Life of Wry

I’ll tell anyone who asks, “No, I’m not busy, it’s just a little bit of an unusual time..”

And I mean it. I’m not a busy person… it’s just that it’s baseball season, and it’s Peter’s last year at home..and there are these things going on.

I think that’s absolutely true, but, somehow, I don’t have time to even sew on a button. Got my buttons out a week or two ago, with good intentions; I just had to fill one little gap on one measly shirt–a favorite shirt that I’d like to wear… but for the missing button.

I finally put the buttons back in the button box and put the box back on the shelf. Buttons will just have to wait for another day.

~~

In other shudder-worthy news, the DHS Varsity Baseball team lost a game to Elk Grove in spectacular fashion today: 14-1.  It took four Davis pitchers (Pierce, Holgate, Daniel and Peter) to try to stem the force of Elk Grove hitters. Didn’t stem them. (They got ten hits.) For our part, in twenty three plate appearances, we managed only one hit (yay Daniel!), but that didn’t come close to posing any sort of offensive threat. Our only run was a guy who was walked home, and he’d gotten on base originally on an error… so our one run wasn’t even earned. Ugh.

On the bright side, we committed no errors. We didn’t play sloppy ball or anything embarrassing… we just couldn’t hit. And couldn’t keep them from hitting. That is not a winning formula.

My favorite kinda humor.

This is not, however, my favorite subject at the moment.

Will write plenty about this as the months go on, but for now I’m just a tad bit overwhelmed…

First and foremost, and most anxiety-provoking, is the issue of Peter’s college choice, visiting said college, doing whatever one needs to do to become official and move forward on things like dorms and orientations; then hoping Peter stays engaged in his classes and maintains his grades.. and for god’s sake gets that ILS grade up (independent life sports… or whatever that stands for… that class varsity athletes take in lieu of PE, the one Peter currently has an F in, and by the way, anything less than a C on one’s report card is an immediate-absolutely-no-exceptions rescinding of one’s UC acceptance); then Peter’s got numerous AP tests coming up, which he’d do better on if he prepared, but he’s not, because when he’s not playing baseball he’s either in the backyard practicing his golf swing or playing chess–both of which seem vastly more important to him than studying, and both of which he’s absolutely obsessed with… and how can he study anyway, he lost his backpack last Friday. And of course: graduation… tickets for same, graduation announcements, graduation celebrations, plus this stack of forms sitting on my desk having to do with something graduation-related.

All this is happening while in the very exciting midst of a wildly successful baseball season, which will be front and center for the next month–three or four games a week–taking us right up to the very last week of school.. if we’re lucky enough to go that deep into playoffs.

And I have grad night stuff and work stuff. Not that big a deal, but hangs over me, when all I want to do is focus on Peter’s stuff. Did I mention Peter turns 18 in a couple months?

And then there’s the wee matter of Peter leaving home and life as we know it coming to an abrupt and crazy-sad-but-proud-at-the-same-time end in about three months, which makes me fall apart like right now.

Man.

~~

Ever so casually this morning, on the way to breakfast, Peter says, “I’ll probably go to Santa Cruz.” It’s not a decision he’s pleased about because Santa Cruz wasn’t anywhere near the top of his list. Were San Diego to come through with a spot for him, he’d take it. He even thinks he’d accept an offer from Irvine if he got one, which is still a possibility. He won’t even consider Cal Poly, and we won’t consider the expenses of NYU, so those options are off the table. I suppose U of WA or Boulder could come through with offers of space yet, but out of state tuition is just too hard a pill to swallow. So here we are, end of April and still no clear choice.

My hope is that he finds a bit of relief in finally deciding on UCSC, if that’s where this ends up, and then at least a little bit of excitement follows. I have to imagine a lot of stress would be relieved if he’d just come to a decision. He must be stressed, though he’s not showing it. More than anything, I want him to feel pleased about what he’s accomplished, and eager for what’s to come, rather than feeling like he had to settle for something less.

~~

Read tonight a very depressing front page article in the Hub about the insane number of over qualified California students who have been put on UC waiting lists as campuses prioritize out of state students who have inferior GPAs and lesser test scores, but who can pay higher tuition. Thousands of California students this year have been waitlisted at the premier UCs. The article gave numerous examples of Davis students, many with grades much better than Peter’s, landing on waiting lists. This was validating, but no less frustrating. His grades are right in line with the averages of kids who have historically been accepted, but his test scores are so far above the averages, I was sure something had gone wrong with his application. But no.. this is happening all over: strong applicants are rejected (or waitlisted) while higher paying students are getting slots. It seems an incredibly unfair situation. Certainly an untenable one.

Yesterday’s rainout meant a return to Del Paso Heights today to replay our game with Grant High.

It was much better baseball weather today.

