories are more difficult than others.  The baseball game was one of the latter.  We played another team from Texas, the Fort Worth Riders.  They have a first baseman who has already committed to play for LSU.  That was the highlight of the game.  Well, that and the run we scored.  Of course the bad guys scored 13.  Ouch.

 

To celebrate, many of the team families decided to have ice cream for lunch.  No, really.  We went to a place called Ridge Island Groves.  It was an actual working farm of peaches and blueberries.  And we jumped right into the whole experience.  Yep.  Blueberry picking.  My first time at that interesting cultural experience.  Oh … and their ice cream.  Yum.  I had some combination of peach and vanilla.  While on our hunt for the blueberries, I came across another example of area wildlife.  I saw a massive grasshopper.  He even had a few smaller versions of himself nearby.  Ezra tried to pet him.  Brave lad.  I also met some other Texans.  I first saw the daughter’s Texas Rangers Nolan Ryan jersey.  Can’t help but be drawn to an iconic remnant such as that.  I chatted with the Dad for a bit.  They were also in town for the baseball tournament.  They are in a different division than us, though.  When Mom joined the conversation I found out that her Mom was a BOI.  Small world.

 

Last night we played host to a gathering of players and families.  It was a conglomeration of swimming and video games and table games and ultimately Kel figuring out a way to watch the Astros game on the TV.  And the Astros won!  Great to add a victory to the mix.

 

Ephesians 6:2-3 says, “’Honor your father and mother’ – which is the first commandment with a promise – ‘so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’”

 

Father, thank you for the comradery we saw among the guys who were here last night.  Give them experiences like that throughout their lives.  Amen.

May 6 – “Baseball returns”

And Thursday … baseball returns!  But not until 12:30.  That meant everybody had the opportunity to sleep in after that exhausting day of chasing after alligators.  I even slept until 6 a.m., myself.  Of course, when I had to wait around for everyone else to get ready to leave, I also managed to catch a few winks on the couch.  I covered it up by pretending to read. 

 

The game was a wild one.  Our guys scrapped and [picked and singled and walked their way to a 9-2 lead going into the bottom of the 7^th and last inning.  But then the bad guys mounted a furious comeback and scored five more runs of their own.  Our guys managed to hold them off at that, though.  Final score was 9-7 good guys.  We advance to the winner’s bracket of our division.  Now the worst we can possibly do is fourth place, but the championship is still in our sights.    Oh, and by the way … the temperature was 92 degrees – with a “wind chill” of 96.  It was some kind of hot!

 

Our car (read here Google George) led us to a shortcut on the way home.  Lots of new scenery, and we even got on an interstate for a short time.  And we still beat Kel and Christina back to the house.  Gotta love them shortcuts.

 

Speaking of beating them … we also were the first to arrive at the evening team party at a local Holiday Inn resort, the place of residence for the week of one of the team families.  Activities abounded.  Cornhole, swimming, putt putt golf, horseshoes, arcade games, pool, ping pong.  Kel even found a new board game he now wants for his collection.  I joined in a golf game with Christina, Josiah, and Ezra.  Only three strokes separated us at game’s end.  Josiah was the superstar at game’s end, though.  He was the only one with a hole in one.  He’s the champ.

 

We also listened to the Astros game on Kel’s phone.  He has an app that allows him access to a Houston radio station.  I just kept up with my no-voice phone app.  It was another nail-biter.  Their closer Pressley was back from injury for the first time.  He blew the save in the top of the ninth.  Fortunately, though, the offense came through in the bottom of the ninth.  Yordan singled.  Replaced with pinch runner McCormick.  Yuli walked.  Tucker hit a single to left to score the walk-off winning run.  Exciting stuff.

 

1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.”

 

Father, thank you for protecting the boys today in all that heat.  Sure am glad the game is early this morning.  Amen.

May 5 – “The Great Alligator Hunt”

I had an amazing view at breakfast yesterday.  No, not of Chris sleeping soundly in bed, although that has been a beauty to behold for almost 47 years now.  It struck me that where I sit at the breakfast table pretty much faced due east.  And not just that.  My view from the breakfast table at the house we are staying at was one of the rolling hills of the neighboring golf course and the grove of trees at the other side.  And the sun rises across all that splendor, flanked by two of the tallest trees in the grove, kind of like a football exploding through the uprights in a game-winning field goal.  OK.  OK.  So I’m pretty terrible at the football metaphors.  But it really is a gorgeous view.  Looking at it again now, in fact.

