Memorial Day with the Dodgers

Mom got hooked up with some tickets to a Dodger game from her job.  She was nice enough to invite two of her children and her husband to go with her.

The walk up.

Welcome to Dodger Stadium

It was on Memorial Day.  I was grateful that I had something cool to do instead of sitting at my house watching true crime.  Great weather.  Our seats were on the first base line but still in the sun when the game started.  We started slathering on the sun screen and Dad and Guy started taking off clothes.

First look at our seats.  See the jackets?

Just celebrated 4o years of marriage and they're still smiling.

Bunch of guys just standing around watching batting practice.

I wasn't even aware they were playing the Brewers until we got to our seats.  Tells you how much I've been following baseball this year.  I was just happy to be with the family.

Hot Mamma!

God, she's so cute!

Dad and I went to buy some beer and find some sort of beverage and peanuts for Mom.  Thankfully they sold beer other than Bud Light.  Dad had Blue Moon and I had Dos Equis.  

Guy, eating a wiener.

First beer he's had in a while.

Everything was expensive but the Dodger Dogs were only a dollar.  I think Dad and Guy both ate two.

Yummy!

Kent, eating a wiener. 

They poured the beer into a plastic cup so I knew it was going to get warm fast so I concluded that I had to drink it fast. Ok.

This beer was $13.25.  Gah.

It was hot and we got pretty sweaty but the light was great and it's hard to complain when you're somewhere so picturesque.

This helicopter kept flying around during the whole game.

Susan

The day was very focused on service men and women.  We had an all branch color guard and a Sargent sang the Star Spangled Banner.  Did a good job, too. 

Star Spangled Banner

The first pitch was thrown by a Marine.

Didn't bounce it!

Mom started making a mess with her expensive peanuts ($6!) like she was at a hoedown in Texas.

Eat the peanut! 

First pitch of the game.

If you look really close, three rows back from the white baseball mat on the field, behind the guy in a pink shirt, you'll see legendary Dodgers Manager, Tommy Lasorda, in the picture below.  Good luck.

Lasorda

Peanuts!  Old school.

Action Shot!

Having fun?

Iced Lemonade!

On base.

Lots of blue.

Dodger Stadium is celebrating it's 50th Anniversary.  I think it's the 3rd oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball behind Fenway and Wrigley.  But it's the biggest.

Happy Anniversary!

This "Make Some Noise" was sponsored by Wonderful Pistachios.  Seriously?! 

Make Some Noise -- Buy Pistachios

I was watching the game, I swear, but I was looking around, too.  That's what I love about baseball games, there's time for you to take in your surroundings along with the game.  The majority of these pictures were taken from my seat.

Some girl's back.

This old guy was so cute.  I made up his life story in my mind when he stopped to talk to a patron in front of us.  

Action Shot!

The only thing that marred the game was the treatment of Braun.  Ryan Braun was up for a 50-game suspension early this year because he tested positive for a high level of testosterone which was caused by performance enhancing drugs.  He appealed the suspension and was re-tested and had normal levels.  He was the first player to challenge a drug test result and have it overturned.

National League MVP, All Star, Sliver Slugger

Every time Braun came out to bat the whole crowd booed him intensely.  I'd actually heard of this incident and was sympathetic towards Braun.  I'm guessing having that happen to him during what has been a stellar career is disheartening and intensely stressful.  I was surprised at how much hate was thrown at this guy.

This guy was in front of us.

Just one of the many servicemen at the game.  Photo Credit - Kent Thompson

Brother

All these girls did the whole game was look for celebrities with their binoculars.  Probably hot guys, too. 

People Watching

HIT!

Formation

Even though the Dodgers lost to the Brewers, 3-2, it was a good game and fun time. 

Goodnight Dodgers

Where's the car?

There's the car!

Bye L.A.  Stay classy.

