Sounds of Freedom!

With a mighty swing, crack of the bat, and roar of the crowd Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins hammers home run after home run before a sold out crowd at Petco Park, in San Diego California during the 2016 MLB Home Run Derby. Sounds of freedom! Stick with me you’ll see what I mean - read on.

Monday, July 11, 2016 Lori and I attended this years MLB Home Run Derby thanks to a generous gift from a colleague at Home Depot who for the first time became a season ticket holder for the Padres after retiring from his over 20 years of service.

“I’m taking my daughter to the All Star Game this year for the first time,” he said excitedly. “We’re not interested in the Derby and would love to share the tickets with you. I know you’re a big baseball fan. Would you be able to go?”

“Absolutely! We would love to go, thanks so very much . . . ”

Petco Park, decked out in all it’s glory is this year’s host of the 2016 All Star Game and it’s festivities. Downtown San Diego (Gaslamp District) a buzz with activity; police and security everywhere, local dinners, bars, hangouts, packed with people. We made our way past street fair vendors, barricaded streets, and entered the Park through the main gate on Tony Gwynn Drive. When you enter through this gate take a moment to check out the new Padres Hall of Fame exhibit honoring MLB players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who at one time wore a Padres uniform.

The festivities began with the Fall Out Boy (Cubs fans) performing their music on an elaborate stage with flames, flashing lights, and fireworks, that appeared in the infield almost by magic.

Then the stadium announcer, “Please remove your caps for our National Anthem.”

Silence - then in unison, with reverence, and honor the entire stadium raises it’s voice to sing. In perfect synchronization and formation four Marine fighter jets ROAR over the stadium. At that moment, deep in your soul, you humbly realize it’s our Military might that provides citizens of the United States the Freedom to enjoy recreational activities like watching baseball players hit monster moon shots! CRACK - the sound of freedom!

Needless to say the night was magical. Local Los Angeles resident Giancarlo Stanton, using one of Barry Bonds bats (his hitting coach), put’s on a show that stunned the crowd. A record 61 home runs in three four minute rounds. Many of them over 440 feet!

Thank you Jim, it was an evening we will remember for a long time!

Comments

Mom Was Right

In this episode: Mom Was Right (Again!) . . . Remember that old saying, "Mom knows best?" Well, this week, it resonated profoundly. I vividly recall my mother's steadfast remedy for the common cold, which was ingrained in my 1960s childhood: "Rest in bed, drink plenty of fluids, and take aspirin to reduce pain and fever." . . . Or now that I think about it, this may have been a Bayer aspirin commercial–Simple . . . Fast-forward to the age of AI and endless medical information at our fingertips, and guess what? Not much has changed. Yet, somehow, this week, Lori and I were blindsided by a cold—the first in over five years. My incredulous "How could this be?" quickly morphed into a dawning realization. Our company's annual meeting, a melting pot of colleagues from Illinois, Texas, Vietnam, Colorado, Northern California, and the Central Valley, was a veritable petri dish of germs. And, oh, the germs found me! Getting sick, especially after a long str...

Whispers of Spring

In this episode, Whispers of Spring . . . Spring has a way of sneaking in when you’re not looking. One day, you’re shaking off the last chill of winter, and the next, you realize the light has shifted, stretching shadows just a little longer. It didn’t make a big fuss about it—no dramatic entrance, no trumpets—just a quiet unfolding, like an old dog settling into a sunny spot on the porch. Last week, Daylight Saving Time kicked in, which meant we all fumbled with our clocks, grumbled a bit, and then, like frogs taken aback by a warm rain, leapt forward into longer evenings. The sun now lingers, in no rush to set, hanging in the sky like a tossed coin that refuses to fall. With the extra daylight, we find ourselves drawn outside once again, migrating to the back patio like folks are drawn to a warm campfire. The lawn chairs are right where we left them, waiting like old friends. The air hums with wind chimes, their tuned cylinders catching the breeze and weaving together something that...

Special April Fools' Edition: Did You Fall For It?

In this episode: Special April Fools' Edition: Did You Fall For It? (And a Little Baseball Nonsense) Welcome, fellow baseball aficionados and purveyors of the peculiar, to a very special, dare we say unpredictable, issue of On the Fly! Today, the air is thick with . . . well, probably just regular air, but a specific mischievous something is buzzing around. Can you feel it? Does that tingling sensation make you double-check your shoelaces and suspiciously eye any unusual packages? Yes, dear readers, it’s April 1st! A day steeped in mystery, shrouded in playful deception, and frankly, a day where you shouldn't believe anything you read (except maybe this . . .maybe). But before we descend into a whirlwind of whimsical falsehoods (don’t worry, we’ll mostly keep it light!), let’s take a quick, slightly wobbly, historical flight through the origins of this most unreliable of holidays. Whispers from the annals suggest a few intriguing possibilities for why we dedicate this particula...

At 92–Don's Digital Daydream

Listen to the audio here. In a world of his own–lives, ole' Doctor Don, Not one world, but three, 'til the setting of the sun! There’s his Blog-World , so bright, with words all a-whirl, And Book-World , with stories of boy and girl! Then, Day-World , where legs didn't leap, didn't run, Just shuffled and creaked 'til each day is done. But his brain, oh, his mind, it’s zippy and keen, A most curious fellow that ever was seen! At ninety and two, with a twinkle so bright, He met Chatty and said, "What a strange delight!" This box with the answers, so quick and so bold, Of theology and stories, new truths to unfold!" "Integrity, relationships, where do they fit? This thing makes me wonder, bit by bit!" He ponders and pokes with laughter and a grin, "Til POOF! he has gone to a world from within! A world made of words, a fantastical place, Where limits of the body, left not a trace! He Soares, and he zooms, with a thought and a rhyme, Trans...

On The Fly

Search This Blog