Play Ball!

I always knew when we were going to Grandma and Grandpa’s because there were all these hills on the freeway. You know, those hills that make room for the roads underneath them…

However, even though there were a bunch of those hills, we weren’t going to Grandpa’s. Instead, my dad was taking me and Maria somewhere else entirely.

When we got there, I was speechless. For ten seconds.

“OH, MY GOSH!”, I yell. “THAT’S ONE BIG, ROUND BUILDING!”

Don’t know what it is? I’ll give you a hint…they called it the eighth wonder of the world.

Still don’t know? Well, it’s the Astrodome.

My dad and my uncle were taking me and Maria and my cousins to a baseball game. An Astros game.

They were now, officially, the coolest people ever!

I got to eat peanuts, and cotton candy, and see people who were on T.V. Not to mention participate in all the cheers going on in that noisy place. There was one I remember yelling at the top of my lungs. A trumpet would sound and then everyone yelled, “CHARGE!”. I had no idea how ball players were supposed to charge, but I yelled it. I’m pretty sure the Boys of Summer could hear me, too.

My uncle, we’ll call him Lou on account of the great Mr. Lou Gehrig, had no idea what he started, but I soon began a love affair with baseball and the Astros. I will forever remember that day, sitting in the stands watching my team, yes, MY TEAM, win. And we stayed for the whole game.

Throughout the years, Lou took me to other sporting events, but I will always remember that first one as the best one. Not only was it a fantastic day, but he thought of me. He didn’t take me to a fancy ballet, or some trussed up tea party.

He knew me way better than that…

A Typical Day

Kara needs a kick ball. She can’t find it. Oh, yeah! She kicked it over the fence. She dashes over to the neighbors and collects her beloved red ball and now sets out to put together her dream team.

Maria is collecting the Childcraft Encyclopedia books, getting ready to play school. Hmm, today they will work on animals, she thinks. Two desks are set up in her room and now all she needs are students.

Wendy has piled every doll she owns onto her bed. She is singing to them and loving on them and hoping someday they will come alive and call her Mommy.

Bill is sitting in the living room, watching his mother fold the laundry as he bangs two Hot Wheels cars together. His dimpled smile shows how happy he is to be playing.

Jack is in the garage, looking for nails. He is going to nail boards to the tree for the steps to his tree house. Soon, there will be carpet put in and a cooler up there for snacks. Everyone will be welcome, except for the girls, of course.

Roxi is pulling a dress out of her dress-up trunk. She puts it on, along with a hat, and high heels and admires her gorgeous reflection. Already her style and taste are beyond her years.

Lela is pulling out her plastic kitchen supplies, preparing to cook a meal for anyone with enough imagination for pretend spaghetti. Her little kitchen is correctly appointed with all the necessary supplies and now all she needs are customers.

Georgie runs in from the living room and announces to his mother that he needs pipe cleaner, a paper plate, a rubber band, and green paint. As Grace scrambles to provide, he dashes outside to continue digging his hole that will eventually reach China.

Phillip has piled up all the leaves in his backyard. It is the perfect amount to provide a soft landing and to completely hide him…should the need arise. He’d like to see China, but Georgie can do the digging.

Alex is wearing her sequins and white gloves and is in the correct pose. The Flashdance album blasts her with, “Oh, What A Feeling”, and she busts into her newly choreographed number.

Blossom is in her room, ignoring the music and lining up her pretty ponies. All the colors of the rainbow, she gets out a brush and begins to comb through their manes, humming to herself. But, not humming, “Oh, What A Feeling”.

Now, imagine all of us in the same room…

As Jo would say, “They’re all geniuses and Pablo Picassos!”. Grace just laughs and shakes her head, and Mom hopes we don’t kill each other.

Look Out, Boys!

Two girls were introduced into our mix. They enjoyed various types of dance, so they fit right in.

And now, we really outnumbered the boys!

The oldest was my age and we became quick friends. She became friends with Jack, too, and was often the tie breaker in our schemes.

The youngest was in between Maria and Roxi and had every My Little Pony a girl could wish for.

Our circle was getting bigger and bigger was better in my mind. They had great ideas for plays and recitals, and didn’t mind playing Hide-and-Seek, so when Maria got bored we didn’t have to stop because of the low number of hiders.

They went to our church, too. Everything always seemed to center around church.

The oldest loved the album “Flashdance” as well as the movie. We danced to that album I don’t know how many times. (I never saw the movie until I was older, though. My mom wouldn’t let me watch it.)

I am going to call her Alex after the girl from that movie. Her younger sister, I am going to call Blossom, on account of all the ponies she had.

They were, and are beautiful girls. Witty, lively, and VERY smart, we ruled the boys!

And that was awesome!