 

There were no games scheduled today.  That was for the express purpose of allowing families to enjoy what they could in the Florida sun.  Well, that and the possibility of rainout games, which didn’t happen.  Our family decided on a real adventure.  An alligator boat tour.  Well, more like a Great Alligator Hunt.  And the first part of the hunt involved actually finding the place.  It was near a state park, but once we turned into what we thought was the right road … wow.  And we though the Louisiana swamp tour was off the beaten track.  Our first turn led us to a dead-end amidst a raggedy, run-down collection of trailers.  No water in sight, though.  We backed out and back-tracked and finally came to a little store.  Christina asked for directions inside, but they were really not all that helpful.  So we tried again.  This time, as the directions came up on what was rapidly becoming an unreliable Siri, we realized that our earlier turn into the trailer parks was simply one street too soon.  Phew.  We made it.

 

The boat only held six people at a time, and one of the other team members and his mom were coming as well, so we split up into two groups.  One group went to the nearby state park.  It boasted an observation tower with a view of Lake Kissimmee.  That, by the way, means “Long Water,” not “Gimme a smooch,” as you might have been led to believe.  Our group didn’t see any wildlife in the park, aside from the shaggy-haired, bearded one who was power washing the picnic tables.  The boys did enjoy climbing on the big tree roots, though. 

 

Now the alligator boat ride was a bit of a different story.  For one, if you ever choose this particular tour, and if they offer you a pair of ear muffs … take them.  Unlike the airboat we went on in the Southern Everglades, this boat was LOUD.  On the plus side, though … the guy drove fast.  That was pretty fun.  On the way we saw a black critter moving through the water.  Definitely not a gator, though.  Christina asked the guide, “What is that animal right there?”  He looked at her for a long moment, then finally answered, “Cow.”  Seems there is a huge island on which love lots of cows.  This fella was just taking a stroll through the gator infested waters to feast on the particularly succulent goodies that grow in the water.  Didn’t seem real smart to me.

 

At one of the stops we saw a whole batch of baby alligators.  The guide grabbed a long stick he had with a claw at the end and grabbed one of them.  He advised us at that point to stay away from the side of the boat.  Mama might be lurking nearby (The other group got to see Mama, so they weren’t able to nab one of her kids in her presence).  Once inside, he showed us how to hold the little critter and then offered to pass it around.  I obliged him right away.  It took some doing, but Josiah finally screwed up his courage and took it from me.  Alligator man.  No one else wanted the privilege, so I plopped it back into its swampy homeland. 

 

Along the way we saw several fairly young gators lolling in the warm waters.  On the way back in we saw a monster, though.  10-12 feet long.  Keep your hands and feet in the boat, please.  One of my favorite sights was the perched bald eagle.  We could see his head very clearly, and when he took flight, it was really majestic.  He wasn’t the only one we saw, either.  We also saw a wild turkey, quite a few egrets, several birds that I didn’t recognize, and more than a few great blue herons.  The guide told us that the herons in particular love to eat the baby alligators. 

 

And speaking of eating alligators, our next stop was lunch.  And the only stipulation was … they had to serve alligator bites.  The gift shop operator told us the hot spot where all the locals eat.  The restaurant even had a little canal surrounding it with little alligators swimming around in it.  “Gator Bites on the hoof,” I suppose.  Along with the gator bite appetizer, I also had some fried shrimp.  Chris had shrimp quesadillas.  Oh, and I had a slice of key lime pie to go.  After all, it is Florida.  My personal tradition must continue.

 

Romans 8:26 says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

 

Father, thank you for our little taste of family time.  Thank you for the wildlife we got to experience and the beautiful sunrises.  Amen.

 

May 4 – “Pelican’s Snoballs”

I forgot to mention that Jachin did get to warm up in the bullpen the other day.  He didn’t get into the game though.  Trials of a left-handed relief pitcher.

 

The big game yesterday was a really tough draw.  They had to play the St. Louis Patriots.  That’s the team that won it all last year, and most of their championship squad was returning.  Needless to say, the bad guys won this one.  But we held them scoreless for four innings.  Final score was 8-1.  Jachin did get in the game this time to pitch to a few batters, as his coach struggled to match up batter by batter with our relief squad.  Of the two Jachin faced, one hit a weak popup and one worked a tough walk.  All in all, though, our guys put in a pretty good showing against the defending champs.