Here are Ray and Peter during the pre-game warm up:

Doesn’t that make you want to go out and run around on a baseball diamond? In my next life, I’m coming back an 18 year old baseball player. Not kidding.

I sat with Dianna right behind the on deck circle, close enough to hear coach and player mutterings, which was illuminating.  Here’s a nice one of Daniel, who took the mound in the sixth and finished the game (we won 8-3 and are now 16-2).

Best part of being in this part of Sacramento is the food. Yesterday it was a great taco joint, today it was southern-style…another immensely popular walk-up style restaurant with very rudimentary seating. Tori’s Place on Grand:

I got some corn bread to go:

Dianna says the meatloaf is great. I’m sure it’s all great:

Here’s where you order. Not sure why, but the menus are slightly different, including the prices… but I’m sure it’s all work out-able with the owners (both of whom came to the window to chat, welcome me and even shake hands).

Today’s fun fact: a few days ago, Tori and her husband welcomed Jesse Jackson to their place. He was in the area to stump for a local candidate (I presume that Allen Wayne Warren fellow featured on the election signs in the top photo) and dropped in here for some legendary home-style cooking. Pretty cool.

Already committing to returning next year to cheer on the varsity, even without Peter, so I can try the meatloaf.

This is kind of a silly title.. but refers to a couple of Grant related things. Grant High School… that’s who we played today, on their home turf in Del Paso Heights. This is a tough neighborhood of Sacramento, but it’s also great for food… but back to that in a sec. Regarding reprieves, we are getting a couple after today’s game. Here’s why:

First, there was the weather. They said it was going to rain this afternoon and they were right. Like a sonofagun. So hard, in fact, it hailed. Twice during the game. By the time the bottom of the 4th rolled around, Ryan B (aka Bell), who’d pitched a near perfect couple of innings, was starting to lose his grip on the ball. They suspended the game for safety reasons, and when it didn’t let up, they postponed it entirely. Until tomorrow.

Bright sun and low 70s are predicted for tomorrow. So.. a weather reprieve.

Secondly,  because we didn’t get far enough into the game before rain suspended play, we are getting a reprieve on the game itself.. meaning, tomorrow at noon, we return to Grant High and start back at the first inning with a score of 0-0. In other words: we start all over, fresh. For a couple people, this is a disappointment because they were having exceptionally good games (like the aforementioned Bell). Not to mention, we were winning 5-3. We will lose those good stats and we will lose that little bit of an edge in the game. But for those who were having a bad day–and there were three of four of them–going back to square one and forgetting the game ever happened is a good thing. Take Peter, for example: Peter had an exceptionally dismal outing. He was lucky to have only been credited with two errors in the first inning, when it very easily could have been three, and he was part of a bungled play at first that lead to other bad things. This whole series of unfortunate events included giving up two hits and three runs (and actually, due to all the errors, even though a couple of them were his, only one of those runs was technically earned) … and well, it was just an inning he’d love to forget. It’s not often you get to have such an inning erased from the record books. But there it is… erased. Like a mulligan in golf. A total do over and.. another reprieve!

No pictures of the action (too buried under my goretex, trying to keep my score book dry), but as we waited for the umpires to rule on the rain out, here’s the team in a spontaneous game of something. Not sure what it was, but it looked very fun. Don’t be fooled by these puffy white clouds against a bright blue sky… the field is soaked, the breeze is stiff and cold, and there is vast darkness behind me.

Back to the food.  This being Del Paso Heights, rib joints and taco stands are all over. Before the game started, a bunch of us went to Chando’s Tacos for a late lunch..

Here’s the menu, posted outside, next to the walk up window:

I’ve since learned there are a number of Chando’s Tacos around as they’ve gained in popularity. Glad to hear that.

~~

Unrelated, returned home and immediately took off for a forum on Measure A. Learned a lot about something I’d not paid that much attention to over the years, which is good, since we’re voting on it in a month or so. And that’s all fine, but what made the forum notable was the fact Jim was the moderator. He did a very nice job, especially as the mud began to fly. No kidding, it turned into something I completely did not expect, with a bit of yelling and a lot of snarky sniping. All over a patch of undeveloped land.

Davis.. I tell you.

But I was very proud of my husband.

Given that I spent most of this day bent over one proofing project or another, I sure ended up with a few good things to write about.

Nothing earth shattering, but then, it’s the small stuff, right?

Small thing #1:

Jim’s implant nightmare is finally over… after… I don’t know…maybe 18-20 months? Minus about a month or so when he was between implants (his first one and second one, and hopefully his last). It was a long road with many gappy smiles. But now… he’s back to a full set:

Understandably smily.

Small thing #2

Tonight was the annual thanks to all involved dinner out at the 18,000 acre ranch Jim does subsidence work for. Some beautifully delivered thank yous to a gathered group of twenty, a very nice dinner, a celebratory magnum of cab and a lot of talk of water politics. Fascinating, really, to get a glimpse of what land ownership and management on a grand scale is like.

