The Longest Day

Friday I was all set to take a relaxing vacation day – or so I thought. EZGo was supposedly only running one line until 8:30 am. I was going to sleep in. Then my phone rang at 6:30 - two hot parts. Went downstairs to charge my phone. One part turned out to be EZGo’s problem, though I had to make a few calls to figure that out. The other one would require more work. Tried to ship parts from the painter, but after several more calls it was determined their count was off. Grabbed a bottle of lemonade to drink, but I didn’t take time for breakfast.

I’d wanted to take Will’s car to the shop early, to give me time to walk/run the 3.5 miles back home in time to take M to his 10 am guitar lesson. But I didn’t leave home until eight. Spent the walk back working the phones. Instructed a co-worker to run two plays, getting material shipped quickly. I shouldn’t have stopped at a church yard sale, but it was too tempting. When I realized I was cutting it close on time I tried to call Matthew, but he was still asleep.

Arrived home at 9:30 all hot and sweaty. Woke M and we were on the road in ten minutes. Working the phone caused me to miss my exit, and we didn’t get to the lesson until 10:15. While M was inside at his lesson I spent the entire hour on the phone, with work and with Ceil. At the same time I cleaned out my car. Two hours had passed, and the co-worker had yet to get the material moving. Called the new boss to have him play bird-dog. He graciously only charged me a half day vacation. On the way home I got M some Wendy’s, but I passed. Also gassed up the Civic.

Back home meant more work – emails and phone calls about the hot part. Jonathan did a great job pulling a one week lead time at a brand new shop up to a 24 hour lead time. We both worked out the logistics. The material was ready at 12 but the pickup was inexplicably set for two – causing an unnecessary delay. No one asked the customer when parts were needed, so I had to do that as well. Another truck had been set up for Monday, but again that wasn’t good enough. I had to set up a truck for Saturday, and worked out all those logistics.

In the meantime I couldn’t get the tickets printed for the game. Reid was also having printer problems, so finally I got M’s friend Nathan to print them out. Took a quick shower, fed and walked the dog, then M and I left home – almost 30 minutes late. At 2 pm Atlanta traffic was already bad. Changed plans and first picked up Reid in Buckhead before Nathan in Douglasville. Was still taking a call or two for work. With the downtown connector already clogged, from Shardondale I took Piedmont to Juniper to Memorial to 20 West. Good call. Passed Six Flags with a line of traffic headed back east toward 285. No way we’d make it back 20 East – 285 North – and 75 North to Rome by 6 pm. I was stressed, and remembered why I so often attend games alone – working out all the group logistics ain’t easy.

As we neared Nathan’s house God gave me a great idea – drive back-roads due north to Rome. If anything it would add to the adventure. The GPS wasn’t working, so I grabbed my old-school 2008 road map and saw it was feasible. Best part of the day. Mostly four lanes with hardly any traffic. We were able to enjoy the scenery: green trees and pastures and blue sky above. A couple more work calls, but my mood had improved. Stopped for tea at a Walgreens – my first nourishment since the 8 am lemonade before my 3-1/2 miles in the sun. While M grabbed the teas I finally had time to put on my shoes.

After some directional issues, we pulled up to State Mutual Stadium at 5:40 – perfect timing. There was a long line outside the main gate, but I parked up the first base line. We were fourth in line at the first base gate. I was finally able to relax. Gates opened at six, and we secured out Freddie Freeman bobbleheads. Ate my first meal of the day – delicious BBQ nachos. Sat in the shade at the picnic table for a while, then walked around. Reid thanked a soldier for his service, and showed him his Alaska unit’s cap. I’d bought seats at what I though was the end of the row – but they were jammed up against the next section. I just laughed.

We weren’t familiar with any of the Rome players, but the manager was young Jonathan Schuerholz – son of the Braves longtime GM. At least the players were swinging the bat, instead of taking pitch after pitch. Two baserunners scored from first – always an exciting play. Some good plays, some bad plays. After the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch they played John Denver’s “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” – like they used to at Turner Field. The three young siblings behind us were cuties, eating ice cream, dancing between innings, and dutifully screaming when the noise-meter told them to.

Around 9:30 we made our exit, after the top of the 8th. Rome eventually won. Nothing happened after we left, except the teams stayed and finished the game. Uneventful drive home, except I was fading fast. In my head I calculated how much I’d driven that day – over 320 miles. After taking young Nathan home to Douglasville, we didn’t get home until after 12:30 am. I was bushed. Walking/running the 3-1/2 miles Friday morning, then not eating or drinking anything all day until we got that tea at 5 pm and BBQ at 6:15 – then staying up so late - had me messed up all day Saturday as well. But the Rome trip was big fun, and quite the adventure.  

Didn’t sleep well Friday night. Woke up early for a Saturday. Cleaned upstairs, walked the dog, took Will’s car to get the oil changed – then waxed it. Did lots of laundry. Had to do a little work to finish off the Friday problem. Packaged and shipped two EBay boxes. On my feet again for most of the day. So busy I forgot to post to the blog.

Saturday night Will and I went to David Norman’s wedding shower in Roswell. Ashley Corbett and his wife were there. A fun time, except I was worn out. Being tired helped me crack more jokes during the fun present-opening time. Saturday night I finally slept well – after making an 11 pm run to gas up Anna’s Jeep.

  

Sunday: more laundry, did the dishes twice, and blew the driveway. Took M to church. Got the emissions done on my car. Caught up on emails. Did more late after picking up M – WalMart, gassing up my car again, more work, and boxing up another EBay package. Didn’t get to bed until after 11 pm – then up early Monday. M rode with W downtown to meet his small group for the Braves day game. Afterward he went home with friend Jaimen for a sleepover and Tuesday at Six Flags.

Which means I’ll be driving back out to Douglasville again Tuesday night. No rest for the weary.