Leaving town on June 21

Gerry went to her dentist appointment and it looks like we will be heading East around June 21.  She has a June 19 appointment to finish up the work and we will leave shortly after that.  We plan on taking I-10 from Tucson to I-20 in West Texas and stay on I-20 until we hook up with I-85.  That's it,  3 Interstates and we will be back in Concord, NC around the end of the month.  We've been this route a number of times and have done the sightseeing bit quite a lot, so this will basically be a put some miles on the RV every day trip.  It's 2,000 miles to Concord and making the trip in 7-8 days shouldn't be that difficult.

One thing about traveling across NM, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, NC during June is to watch the weather for storms.  We've been caught in two hail storms in TX and had damage to the motorhome and car.  I'd like to avoid that this year.  Also, the wind can play a huge factor out West and can delay you for a couple days if it gets up in the 25-35 mph range.  I don't know what is worse, the storms or the wind.

It was 106 degrees in Tucson today and we had the a/c running all day and were comfortable in the motorhome.  Since we are here on a weekly basis, the electric is included in the camping fee.  That is a good thing because I am sure we are really sucking up the KWHs during this heat.  It was in the 90s late in the evening and didn't cool off that much during the night.

I did get a chance to watch the Spain-Netherlands World Cup soccer match yesterday.  It looked like Spain was going to run away with the game and dominated most of the first half.  They were leading 1-0 as a result of a penalty kick and seemed to be in controal.  The Netherlands scored on a beautiful header late in the first half and tied the score.  The 2nd half was all the Netherlands as they scored 4 more goals.  The final score of 5-1 was a surprise to everyone.  Great match if you like the Netherlands.

That was our day, how was yours?

 

Pool Tables & Barbara

Barbara is our oldest daughter and led the way for her two younger siblings.  I won't go into all that means, but she also loves sports and was a very good softball player.  She and Cassie were integral parts of their softball teams when they were in Jr. High and beyond.

Barb also liked to play football and liked to rough house with the neighborhood boys.  That was fine when she was younger, but there came a day when I noticed they wanted her to run with the ball all the time and that was the last football game for her.  Of course, she was mad at me and thought many evil thoughts that can't be repeated on the blog.

After high school she attended Montgomery Community College and carried a full load.  She started off fine and got the good grades we expected of her.  Then something happened.

Let me back off here a minute.  We had a real nice slate pool table in the basement and it was in use all the time by the kids and us.  We managed to almost wear the table out in the years we had it.  As much pool as I played you would think I would be good.  Not so, I would get beat on my own table all the time and Barbara almost always beat me at the game.

The Pool Table

 Ok, after a couple semesters of school, I noticed that her pool game had improved a lot.  Upon further inquiry we found out she was honing her skills and became a Pool Shark and was playing in the Student Union building.  That was not good.  She was good at pool though!

Later in life she played some more softball and also joined a volleyball league.  It was difficult for her to be there all the time with 4 young children and a husband who worked long hours.  Whenever the family got together at her house the old volleyball net would come out and the game would be played for blood.

Barbara got married and moved out of state the year that I was posted overseas, so we didn't get a chance to see her play a lot of sports after that.  Pictures were mainly of the grand children as they came along, rather than sports.

Did I tell you that our three children are competitive in sports?  No?  Well, I imagine you have figured that out by now.  The funny part about them is that all their spouses aren't really into sports that much except as spectators.  Goes to prove that opposites do attract each other. 

I played industrial league basketball into my 40s and was very competitive, so I guess I am the blame or can take credit for their interest in sports.  I accept either of the two reasons above and have enjoyed watching them develop as players and people.

I've written about each of them and their sports the past few blogs and want to thank them for giving me many father's days even though it wasn't in June most of the time.

I do draw the line at playing Pictionary with them.  They are too cut throat for me and I enjoy watching Henry's face when the kids and Gerry go at it over a Pictionary play.  Too scary for me to get involved in that game.  When the dictator showed his ugly face one night, that was it for me.