Mostly I wished we lived in a place where we could gaze out at broad, sweeping vistas; it gives me such a sense of peace, such a sense of connectedness. I’d really give anything for a house on the edge of something, where miles of open space are part of your daily reality.

It was too dark by the time we took off… so I just took a picture of the area around the ranch house and the end of what had been a dramatic sunset:

The house (charming) is behind me; that’s some kind of barn/workshop in the photo. It is dead silent out there.. but for birds and water fowl.

Small thing #3

And while we were out in the country being wined, dined, and thanked, local NBC affiliate KCRA was running a story about the local baseball phenoms of Davis High. A reporter and camera crew showed up at practice today to interview Dan about the exceptional season the Blue Devils are having. It was a nice piece! A fast paced minute of action shots that got most of the guys in, and additional interviews with Hunter, Mort and Ryan K. Here is a shot KCRA posted to its Facebook page (credit where credit is due) promoting the story: the backside of five of the pitching staff: Ray, Eton, Bell, Gib and Peter.

Pitchers not pictured: Mort, Danny, Pierce, Holgate.

Cleanest pants award goes to Bell. Also, nice haircuts, guys.

Or something like that.

My kindergarten pal Sarah (will she forever be known as my kindergarten pal?) texted to say a former high school classmate of ours was in town and did I want to join them this evening?

Yep. Yep I did.

We met on Sarah’s downtown Sacramento rooftop.

Sarah and Mindy:

They are lifelong friends and such smashing looking senior citizens!  Both are so much fun.

It was such a lovely evening for a nostalgia tour. We touched different communities in high school, but had enough intersections to keep it interesting. Great snacks, great conversation…. and a great sunset.

Annita Martins Frame  ::  November 11, 1923 – April 18, 2106

Dear sweet Aunt Annita passed away yesterday; she was 92.  I wrote a little bit about her life  here. 

She was Jim’s mom’s sister. Theirs is a fascinating story that started with a beautiful life growing up in Brazil–daughters of a French mom and a Brazilian dad–and concluded in California where they married brothers from Kansas.

Since Jim’s mom died when Jim was only 17, I never got a chance to meet Sonia. Aunt Annita was like a surrogate mother-in-law to me, the closest I would get to knowing Jim’s mom.

I adored Aunt Annita and am so glad she had a long, full and happy life.

I have to say, the baseball story of the day was playing against a guy who’s likely to be playing in the big leagues in short order. It turned a normal Delta League game into a bit of a circus as the stands were crowded with scouts, coaches, sports writers, and photographers in addition to the usual assemblage of diehard fans (family and friends).

This was our first clue that something was up.

But let me back up a little.

Here are Peter, Eton and Ryan crammed into the backseat as we are driving to Sheldon High School (on the Sac-Elk Grove border). I did a Facebook post about transporting three of the league’s top five pitchers–which is true, as stats go…

But stats are funny. While it’s true that Peter (4-0), Ryan (3-0) and Eton (2-0) are #1, #2 and #5, respectively, on MaxPreps’ list of the league’s top winning pitchers (at this moment in time), it’s also true that they are not the most talented pitchers in the league. They just happen to be earning Ws for a wide variety of reasons. You can also measure ERA (Peter’s amazingly #2 at the moment) or strike outs (Ryan’s #5), but those don’t tell the whole story either. It’s not that they aren’t pitching well, they are, but W/L, ERA and SO are not the only metrics in evaluating goodness.

(Still, it was fun to note.. at least for the purpose of a fun Facebook post.)

But speaking of the league’s best pitchers…  like I started to say earlier, a larger-than-usual crowd gathered to witness and assess the guy most believe is the real best pitcher in the region. In fact, he is one of the nation’s leading high school pitchers. Thus the scouts…

…with their radar guns:

The guy, Matt Manning, throws routinely in the 90+ mph range, today hitting speeds as high as 98. I should note that that is a very speedy little pitch even for a professional MLB pitcher. It makes for a very fast ball.

He ended up going  5 2/3 innings and struck out nine of our guys, impressive given how well we’ve been hitting this season. We only got four hits today… a season low. We didn’t get a hit until the fourth inning, and didn’t get another until the sixth when our guys finally started adjusting to the speed. Or perhaps Manning just pooped out. Whatever. We scored four and went ahead 5-2 in that inning and thought we might notch another win, but then things fell apart in the bottom of the inning, and we gave those four runs right back. Their relief pitcher was no slouch either: he faced a total of four batters and struck each one out. We ended up losing the game 5-6. Damn.

