A Weekend to Remember

Man a lot has happened since Friday. At work we had agreed to wear Braves stuff on Friday, then HR put on a costume contest. Coworkers Rachel and Angie had dressed up and submitted photos for the contest. I had worn my Braves stirrups, and put on my jersey and cap so Angie could snap my picture (a horrible one, but I didn’t care). Later I found out I’d won third place, behind Rachel and ahead of Angie.

Friday afternoon MC started having contractions. Will drove her to Piedmont Hospital. Her water broke around 8 pm. Will was texting out updates to us. At home Ceil made homemade pizza, and we watched game three.

Went to bed around midnight. Whenever Ceil receives a text message her phone dings, and I heard it when Will texted at 1:30 am to say baby Shivonne had been born.

Saturday morning I teed off around 7:55 am and played a decent, enjoyable round of golf.  Finished nine holes at 9 am. Drove out west past Six Flags. Picked up breakfast at Wendy’s and shopped at two thrift stores and RaceTrac before visiting a car dealership grand opening. They gave away two new cars, TV’s, Yeti coolers, and Apple watches. I didn’t win. I did make a new friend.

Stopped by the bank. Watched the Georgia / Florida game with two other couples, where we ate BBQ beef and chicken, tossed salad, rice, and brownies and ice cream. Lee wore his Halloween costume.

Finally home to crash on the couch and watch the Braves win game four. We were dog-sitting W&MC’s big dog Okie, so Winnie was extra crazy. 

Sunday School: a good lesson on Martin Luther and Reformation Day. Then worship. Home for a bite to eat, Straightened up around the house and raked the yard to get ready for the trick or treaters, then it was time to go.  I had recruited Matthew to be our driver. He dropped us off at The Battery before 4 pm, and the place was already jam packed.

Fans had placed in lawn chairs in every nook and cranny available in The Battery with a view of one of the three large viewing screens. We weaved through the crowds in and around the Battery. Long lines weaved from several popup souvenir stands.

Eventually we got in line at the First Base Gate. My bobblehead friend Michael saw me and came over to say hello. Then M’s brother Thomas and wife Holly saw us, and chatted for a while. Later Joel Norman stopped by.

We missed seeing Anna and Caleb, who found a table at a bar in The Battery. Inside I said hello to the Chocolate Papa and Crazy Darrell.

Once inside we stood in line to get into the Clubhouse Store for over two hours, giving us more time to chat. Inside the team store was quite different, offering mostly World Series wares. I asked around for commemorative game tickets, but they were sold out. The stadium was packed, with long lines for everything, including the restroom. Chicken tenders and fries. Greg Maddux threw out the first pitch.

The game started off great, with an Adam Duvall grand slam, but slowly faded into a loss. We stood for most of the game, finally taking breaks to sit between innings. Instead of the normal events between innings, loud rock music was pumped over the loudspeakers to keep the fans pumped up.  Afterwards we walked across 75 toward the Marriott, and Matthew picked us up for the ride home. We didn’t pull into the driveway until 1:30, and I didn’t climb in bed until two. 

NOMAR GARCIAPARRA is the only player to hit two grand slams in one game in his home stadium (besides the Braves Tony Cloninger?), at Fenway Park on 10-May-1999,in the first and third innings. Nomar is in a “club” whose only other members are Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Wade Boggs, who have won consecutive AL batting titles for Boston.