Monday, July 17, 2006
America’s Pastimes: Baseball and Movies
My parents are in town because my dad has another appointment today at the back clinic. Yesterday, we went over to their hotel and hung out in the hotel’s pool (anything to escape this heat). While we were there, I heard a couple of stories about my dad’s family that I hadn’t heard before.
I never knew his parents (my grandparents). They both passed away before I was born. So I only know them through stories. I know virtually nothing about their lives before my dad and his slew of siblings came along.
Well, yesterday we started talking about how Springdale (the town in Arkansas where I used to work) is building a new baseball stadium in preparation to get a Minor League baseball team (the Wichita Wranglers). The Wranglers play in the Texas League. My dad said, offhand, "you know, my dad used to play in the Texas League." Huh? News to me!
It seems that my grandfather played minor league baseball for about two years before he had any kids… maybe before he was even married. He started out as a pitcher, but after they used him in three consecutive games, his arm was damaged. So they moved him to shortstop. Dad didn’t mention which team my grandfather played on, but he must have been pretty good. According to Dad, he was an amazing athlete and could outrun all of his sons when they were in their teens. He continued to play baseball locally (all of the little towns had a team). Dad remembers seeing one local game where a guy hit 99 foul balls in a row, because the bases were loaded. The guy wanted to get a grand slam, so he kept fouling the ball to get the pitch he wanted. Eventually they switched pitchers, and on the first pitch the guy got his grand slam.
My dad also mentioned that my uncle Neil played for the Arkansas Travelers for a little while, but he wasn’t that great so he didn’t last long. So, two minor leaguers in the family.
It’s weird… I always thought of my mom’s side as having the baseball history (my grandma’s a huge Cardinals fan), but it turns out the big-time athletes were on my dad’s side. I wish I knew more family history.
Before my parents got here Sunday, I was enjoying a Victor-free weekend. He left for Boston on Friday night and got home Sunday morning. I had a mini movie marathon, watching stuff that he would not be caught dead watching, while snacking on blueberries I bought from Sam’s. Here are some short reviews.
Friday: Must Love Dogs This wasn’t that great of a movie. Pretty lame, pretty sappy. I love John Cusack, so I figured I’d give it a go, especially since it was on Comcast On Demand for free. It had a really cheesy ending, but I got a few laughs out of it. I can’t believe this wasn’t a Nora Ephron movie.
Friday: In Her Shoes I really liked this film. I’ve loved Toni Collette in every movie of hers that I’ve seen, and she did a good job in this one too. I am a notorious movie crier, and this one brought the tears. This was a rental from Netflix.
Saturday: The Family Stone I know people who have really liked this, and I know people who have hated it. I ended up liking it, although it was really predictable. It was a great Christmastime movie to watch when you’re dying of heat exhaustion in July. Plus, Luke Wilson. I rented this from Premiere Video along with the next two movies. I used Victor’s account, so his cool film street cred is totally ruined now.
Saturday: The Good Girl I expected to like this, but I didn’t. Usually I enjoy Mike White’s humor, but I think this one tried too hard. It was good to see Jennifer Aniston in a non-likeable role, but that didn’t make me like the film. I got bored.
Saturday: Just Friends Ryan had told me several times how great this film was, so I think I went in with high expectations. It was enjoyable, and it got better toward the end, but I found myself getting bored in this film too. Maybe I was on movie overload! I usually don’t watch this much stuff all at once.
Sunday: The Man in the Moon This one was on On Demand too, and I watched it while Victor was napping Sunday morning. I was impressed with Reese Witherspoon’s performance, but the whole movie seemed a little like something they would have shown us at school. Plus the whole farm-related tragedy that occurs was really, really fake looking. So I didn’t love this one, but it was OK.
So there you have it. Two of our national pastimes, all wrapped up in a weekend package.
My parents are in town because my dad has another appointment today at the back clinic. Yesterday, we went over to their hotel and hung out in the hotel’s pool (anything to escape this heat). While we were there, I heard a couple of stories about my dad’s family that I hadn’t heard before.
I never knew his parents (my grandparents). They both passed away before I was born. So I only know them through stories. I know virtually nothing about their lives before my dad and his slew of siblings came along.
Well, yesterday we started talking about how Springdale (the town in Arkansas where I used to work) is building a new baseball stadium in preparation to get a Minor League baseball team (the Wichita Wranglers). The Wranglers play in the Texas League. My dad said, offhand, "you know, my dad used to play in the Texas League." Huh? News to me!
It seems that my grandfather played minor league baseball for about two years before he had any kids… maybe before he was even married. He started out as a pitcher, but after they used him in three consecutive games, his arm was damaged. So they moved him to shortstop. Dad didn’t mention which team my grandfather played on, but he must have been pretty good. According to Dad, he was an amazing athlete and could outrun all of his sons when they were in their teens. He continued to play baseball locally (all of the little towns had a team). Dad remembers seeing one local game where a guy hit 99 foul balls in a row, because the bases were loaded. The guy wanted to get a grand slam, so he kept fouling the ball to get the pitch he wanted. Eventually they switched pitchers, and on the first pitch the guy got his grand slam.
My dad also mentioned that my uncle Neil played for the Arkansas Travelers for a little while, but he wasn’t that great so he didn’t last long. So, two minor leaguers in the family.
It’s weird… I always thought of my mom’s side as having the baseball history (my grandma’s a huge Cardinals fan), but it turns out the big-time athletes were on my dad’s side. I wish I knew more family history.
Before my parents got here Sunday, I was enjoying a Victor-free weekend. He left for Boston on Friday night and got home Sunday morning. I had a mini movie marathon, watching stuff that he would not be caught dead watching, while snacking on blueberries I bought from Sam’s. Here are some short reviews.
Friday: Must Love Dogs This wasn’t that great of a movie. Pretty lame, pretty sappy. I love John Cusack, so I figured I’d give it a go, especially since it was on Comcast On Demand for free. It had a really cheesy ending, but I got a few laughs out of it. I can’t believe this wasn’t a Nora Ephron movie.
Friday: In Her Shoes I really liked this film. I’ve loved Toni Collette in every movie of hers that I’ve seen, and she did a good job in this one too. I am a notorious movie crier, and this one brought the tears. This was a rental from Netflix.
Saturday: The Family Stone I know people who have really liked this, and I know people who have hated it. I ended up liking it, although it was really predictable. It was a great Christmastime movie to watch when you’re dying of heat exhaustion in July. Plus, Luke Wilson. I rented this from Premiere Video along with the next two movies. I used Victor’s account, so his cool film street cred is totally ruined now.
Saturday: The Good Girl I expected to like this, but I didn’t. Usually I enjoy Mike White’s humor, but I think this one tried too hard. It was good to see Jennifer Aniston in a non-likeable role, but that didn’t make me like the film. I got bored.
Saturday: Just Friends Ryan had told me several times how great this film was, so I think I went in with high expectations. It was enjoyable, and it got better toward the end, but I found myself getting bored in this film too. Maybe I was on movie overload! I usually don’t watch this much stuff all at once.
Sunday: The Man in the Moon This one was on On Demand too, and I watched it while Victor was napping Sunday morning. I was impressed with Reese Witherspoon’s performance, but the whole movie seemed a little like something they would have shown us at school. Plus the whole farm-related tragedy that occurs was really, really fake looking. So I didn’t love this one, but it was OK.
So there you have it. Two of our national pastimes, all wrapped up in a weekend package.
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