 

On the way home we stopped at a local establishment for some refreshments.  So did pretty much the whole team.  The place had a great name.  Pelican’s Snoballs.  Many-flavored snocones.  I had a cherry lemon-lime.  Closest I could find to a cherry limeade slush.  Chris had a lemonade.  Straight.  We also got to meet and get to know one of the other families.  They offered us a seat at their table.  Sometimes it pays to be the resident Nana and DadDad. 

 

Back at home, the younger kids hopped into the pool to cool off.  We played some crazy games on the pool floats.  Er … I mean … THEY played some crazy games.  OK.  OK.  I may or may not have been one of said “younger ones.”  Is it my fault one of the games was called Loch Ness DadDad?  I eased my way out about the time some of Noa’s friends showed up.  I snuck upstairs and took a warm shower (Did I mention the pool is not heated?).  That’s the first time I have been the first one in for a shower.  (Pat me on the back here).

 

The older guys were watching a baseball game on TV when I came back downstairs.  Yankees, of course.  Doesn’t matter where you are, you can probably find a Yankees game on TV.  I settled in and joined the anti-Yankees cheering.  I also found the Astros game to follow on my phone app.  Now that was a good game.  Yordan and Altuve both hit home runs to lead the Astros to a 4-0 victory. 

 

Psalms 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

 

Father, thank you for the community building snocone time yesterday.  and thanks for the plain old fun of splashing around in the swimming pool with the other kids.  Amen.

May 3 – “Traffic Calming Ahead”

We were finally able to check out our surroundings yesterday.  The house we are staying in is right on a golf course.  It has a swimming pool (The house, not the golf course, although I think the golf course has one, too.  It looks like every house in the neighborhood has one).  The pool is completely covered with one of those house-shaped screen things to keep the bugs out.  By house-shaped I mean it is shaped like a house, roof and walls included.  A house made out of screens in the back yard.  All the rage around here.  All the neighbors have one.  Meanwhile, Christina and Chris made us some great pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast.  Way better than your normal free hotel grab and go breakfast.

 

Opening ceremony for the 2022 Homeschool World Series (That’s the official title.  Pretty cool, huh?) began at 9 a.m.  All 24 teams from all around the country were introduced.  While waiting around to get Chris’s photo of Jachin’s team for her, I met a Dad from the Michigan team.  They had one of the biggest contingents of fans.  Not a very good team, though.  They lost their pool games and were seeded into the division 3 bracket.  The guy was really nice.  He used to live in Waxahachie and wishes he still did.  He is closer to family up north, though.    The rest of the ceremony was pretty simple.  Probably the most impressive part (other than the opening prayer, of course) came when one of the players stepped up to the microphone and sang the national anthem.  Did a really good job, too.

 

We had time to come “home” for lunch after the ceremonies before Jachin’s first game.  Tacos … Taste of home. 

 

But it was back to the fields right away for the first game at 2.  We played a team from Richmond, Virginia.  The bad guys won that one 8-4 when a ferocious rally fell short in the last inning.  Next up (No rest for the weary.  It was a true doubleheader) was Springfield, Missouri.  Much better result.  The good guys won this one 7-3.  The victory gave us the right to play again today for a last chance to get into Division 1.  Problem is, to do that we have to win twice against the number one seeded team in the whole tournament – last year’s overall world champs.  Kind of intimidating, isn’t it?  So … two wins equals Division 1.  One more loss equals Division 2.  Either way, we are good to go for the actual tournament games that start on Thursday. 

 

Oh, I have to mention my new favorite traffic sign.  We saw it on the way to the fields.  “Traffic Calming Ahead.”  What strange imagery that conjures.  Actually, it is just some kind of Florida-speak for what in Texas we would quite simply say … “Bump.” 

 

Isaiah 54:17 says, “’No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,’ declares the Lord.”

 

Father, please keep all these folks safe in this Florida heat and humidity, especially the ones from up North.  Amen.

 

May 2 – “Poor Deer Dears”

Ah … experiencing the wildlife.  We stopped at the visitor center for the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Mississippi.  We actually went there last year, but it was closed for Covid.  Hmm.  That sounds like a national holiday or a religious observance of some kind.  “Closed for Covid.”  But it was open this time.  In fact, we followed the ranger in as she unlocked the door.  Chris got her park stamp for her book.  WooHoo. 

