August 30-31

Friday night football at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted York in the high school version of The War Of The Roses. It's no secret that the program at JPM is in disrepair and it will take time to recover, on this night it was all York from the proverbial word GO. The visitors led 26-0 at halftime and added on in the second half, when the game mercifully ended it was 61-0. It reminded me of my first year back at JPM in 1988, we went into the last week of the season at 9-0 and finished it with a 61-0 win over an outmatched opponent that was every bit as one-sided as this game was. JPM on this night had less than 100 yards of total offense including just six yards rushing, by contrast York compiled over 400 yards on "O". The boys play week #3 on the road, they are home for back-to-back dates on September 13 and 20. On Saturday Jenny and Helen came into town after lunch for the ballgame, the Barnstormers hosted the New Britain Bees. The clubs played a makeup doubleheader on Friday with the Stormers winning both ends, on this night they never led in a 5-3 loss. The game was scoreless into the sixth where the Bees put four on the board, Caleb Gindl's solo home in the bottom half cut the deficit to 4-1. In the home seventh Melvin Mercedes (not known for the long ball) hit a two-run home run to make it 4-3 but a NB insurance run in the ninth ended the scoring, Nate Reed started for the Stormers and took the loss. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 26-29

Made the usual Monday errand run in the vicinity of the mall, the rest of the day was spent at home recharging the batteries. On Tuesday Jenny and Helen were at the foot doctor in Willow Street, we got our lunch to go and ate at their place. In the evening we were at the rink for summer hockey night #8, Gold met Orange and Blue met Green for the last of three times. Wednesday was a rainy day, I was at lawyer in the morning to sign some papers before lunch. In the afternoon a quick-moving system brought a decent amount of precipitation but it was moving west to east, according to radar the worst would be gone by 5:30 or so. The ballclub in York was at home, I left at 4:45 and drove through the rain just about all the way to the river. I got to the ballpark after 5:30, the tarp was off the field and it looked to be in good shape. The game started in good order at 6:35, the Sugar Land Skeeter (fresh from their visit in Lancaster) were the opponent for a good old-fashioned slugfest. The Revolution blew out to an 8-0 lead after five innings, the Skeeters rallied back to within two runs in the seventh but the Revs held on for a 9-7 win. I may make one more game in York before the regular season ends if all goes according to plan. Thursday marked the end of summer hockey at Reservoir Park, Orange vs Blue and Green vs Gold brought down the curtain. Forty-four players participated in the eighteen-game schedule. The meeting for the fall season is on Tuesday the 3rd. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 24-25

Saturday lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the evening I was at the ballpark. The Sugar Land Skeeters were in town for the weekend, the Stormers won the opener on Friday but on this night they never held a lead. The visitors from Texas went up 1-0 in the first before Caleb Gindl went yard in the bottom half to tie the score. In the fifth Sugar Land reclaimed the lead, Joey Terdoslavich's solo shot in the sixth pulled the Stormers even yet again. The Sleeters went up 3-2 in the eighth and added an insurance run in the ninth, in the bottom half Greg Golson's RBI hit scored Darian Sandford to make it 4-3 but the rally went no further. Jonathan Albaladejo started for the Stormers and suffered the loss. On Sunday the clubs met for a rare 5:00 start and it reminded me of a Sunday in August of 2018 when the same clubs met for a 5:00 game, that day turned into a weather-plagued debacle that left a bad taste in everybody's mouth. On this day there were no such issues, since it wasn't a 1:00 game Jenny and Helen elected to attend on this day as opposed to Saturday. The Barnstormers drew first blood in the third on Devon Torrence's RBI single, after the Skeeters evened it in the fourth Michael Martinez's solo home run in the bottom half restored the Stormers' one-run lead. Sugar Land responded quickly with a run in the fifth to even it 2-2, in the seventh inning the game fell apart. Five Skeeter runs put the game out of reach at 7-2, Connor Overton worked into the seventh inning and took the loss. The Stormers return home for a series with New Britain on Friday the 30th. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 23