Still, it was kind of a game for the record books. They’ll always remember playing against a guy who throws just like an MLB pitcher. Ryan H, Hunter, Griffin and Max will be able to say they hit him; Solly, Ryan K, Griffin, Max, John and Peter will get to say they stole a base off him; AND Peter will get to say he struck him out on three pitches (in last Friday’s game). How ’bout that?

I got one marginal pic:

If I ever find out who he signs with, I’ll let you know.

We’re not asking questions, but after many, many years of Peter forgoing Sunday brunch with his parents, he joined us this weekend.. second weekend in a row.

It probably won’t be a thing until he does it again, and maybe again after that, but two weekends in a row is pretty earth shattering.

It’s been at least five years, I’d guess, since he was a regular attendee. Before that, it was our no-fail Sunday morning ritual, a practice that started when he was just days old. I’m not kidding. I remember months and months when he slept in the carrier on the table. Then he could sit in a high chair (big deal). Then, of course, he transitioned to booster seats… I’m sure you know this progression. There were a few years where we’d battle over venue, but we finally devised a clever system of rating and ranking choices and then used those rankings and our elaborate point system to determine a rotation schedule that accommodated everyone’s favorites. That resulted in a few blissful, non-confrontational years of dining. But then, sort of abruptly (and sadly for us), Peter opted out. As the teen years settled in, he favored sleeping over breakfast with us. Go figure. But we acquiesced. We’d have preferred his company, but he preferred hanging in the house by himself, on his own time. We’d bring back his usual, unless he texted us otherwise. Depending on the hour, that could even be a hamburger from Burgers and Brew, an easy stop on the way home. We’re swell that way.

I lobbed an invitation his way on countless occasions, Hey, you wanna join us for breakfast?, which he never, not once, took us up on. But I did it anyway.. cuz you never know, right?  If one of our birthdays landed on a Sunday he’d come, but otherwise.. nope.

But now, on the cusp of turning 18 and leaving home, he’s coming back. Well, maybe. He’s done it twice. Without prompting.  I feel like Sally Field… “You like us, you really like us!

Let’s be clear: Two is a micro trend… but two does not a habit make.

So.. I, being weirdo me, got some pics:

Because it was the day after Picnic Day, downtown was crowded with students and their visiting families. We couldn’t get into Black Bear Diner (never a place Jim and I go), and Peter didn’t want to go to Bernardo’s, El Toro Bravo or Crepeville. Season’s wasn’t open yet, and Jim was not having any part of Bistro (see.. this is why we had developed our point system), so we decided to try Caffe Italia, even though that’s where we’d gone last weekend.

It was a nice walk on a warm morning:

No lines, no wait, got right in. And it was great. A bit stressful talking about college choices and the need to tour some of his options, but otherwise lovely.

Here’re some shots on the way home, because I’m still thinking this may not happen again.

You’ve seen this butterfly bench?

The mural-filled bike tunnel?

This is the cut-through in Aggie Village:

I liked this…. a little K just sitting there on the sidewalk…

And that was that.

~~

I liked this picture I took last night of the Waterboy, where we joined Don and Trish for dinner….  always seems like a treat to drive into Sac.. the big city, you know.

It’s annual Picnic Day day. That means our Saturday includes a parade. There’s the official one that wends its way through campus and downtown, and there’s the other one, the constant stream of gaggles of students, marching with boisterous excitement, always shrieking and laughing, often yelling at someone far away for some reason, up and down our street.

But it’s fun.

Here are some shots on our way to the official parade. People getting ready on Second near campus…

Kids at the Turtle House…

Here’s a cutie pie, excited about bubbles:

And here are the bubbles, everywhere in this shot but not quite seeable:

We had a good spot on the curb on Second Street, opposite the Odd Fellows Hall. Turned out to be GREAT because it’s also one of the places where the Cal Aggie Marching Band stopped and performed. I had to tuck in my feet so I didn’t trip anybody. That close.

A funny (or not so funny): Soon as the band started up, I started crying. I was looking at all those college kids–specifically UC students–thinking Peter was going to be one in about 6 months.. and just lost it. Been happening a lot lately (ask me privately about the episode in the bathroom at Jamba Juice in Elk Grove last Wednesday before the Franklin game).

Ahem. So anyway, there were some vintage vehicles:

And, being Davis, the parade had lots of political entries…

To be fair, we had college republicans, too, and lots of veterans groups. As well, an anti-Katehi group.

Here are Jim and me:

(Nice sunny day!)

Here’s a shot of a party on the way home:

I was aiming at the Bernie poster, but got, as an unintended bonus, some waving guys and a side boob (these were big at the Oscars this year). Ya just never know what’s going to turn up in these hard-to-decipher-on-a-cell-phone shots.

Note: Based on a recurring slogan appearing on many of the vehicles, I’m guessing Cultivating Your Authenticity was the theme this year.

Works for me.

~~

Note to self:  Remember to bring chairs next year.