Three reasons for celebrating Father's Day

 Now the wait is on to see what presents I get this year.  LOL

Thanks for reading the blog this far.  Aren't you lucky that I don't have 8 children?

More Softball & Cassie

Our daughter Cassie played softball from the time she was about 10 years old and was on coed teams, girls teams, both fast pitch and slow pitch.  Early on she played on teams where the girls were older but she more than held her own.  Barbara & Cassie played on the same church team in the Washington, DC area when they were about 15 and the team wound up with a 25-1 record.  That was a very good team to say the least.

I made it clear very early on that I didn't want her to play catcher on the fast pitch teams and the coaches agreed to my request.  One coach kept asking me if he could use her at catcher since she had the best arm on the team.  Nope!  No catching.  I showed up at one of her games being played during my working hours and found her catching.  I had some choice words for the coach and that didn't happen again.   You may ask why not catcher, well I didn't want her having broken fingers from foul balls and suffer with that later in life.  As the old saying goes, catcher masks, chest protectors and such are the "tools of ignorance".

She was very competitive and it showed on the playing field.  I think that was what made her such a good player.  In her prime she was one of the teams top home run hitters on the coed team, beating out almost all the guys.  She hit with power and ran the bases like a deer.

Cassie at bat with power to spare - 1983

Cassie playing 1st base 1983

The photo below was taken the night her all girls team won the championship of their league.  By this time she had been fighting health issues for many years, but she could still poke it out of the park.
  

 Larry Jr. and Cassie played on the same coed team for a number of years and were integral parts of the team.  This picture was taken after they won the league championship one year and Jr decided everyone needed to cool off.  He brought large coolers of ice water to the game and hid them until the team picture was taken.  Then, out came the ice water and I don't think I have ever seen Cassie move so fast.  In fact, she was a blur in the picture.

Coaching her bro at third base the same year as the picture above.  Gerry and I really enjoyed seeing them play softball together and the bond they had between them.   Cassie also served as team coach on a number of years and  was able to help of young players improve their games.  She knew the rules and wasn't afraid to challenge referees when they were wrong.  

What do I do, Sis?

Eventually age and her illness caught up to her and she had to hang up the cleats.  I think if she were able, she would still be out there playing softball on a team somewhere.  I am sure she still has her glove and some softballs in her basement

When Cassie was very young I taught her how to roll when hit and not put her hands out to brace the fall.  One day she came running down the hill in the backyard and wasn't paying attention to where she was in relation to our wood fence.  Too late she turned and saw the fence and in a flash she remembered my directions about not bracing her fall with her hands.  So, she lowered her arms and ran into the fence standing straight up and bounced back on her butt.  She was stunned and when I ran up to her, she said she didn't put up hands because I told her so.  I guess it was my fault.

Now she is a Baltimore Orioles baseball fan and follows them all the time.  She refuses to root for the Washington Nationals since the two previous Washington baseball teams moved out of Washington.  Don't get her mad at you, she doesn't forget.

Everything written above is true to the best of my recollection and I am sticking by what I wrote.

Hope you all had a nice day.

1986 W.A.I.S.T Tournament - Dakar, Senegal

Before you jump to conclusions, this is the definition of W.A.I.S.T (West Africa Invitational Softball Tournament).  The coed softball tournament has been held in Dakar, Senegal for many years dating back into the 1980s at least.  It has evolved over the years but it basically is held for slow pitch softball teams involving mostly Americans in West Africa.  The teams are composed of many different groups in the various countries and come together for the tournament in February of each year.

When we moved to Abidjan, Ivory Coast in 1982, Larry Jr. was 11 years old and loved to play baseball.  He made all-start teams in the U.S. and was disappointed that baseball wasn't played in Abidjan.  A group of guys played softball each Saturday at a local soccer field, so we started playing with them.  My softball skills had gone down over the years but I still enjoyed the competition.  

