super power

I spend way too much time thinking about the age old question, "If you could have any super power, what would it be?" My answer to that question changes on a regular basis. During baseball season my super power would be the ability to correctly call pitches from anywhere in the ball park. That way, when the asshole sitting next to me in the nosebleed section past 3rd base screams at the ump that the ball was a strike or a ball, I can calmly explain that the umpire has the best vantage point to correctly call pitches, which is why the umpire is not sitting in the nosebleed section past 3rd base, and then I can also explain my super power and tell them whether the call was good or not and then shut them up for good.

Now that the Tigers have ended their, and for the most part, my, baseball season, I have a new answer.

Today I would be invisible. I want to be invisible for one reason. I want to eavesdrop on Biden's debate practice sessions with Jennifer Granholm. I think it would be absolutely hysterical to see Granholm attempt to channel Sarah Palin. I'm sure they are very serious about these preparations. I hope they are very serious about these preparations. At the same time, I think it would be really funny.

feeling nostalgic.

I am at work today trying to figure out how I can get home to watch the last Tigers game of the season. It is an important game. If we win, we will not end the season in the cellar of the Central division. It seems like just yesterday that I wrote this post...

Monday, October 16, 2006
Bless You Boys

In a strange twist of fate, Jesse and I ended up being at the ALCS game 4 with cousinSethy and his mom. Not only were we all at the game, they were in our section. We were able to talk the two guys sitting in front of Jesse and I into switching seats with cousinSethy and mamaBurger so they got to sit with us. Amazing how that all works out.

Yesterday I wrote the most amazing blog about this game. But then it disappeared. Damn you blogger!! So I'll try to recreate some of the amazingness but I'm sure I will disappoint you all.

Here is a photo of the field before the game started.

The Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit sang the National Anthem and it was absolutely beautiful. I do not especially enjoy our National Anthem but when they sang it, it brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't believe they were kids!

I don't know who came up with the "Who's Your Tiger?" marketing idea but they are an absolute genius. Before the game Jesse and I both chose Magglio Ordonez to be our Tiger. Apparently Jesse and I are also absolute geniuses.

But more on that in a second.

The game was fun to watch. Jesse and I sat next to a dude who used to play for the Toledo Mudhens (the Tigers Triple-A team) and he had also played for the Lansing Lugnuts. He was really nice and friendly and hot. He and his wife hadn't been able to get tickets next to each other so she was sitting somewhere else in our section. Eventually she came and joined us since we were way more fun than whoever she was sitting next to.

As for the actual baseball, the Detroit pitching wasn't as lights-out as it has been in the previous post season games. Bonderman did just fine but we were really concerned when Grilli came in and threw 13 balls in a row to load the bases with walks. Luckily Wilfredo Ledezma came in to save the day. Oakland had to bring in their closer, Huston Street, in the 7th inning. We felt like it was the right move for Macha to make since this game had such high stakes. However, by the bottom of the 9th, it was clear Street stayed in too long. Craig Monroe and Placido Polanco managed to get on base. With 2 outs, Magglio Ordonez came up to the plate. When he hit the ball it felt like it was moving in slow motion. The crowd was silent as I watched the ball sail out of left field for the second time that night. I'm not sure if it was really silent or if I just couldn't hear anything. Then I went crazy. The guy sitting in front of us turned to hug me and accidentally (?) groped my boobies (although with all the layers I was wearing he didn't get much of a feel) and I didn't care. I hugged him. I hugged his wife. I hugged my husband. I hugged cousinSethy and mamaBurger. I high-fived hands that were coming from everywhere. I fought back tears but when I saw the tears in cousinSethy's and mamaBurger's eyes I didn't care to fight them back anymore. We screamed we jumped up and down. We believed.


Who's your tiger? Magglio was my Tiger. I had never seen a walk-off homerun live before. Earlier in the season I had tickets to a game where Carlos Guillen had hit one. I didn't go to that game because I was sick. I wasn't sick on Saturday night.

Here is the field during the presentation of the American League Championship trophy and the MVP award to Placido Polanco. Speaking of Placido, have you ever seen such sheer joy in a player as he ran around those bases? Watching highlights of him running and jumping and cheering while wearing that stupid headwarmer thing brings tears to my eyes almost every time.


After the game we walked around downtown for a little while just celebrating and high-fiveing everyone in sight. It was a peaceful celebration with everyone focusing on this amazing team.

Seth called Sunday afternoon and all he said was, "we were there."

Yes, we were.

I have a feeling there won't be any celebration if the Tigers win today. That's okay. There's always next year.

vacation, part i.

The first part of my vacation was spent on the road. I left after work and drove to Charleston, West Virginia. People say the drive is beautiful but I wouldn't know because it rained the entire way. I decided it was more important to keep my eye on the road than on the mountains. Solo road trips aren't so much fun.

For some reason I dig cemeteries, especially old cemeteries. I went to the drug store the night I got to Charleston and when I walked out of the store I saw a cemetery on the side of a mountain. It was probably a hill but it looked like a mountain to me. The next morning I got up and made my way to Spring Hill Cemetery. I walked around for a little while. It was really hilly and I am really out of shape. But I enjoyed the quiet and even saw a deer. I took a photo of the deer but it kind of sucks so I'm not going to show it to you.



I found the Confederate Soldier section...


I saw this stone and thought it read "Leafer" and was a little creeped out. Once I got closer I realized it read "Leaper" and the social worker in me immediately thought, "suicide."


I left the cemetery and went down to the Capitol building. I walked around for a while and took photos of statues.

This is the West Virginia Coal Miner statue...


And the Capitol building...


Creepy fruit or something on a tree...


It wasn't a very nice day in West Virginia. The rain had stopped for a little while but as I was walking around the Capitol, it started to drizzle again. It was time for me to make my way toward Durham, North Carolina.