Much Love

Just Fell

In bed last night I started thinking about death.  I thought myself into a black hole that turned into a mini panic attack.
I don't remember where I was before I was born.  I don't know if I existed.  I don't know where I'll go when I die.  I don't know if I'll go anywhere or if I'll just blink out like a light.  I've only ever known this place, this body, this reality.  I was spinning out in my mind just thinking about what would happen to me.  I had nothing to stop me.  No one to talk to.

I finally just fell asleep.

Woe

I am confining myself.  I wish I wouldn't.  I wish I was a better friend, more social.  I wish I could just drink it away.  But drinks have a lot of calories so...I think I won't.  Just sit with it without distraction or alteration.  Hard to do.  Probably a bad idea.  Crying has become so normal to me.  I don't pay attention anymore.

You

You forget after a while that you are alone.  You forget that they might not be there one day.  You get used to having your best friend sleeping next to you.  You believe that all your problems are fixable.

And one day you wake up by yourself and look over at the other side of the bed and remember that you are alone.  You've always been alone.  You always will be alone.  You have to get right with that and run with it.

So Quiet

My life is so quiet now.

No Country

"'Do you understand?  When I came into your life your life was over.  It had a beginning, a middle, and an end.  You can say that things could have turned out differently.  That they could have been some other way.  But what does that mean?  They are not some other way.  They are this way.  You're asking that I second say the world.  Do you see?'

'Yes,' she said, sobbing.  'I do.  I truly do.'

'Good,' he said.  'That's good.'  Then he shot her."

---No Country For Old Men


Once again, this is strangely comforting to me.

Torn

I had a man come up to me today at work and tell me that our jewelry selection had inspired him.  Looking at him, I didn't expect that to come out of his mouth.  Slicked back hair with a Bluetooth in his ear, mid to late thirties.  I'm in an adventurous mood so I ask him if he's an artist.  He waffles a little bit and then looks me straight in the eyes and tells me he paints with watercolors, and he's great at it.  Interesting.  Let's see where this goes.

I ask what inspired him so much, was it the color or...what?  He says it's inspired him to make jewelry, just out of the blue.  Then he blurts out that he wants to make butterflies into jewelry.  He likes butterflies.  He likes them a lot.  And not just gold or silver butterflies, but true-to-life butterflies with the right colors and everything.  So a Monarch butterfly would look like a Monarch.  He wants to start his own business, but he wants to do something he loves.  Then we were interrupted by another customer and the unspoken end of our conversation is that he wants to make butterfly jewelry as a business because he's passionate about it.  OK.

Now, I'm a little torn here.  This seems to be a reoccurring thing that zips through my brain when I am faced with these situations.  Is he fucking with me or is he serious?  Is he saying this to me because he's socially awkward or just flat out lying or is he confessing a secret to me he's never told anyone and just randomly picked me?  It seems so weird, this subject he brings up without much prompting from me.  I am totally judging him by how he looks versus what's coming out of his mouth and it's just not jiving for me.  But at the same time, if he is telling me the truth, good for him.  Go make butterfly jewelry.  I'm sure someone would buy it.

My judgement or perception or awareness or spidey senses or intuition is something I've never paid much attention to.  We are told not to judge.  But don't believe what everyone tells you.  Should I give people the benefit of the doubt, or should I be more, oh, I don't know, not cynical, but closer to mistrustful?

I've suffered from gullibility for my whole life so this shift would be significant if I decided to go down the suspicious path.  Or should I stay on the rainbow road?  I guess it would depend on how serious the situation is.

I'm going to believe him about the butterflies.  Why not?

Vertigo

I am so shaky.

It's like I got hit on the head and every time I look at my life I get vertigo.

I used to have someone to balance me.  Someone to grab onto and hold until I felt comfortable -- supported.

I don't know if that's considered healthy but it turns out to be the one thing that I'm missing the most.

Being there and having someone there.

There's really nothing so steadying.

To me, it's everything.

Slack Off

Wow.  I didn't know how deep in denial I was until a few minutes ago.  It keeps hitting me over and over and over again.  I would really love it if this feeling would slack off a little bit and give me some breathing space.

My life keeps unraveling.  I have no control.