The group would let younger players join in the games and let them hit and make believe the youngsters actually got hits and throw the ball over the heads of the first baseman, 2nd base, etc and have the kids run the bases.  That applied to all the children except for Larry Jr, who they treated like an adult player.  He wasn't that big at that time and never got a hit for 2 years but he went out there every Saturday and played the game.  He had a great arm for his age and would throw out players and they soon learned to not try and take an extra base on him.

Fast forward to 1985 and Larry Jr. had grown about 10 inches and put on some weight and started getting some hits in the pickup games.  They could no longer bring the outfielders in to cut off his hits and had to play him straight up.  He also had developed into a pretty good outfielder and could run down fly balls and hits to his part of the field.

When the 1986 W.A.I.S.T tournament was held the team invited him to play with them.  It was always difficult to field a team and then find players willing to pay the airfare to Dakar from Abidjan so that helped him a little.  I was on a TDY in Bamako, Mali and flew over to Dakar to watch the action and Gerry flew up with Jr. from Abidjan so we made it a little vacation for us.

Larry Jr & Tommy Weathersby

Larry Jr at bat & Cliff running along sideline to coach 3rd base

Larry Jr in 1998

Larry Jr cutting off Cliff for fly ball

Handshakes after winning game

Larry Jr on way to 2nd & Tommy Weathersby

Larry Jr. really came into this own in this tournament and batted well over 600, made some great fielding plays and ran the bases like a deer.  He played very well and many players of the other teams where asking who this "ringer" was and where did he come from.  Jr. actually got a couple votes for MVP in the tournament and Abidjan won every game and the championship.  We were very proud parents and were happy to see him play so well after all those years of struggling to get on base.  

Larry Jr. wound up being a very good softball player who grew to 6ft 3inches and put on some pounds to fill out his old bones.  He had a natural softball swing and lead all his teams in home runs and triples when he came back to the U.S. and played on many different teams.

Well, I bet you didn't expect the above in my blog, but I wanted to tell the story and acknowledge him hanging in there during those difficult early years in Abidjan.  

The memories came back to me today as we sit here in Tucson in 100 degrees and remembering playing softball in temps like that in Abidjan with the high humidity there.  After about 2 inning of ball our shirts, shorts, socks and shoes were soaking wet and 2 liters of water had already been downed by each of us.  We played from 1-4pm every Saturday and had a great time. 

Road trip to Tucson

We reluctantly got up at 6:30 AM this morning to get ready for our short 222 mile drive from Camp Verde to Tucson.  I wanted to get an early start to avoid driving in the mountains between Camp Verde and Phoenix.  There is one long hill heading south that is about 6-7 miles long and is a long pull.

I got an early morning surprise when I went out to stow the power cable, water and sewer connections.  They were watering the grass on each side of the motorhome and we had a flood.  They water the grass by pumping water from an irrigation ditch and flooding an area.  I had to bring in the slides so I wouldn't have to wade in the water.  It all worked out, so it wasn't a big problem.

It was an uneventful drive and we managed to get through Phoenix before the temps were around 108 degrees as forecasted.  With the generator running and both air conditioners on we were very comfortable driving down the road.  Traffic was light by the time we drove the 43 miles through Phoenix and even lighter as we were south of there.

We had planned on staying at our campsite from last winter, but someone else beat us to it.  No big deal, since all the campsites in this area are the same.  We do have a tree next to us that provides a little shade so that is a plus.  It looks like just about everybody we know has departed the area, so it is very quiet back here.

It doesn't look like we will be doing anything worth writing about for the next week or so and blogs most likely will be few unless something interesting comes up.  It will have to be very interesting for us to venture out in 100-106 degree weather.   At least the pool is open, so we can cool off in the evenings by taking a little dip.

That is all from us here in Tucson.  Hope you all had a nice day.