Friday dawned under bleak and dreary conditions, by afternoon the rain had moved on and the clouds broke allowing the sun to make a cameo appearance. In the evening I was at McCaskey for the opening week of high school football season. When I was in school the athletic seasons didn't start until school itself was back in session and that never happened until the week of Labor Day. The JPM  football program has not seen much success in recent years, since the last postseason appearance in 2010 the club has played to a .275 winning percentage (22-58). The operation has a new head coach in 2019, his name is Sam London and he comes to JPM from Lincoln University (in southern Chester County, about thirty miles southeast of Lancaster) where he was an assistant football coach and recruiting coordinator. It takes any new coach time to put in a new system and on this night that was in evidence, visiting Red Lion (from York County) scored early and often taking a 39-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. The entire second half was played under the running-clock mercy rule, Red Lion never scored again but there was little need. The Red Tornado got on the board in the fourth quarter on a 47-yard fumble recovery/return by Ben Desmarais, in the closing minutes Bassir Epps ran twenty-three yards for a score bringing the final to 39-14 (placekicker Sam Hershey was 2-2 in the PAT department). The club plays six home games in 2019 (making up for having only four at home in '18), they host York on the 30th. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 21-22

Wednesday lunch with Jenny and her mother in Quarryville, in the evening I was back at the ballpark. After the come-from-ahead loss on Monday and a Tuesday night defeat the Stormers got back on the plus side with an 8-2 win. High Point scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, the Barnstormers scored singles in three different innings and blew it open with a five-spot in the fourth. Melvin Mercedes' RBI hit in the second gave the ballclub a 1-0 lead, in the big fourth Darian Sandford had a run-scoring single, Andrew Aplin picked up a ribbie on a bases-loaded walk and Destin Hood followed him with a three-run double to make it 6-0. The Stormers added on in the fifth when Anderson De La Rosa singled and touched home on an error, Devon Torrence's RBI hit in the seventh wrapped up the scoring. Nate Reed got the start and went five innings for the win, former St. Louis Cardinal property Pedro Echemendia and Logan Sawyer each worked two innings of relief. On Thursday evening we played night #7 of summer dek hockey amid an annoying light mist that starting falling about thirty minutes before 7:00 game time. The radar showed hit-and-miss rain all over the area, we were right on the northern tip of a system that was hitting the southern part of the county. I texted Jenny and she said it was very dark and thundering in Quarryville but at the rink we were lucky, the light mist was all we got and it was gone by 7:30. The games on this night were the last go-around for Blue vs Gold and Green vs Orange, the league concludes with games on the 27th and 29th. Saw on the Internet where the start of the Stormers game was delayed until almost 8:30, they must have been hit much harder there then we were at the rink even though the two facilities are only a mile-and-a-half apart. Goes to show how unpredictable the weather can be. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 19-20

Monday morning at the mall for lunch, in the evening we were on North Prince Street as the Barnstormers returned home for the first of four games with the High Point Rockers. The Stormers have struggled mightily in 2019, the ballclub started slowly and has never quite found the right combination. When the story of this season is written the game on this night may stand as the perfect illustration. Michael Martinez gave the Stormers a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the second, after High Point tied it in the fifth Andrew Aplin's three-run shot in the bottom half made it 4-1 Barnstormers A two-run triple from Devon Torrence in the sixth upped the advantage to 6-1 but the Rockers rallied back back with three of their own in the seventh. The game fell apart in the top of the ninth, High Point scored four runs and won it 8-6. Jonathan Albaladejo started but wasn't around for the finish, Cody Eppley suffered the loss in relief. Tuesday evening was night #6 of summer dek hockey at Reservoir Park, the matchups were the second of three between Blue vs Orange and Gold vs Green. Those pairings finish the season on Thursday the 29th. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 16-18

