The Mudville Nine

Put me in, Coach. After I finish my Sprite.

We took the kids to a minor league baseball game tonight, the Chattanooga Lookouts. Go Looks! It was fun. It might have been even more fun if the Looks were better at playing baseball. They lost to the Tennessee Smokies 0-1. But as Laura observed, "Well, it isn't the major leagues, after all." The kids were excited to be there nonetheless. They've never been to a baseball game. I know!

A minor league game is just good entertainment. None of the seats costs very much, you can see the action really well, there are snacks and beer, and the people-watching is unparalleled. As Matt would say, there was one of everybody there.

One of my favorite people was a woman sitting in our assigned seats when we got there. We had tickets for actual specific seats, and there was a couple and a child in them. I did the thing you do of, "Oh, let's compare tickets." Because 99.999% of the time, one of you is mistaken about your section/row/seat/basic orientation in the universe. But this lovely, when I wanted to see her ticket, huffed and said, "Like I don't know how to read."

Pert!

But I didn't even react because she was extending her ticket to me as she spoke, and I wasn't about to get into a slapfight with someone who was already missing teeth. I just wanted to see her ticket. And she spoke the truth! They had tickets for those seats and so did we. Ours we bought online and theirs were from the box office. We summoned the usher, who confirmed this duplication. Then he suggested we sit in some empty seats a few rows forward, which I thought was just kicking the can down the road, but whatevs, it isn't the major leagues, after all. We plunked down and it all turned out fine.

L has new Easter shoes, courtesy of her grandmother.

It was a fun, cheap outing, I'd love to come back on a summer night and do it again. It is a minor miracle that I did not eat a hot dog or something worse. I did have a light beer and that was all. I felt practically ascetic. There were fireworks after the game, which made the kids feel like they'd had a big night out.

Oh, and Betty, who has a sharp eye for social comedy, drew my attention to this scene.

Poor baby doll.

She said, "Here's a sign that someone is not from the absolute top shelf of society." And she pointed to the baby doll that had been lying in a puddle of beer all night. "You wouldn't let that happen," she said.

Indeed.

A fun night out in Mudville. Happy Easter Weekend y'all! xoxo