 

While we were there, we experienced the local wildlife up close and personal.  Understand first of all that we were in the middle of a swamp.  We decided to check out a little path they had made next to the visitor center.  The wildlife?  Turtles?  No.  Alligators?  Nope.  These were big – no, HUGE – horseflies, or as they are affectionately called around these parts, deer flies.  Poor deer dears.  They were absolutely annoying.  And they bit.  And it hurt.  So … not a fun stop, other than the stamp.  Despite all the ranger’s efforts, there was no way I was taking a hike there.  On to Florida.

 

We stopped for lunch at a brand-new phenomenon in Alabama.  Hottest place in the whole state right now.  The place even has a mascot.  Little beaver.  Yep … they have a Buc-ees in Alabama.  Unfortunately for us, every weekend everybody from 100 plus miles around descends upon this place.  It was packed.  Madisonville can relax.  It no longer holds the top spot in our rank of  packedicity – the busiest places on earth to stop while traveling.  Inside wasn’t that bad, but when we tried to leave?  I’ll just say that it took us 50 minutes to get out of the parking lot.  No exaggeration there.  Chris was about to give them one of two lessons:

1. How to merge zipper-style, or

2. This is what Texas road rage looks like!

 

Not far down the road we ran into another traffic jam.  This one was because an 18-wheeler was broken down in the middle lane.  Well, he wasn’t actually broken down any more.  In fact, he wasn’t even there anymore.  But the traffic was still bottled up in his honor.  Then later we came upon a wreck involving three cars and a pickup hauling a trailer with a big tractor on it.  Police and ambulances were already on scene.  This one didn’t add as much time to our journey as either of the other two, and it was the only one with a real reason to exist as a slow-down.  It was probably a casualty of the intermittent thunderstorms.  Hope those don’t affect the baseball games this week.

 

One key landmark we passed was the Eastern time zone marker.  Except there was no marker.  All that waiting with camera at the ready, and no sign.  Our phones just changed over.  We lost another hour that way.  Our ETA crept closer and closer to 9 p.m.  And the darker it got, the more I knew … my time to drive was approaching.

 

We followed the Astros game on my MLB phone app.  Another one-run loss.  Those guys need to start hitting.  Against the Blue Jays they either score 11 runs or lose by one run. 

 

After yet another traffic slowdown of miles and miles – this time because of a truck with a flat tire already on the side of the road – we finally arrived at our destination sometime around nine p.m. Florida time.  Whatever time that is back in Galveston.

 

Psalms 18:2 says, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

 

Father, thank you for the safety you granted us on what were sometimes pretty slick, wet roads.  Please protect these ball players and their families as they play this week.  Micah is already pretty sunburned.  Please give him some quick relief.  Amen.

May 1 – “That’s a lot of stressors”

It was a very early morning call.  Actually, the call for the ones who mattered came much earlier still.  Mine was not until around 4:30 a.m.  The fire chief was letting me know about a particularly tough call our guys had to make around 2:30 a.m.  It was difficult in numerous ways.  Every structure fire has its challenges, of course.  But this one involved the family of two of our fire fighters.  Always tougher when it’s someone you know.  It also involved children.  And two fatalities.  That’s a lot of stressors for our fire fighters to handle.  Our crews once again did everything they could, and they did it admirably, I might add.  I was, and am, more than proud of this group of young heroes.  They will be working through this one for a long time, though.  Please keep praying for all these families.

 

Around 11 (felt like much later), we loaded up our car and headed for … Jamaica Beach.  Yeah, I know.  Doesn’t sound like the romantic adventure you expected, does it?  Well, give me a minute.  First, we were heading to lunch.  A group called Tailgate with a Hero was providing a barbecue lunch for all the Galveston area first responders and their families.  The group usually feeds just vets, but this was their first excursion into the first responder world.  Two of the crews from Galveston Fire Department came, as did several of the Jamaica Beach volunteer guys.  I also saw several vets wearing their respective service hats.  We all enjoyed the meal greatly.  Thanks so much to all the folks who put it together.

 

After we ate, we hit the road … finally.  Right around 1:23 p.m. we were turning onto I45, about to leave the Island.  Goal for the night?  Biloxi, Mississippi.  That meant six and a half or seven long hours of driving.  Chris proved up to the task, though.  She hung in there all the way until it got dark.  Then I took over and finished the route on into the hotel.  I still had my FD uniform on, and as I was returning to the car to get our luggage, a random guy in the parking lot stopped me and asked if I was really with the Galveston Fire Department.  Come to find out, he lives in Galveston, too.  Small world.

 

2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

 

Father, please watch over the Jones family.  Walk with them through the seemingly impossible days they face.  Surround them with your love, and with the care of family and friends.  Amen.