August 16 is always an important day on the calendar, it's Jenny's birthday. Every year I write in this blog about how much she means to me, I once told her that I could spend the rest of my life standing next to her and I would never EVER get tired of it because I would never ever get tired of HER. She has her problems (I knew that before we ever came together) but it doesn't change the fact that she is to me the most beautiful woman in the world. We had lunch together on Friday, in the afternoon we stopped for supper on the way to the ballgame in York. Every season I try to get Jenny and her mother to a game there preferably on a weekend when the Barnstormers are the opponent, it didn't happen in 2018 but this time around it worked out. We were sitting in section 11, in the second inning Helen looked around and spotted a family member two rows behind us. She has a brother who lives in York who she rarely sees, it made for a pleasant and unexpected family reunion. In the game itself the Barnstormers scored in the first on a K.C. Hobson RBI double, Anderson De La Rosa's home run over the Arch Nemesis and a Caleb Gindl sacrifice fly RBI made it 3-0 in the second. The Revolution got on the board in the third on a Wellington Dotel sac fly, in the visiting fourth a Joe Terdoslavich sac fly and a Revs error gave the Stormers a 5-1 lead. In the home fifth the Revs got back into it on a Isaias Tejeda RBI hit and a two-run single from Melky Mesa, in the sixth an RBI hit by Dotel and another run-scoring single by Tejeda gave the home team a 6-5 lead. From there the bullpens took over, there was no further scoring as the Revs held on for the comeback win. Robert Carson was the winner in relief with Jameson McGrane picking up the save, Alejandro Chacin took the loss for the Stormers. All things considered I believe this is a birthday Jenny will remember for some time. On Saturday I did my usual Friday run a day late, the rest of the weekend was spent indoors in the comfort of the air conditioning. It has been exceptionally warm lately and they are calling for more of the same in the week ahead. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 12-15

The early part of the new week was relatively quiet except for two nights of dek hockey at the rink. On Monday afternoon I was downtown at the courthouse, a representative of the law firm met me there. The estate has to go through probate and there were papers to be signed, they told me the process would be relatively simple since I am the lone beneficiary but it still needs to be done. On Wednesday Jenny and I had our usual lunch date, we were back on the regular day for the first time in three weeks. We had done lunch on Tuesday each of the previous two weeks because either she or her mother had an appointment somewhere. There was rain in the area on Tuesday afternoon, the radar indicated some light precipitation that would be gone by 6:00 or so. We had some spotty drip-drops right up to game time at 7:00 but it didn't stop us, night #4 of summer season went on as scheduled. This night was the second go-around for Orange vs Green and Blue vs Gold, they meet once more on the 22nd. Thursday featured no weather issues of any kind (except for the fact that it was hot), night #5 marked the midpoint of the schedule. Green met Blue and Orange met Gold for the second of three times, they pair off again on the 27th. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 9-11

Went to the lawyer's office on Friday morning, they needed a copy of my mother's most recent tax return. They said when April 2020 rolls around they will prepare her return for 2019 and they can handle mine as well so that's one less thing to worry about. In the evening I was at the ballpark, the Stormers continued their homestand with a visit from the Long Island Ducks. This was my first look at the Ducks for the season, they had visited in May for a series I missed completely. On this night the Barnstormers fell behind 1-0 in the first, in the third Devon Torrence singled and scored on Caleb Gindl's two-run home run. The 2-1 advantage lasted into the eighth inning where the game fell apart, the Ducks scored once in the eighth and twice in the ninth to win 4-2. Cody Eppley took the loss in relief of starter Connor Overton (recently signed, late of the SF Giants organization). On Saturday we had our usual lunch date, in the afternoon Jenny and her mother came back into town for the ballgame. They had missed the last few Saturday games because of the heat but the weather has been more comfortable lately, this was also their first time at the house since the middle of June and they both commented on how strange it seemed without my mother there. There were quite a few stuffed animals in the upstairs back room that Jenny asked for to remember her by and I had no objections, there were also a few items I thought Helen might appreciate which she took home as well. At the ballpark in the evening the Stormers scored first on a two-run home run in the second by newcomer Gift Ngoepe (that spelling is correct, it's pronounced "en-GO-pay", he's a native of South Africa and a former big-leaguer with Pittsburgh and Toronto). In the third Destin Hood's RBI double made it 3-0, one inning late Anderson De La Rosa singled and scored on an error. That advantage was all Nate Reed needed, he carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and earned the 4-0 win with relief support from Matt Marksberry and Logan Sawyer. On Sunday the series ended with a Long Island win but I was not there, I was taking my usual personal day at home. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 7-8

