First Up North

Before I begin describing our recent vacation activities (which will be apportioned for your ease of reading), I have some business to take care of...

Congratulations to my Blue Ice softball team. While I was enjoying my vacation with family, they were playing their hearts out in a tournament up in Toronto. Competing in the C Competitive Division, they racked up 7 consecutive wins en route to our first ever tournament championship.

THREE CHEERS BLUE ICE!!

Full of Dreams to Last the Years...

...in Seattle.

Yes, Seattle. Home to the 2008 Gay Softball World Series, and the destination for the Blue Ice. You heard it right, the team that I manage has qualified to participate in this year's premiere event.

We finished a disappointing 3rd in the regular season, and came into the playoffs missing 4 key players. Twelve of us faced a grueling day in the sun (high in the 90s), not an easy task for those of us pushing fifty. The situation became even more intense when one player injured himself, forcing me to play every game (after starting only three games during the season to concentrate on coaching).

Now I don't like to blow my own horn too much, but this old man (bad back and all) still knows how to play the game. In addition to pitching three masterful games (and relieving in the fourth), I averaged nearly .700 with a team-leading 10 RBIs.

Jubilation dies quickly. With only two months to the World Series, I am immediately working on roster moves (who can actually go to the week-long tournament), fundraising (we figure to need about $15K to offset expenses), and getting new uniforms/tshirts for the team. UGH!

So much to do, so little time.

Full of hopes an' full of fears, full of laughter, full of tears
Full of dreams to last the years, in Seattle
. . . in Seattle!

Thank you, Perry. Thank you, Blue Ice.

What's Missing in Toronto?...Me!

Toronto? You must be shaking your head wondering just what the hell this boy from South Florida is talking about. Let me explain.

You see, I'm sending my Blue Ice softball team north of the border for the Independence Day weekend. There is this super fun softball tournament in Toronto that weekend, so the team decided to brave the cold (hey, it will probably be what?...80 degrees? or whatever it is in celsius) and see what all the the fun is about. Two of our guys went last year and had the time of their lives.

Now to the sad part of the story. I can't go! This is probably the only out-of-town tournament that I really want to take part in and I can't go. There wasn't even the slightest chance that I could go. No, it isn't that I don't have the vacation time & it isn't the money. The thing that is keeping me here is family.

My mom will be celebrating her 80th birthday on July 3rd. In honor of that occasion, the entire family will be congregating on Fort Myers beach, where we have rented a beach house for the week. Family will be arriving from Tennessee, Illinois, Arizona, and various parts of Florida to enjoy each others company, frolic in the water, play games of all sorts, and eat & drink ourselves silly.

We did the same thing for her 75th and everyone agreed it was the perfect way to celebrate. Since then, we have lost one member of the family and gained three (including my Thom). Reminiscing will be at a premium. Catching up will take hours. All in the easy going manner that is the hallmark of my family. It will also be the first time they get to meet Thom, except for my mom and one brother (but more on that another time).

So, for very good reason, I will miss out on one helluva time. I will lose out on the opportunity to meet one of my favorite bloggers/softball players who happens to live in Toronto. C'est la vie!

But John/Jainey/Jeepers...I do expect you to give my Blue Ice team the royal treatment while they are in town. I know how much you like to show off the very best of Toronto and play tour guide.

Hot Trannie Messes

Some of the Blue Ice softball team took their enormous talents to the bowling lanes for the semi-annual league fund raising event.

It's pretty amazing what my "sisters" will come up with in the name of fun. Now, many of you have seen us regaled in Easter bonnets for a softball tournament, donning neon blue wigs for last season's bowling tourney, or combining their superpowers for Halloween.

Today's team was comprised of the incomparable (left to right) LaQuisha, LaTiqla, ShaNeNe, Fatima, and Ho Ho. The Hot Trannie Messes came in 5th out of 20 teams, not too bad for the Sorority Girls of Bethune-Cookman (you never know what you will find at Marshall's). Gotta love a group of friends who just know how to have fun.

Next up....

Sunday's softball game versus the FlaminGoGos!!!!!

Game Day Grumpy

Since Thom is back home, I really should put up something new, rather than the recent wah wah wah about spending the week by myself. Currently, we are both on the sofa, laptops in their usual location--on our laps, of course--and nothing special is coming to mind.

I'm tired and grumpy. My softball team played only one game today, and lost in heartbreaking fashion. Being down, we scored 8 runs in the fourth inning to take an 11-6 lead. This lead lasted until the top of the last inning, when our defense surrendered 10 runs. Uncharacteristically, our usually tight defense (we give up an average of 7 runs per game) succombed to error-itis. It was ugly, and so is my mood.

Hopefully, this is a wake-up call and the team will come back stronger the next time. It's all about mental toughness, and right now our team is struggling with the cerebral aspects of game preparation. Some people thrive under pressure...others cave in (choke).

It's been suggested that I'm not playing myself as much as I should. There is truth in that statement. But when I'm concentrating on lineups, player moves, scorekeeping, and coaching my own mental preparation is lacking. It's difficult to come of the bench to deliver that big hit in a clutch situation.

So the kids must continue to learn from their errors without daddy rescuing them.

Ginger in the Hall

This past Sunday, one of my dearest friends & teammates was inducted into the SFAAA (South Florida Amateur Athletic Association) Softball Hall of Fame. His contributions to the league are enormous. No one is more dedicated or passionate about making our league successful...both on the field and off.

Ginger (aka Mike) excels as a player. He has the skill to jump in at any position. His experience rubs off on the younger players who look to him for leadership.

We began playing together three years ago. When our team became so popular that we had an abundance of people wanting to play with the Blues, Ginger asked me to co-manage an offshoot team...Blue Ice. The two team compete fiercely against each other and, yet, remain family thanks in large part to Ginger's infectious personality.

Off the field, Ginger will do whatever it takes to promote the league; be it organizing a charity drag show, donning heels to wash cars, or selling raffle tickets. Like a pied piper, there is almost nothing that teammates and opponents wouldn't do to assist in his endeavours.

Here is how he ended his acceptance speech:

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved piece, but rather to slide in broadside,
thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and gayly proclaiming......WOW WHAT A RIDE"

It would be impossible to describe Ginger's zest for life in better words.

Congratulations to my teammate and friend, my hero and sister-in-life.