Had an appointment with our law firm on Wednesday morning to set the wheels in motion for settling my mother's estate. This is uncharted waters for me and I'm not anywhere sure exactly what all it involves but I guess that's why law firms exist, they said they will do most of the work and keep me informed when they need anything specific from me. In the evening I was at the ballpark on North Prince Street, the Barnstormers hosted the New Britain Bees in the middle game of a three-game set. On this night the visitors from Connecticut scratched out a single run in the third inning and made it stand up for a 1-0 win, John Anderson started for the Stormers and took the tough-luck loss. On Thursday I made my usual morning errand run in an effort to keep up the regular routine, in the evening we played night #3 of summer dek hockey. I went to the rink at 5:45, shortly after 6:00 it began to rain. The radar had indicated a quick-moving front was on the way, I was on the rink with the Billy-Goat when it arrived. I brought the machine into the building and waited it out, within ten minutes the rain was over and the sun was shining. We started right on time at 7:00 with Green vs Gold and Orange vs Blue, those matchups happen again on the the 20th and the 29th. Take care, thanks for reading.

August 5-6

Out and about on Monday morning running errands and trying to keep my mind clear. There were other events taking place in Lititz but I was not there for one simple reason: I just couldn't be. I was present when my mother said goodbye, I said my goodbye at that time and I felt no need whatever to relive the moment especially for the benefit of an audience. Everybody deals with times like this in their own way, mine may not be the accepted standard but I make no apologies. In my younger years I was traumatized by similar events and I've never forgotten it. When I was thirteen years old my grandfather in Elmira passed away, my father's family held three nights of viewings at two hours each plus the funeral itself and I was FORCED to be present for EVERY LAST SECOND of it. Two years later my mother's grandfather passed and she wanted me to be a pallbearer. I resisted because it made me uncomfortable, I wanted nothing to do with it but she refused to take "no" for an answer. When I reached the age where I could make my own decisions one of them was that NOBODY would ever subject me to anything like that ever again. When a loved one passes away I can accept it but I will deal with it my own way, anybody who doesn't like it can keep their opinions to themselves because I don't care what they think. To anyone who would say "that's just terrible, why couldn't he be there for his mother?" I would say "where the hell do you think I was the last sixty-two years?". I was at the cemetery in the afternoon after everyone had gone and from an emotional standpoint I'm at peace with it because I know in my heart I did all I could do and at this point there isn't anything more I can do. In the evening I made my first trip west of the river to the ballpark in York. I hadn't been there yet because I didn't want to be thirty miles from home if an emergency arose but that is obviously no longer a concern. The Revolution jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a Telvin Nash two-run home run, Carlos Franco's two-run shot in the third made it 4-0. The visiting Somerset Patriots exploded for eight runs in the middle three innings, the Revs got one back in the fifth on a Melky Mesa RBI hit but it wasn't enough as the Pats took it 8-5. Julio Perez suffered the loss in relief of starter Duke von Schamann. On Tuesday Helen was in Willow Street for an appointment, we got lunch for ourselves and Jenny and ate at their house in Quarryville. We had some rain in the afternoon but it cleared off, night #2 of summer hockey went on as scheduled. The games were Gold vs Orange and Blue vs Green, they pair off again on the 15th and 27th. Take care, thanks for reading.

July 31-August 4

In Lititz on Wednesday morning to make arrangements for my mother, there is a firm there that her side of the family has utilized for generations. Many years ago she and I had discussed this eventuality and at that time I freely admitted that there was no way I could handle this by myself. She worked for many years with a woman named Norma and they were best friends, it was decided that she and/or her daughter Melinda would assist when the time came. Unfortunately Norma's health is not the greatest anymore, Melinda was present to lend her help and it was greatly appreciated. I had planned to go to the ballpark in the evening for the youth tournament semifinals but the schedule was changed thanks to weather. The second game on Tuesday was suspended by rain (it must have been an isolated storm, I never saw any rain anywhere I was), it was completed on Wednesday with that night's original schedule pushed back a day. Thursday night found us at Reservoir Park for the opening night of summer dek hockey. On this night Blue met Gold and Green played Orange, those matchups happen again on the 13th and 22nd. Saw on the Internet where the Jr. Tornado lost in their semifinal game on Thursday, the championship game on Friday featured Lititz vs Manheim Township. I was there even though I had no rooting interest, it was just an excuse to get out of the house on an otherwise uneventful weekend. The game turned out to be a barnburner, Lititz rallied from behind to win 9-7. With the Barnstormers (obviously) out of town and the ballclub in York on the road as well Saturday lunch with Jenny was about all else that happened. Take care, thanks for reading.