This world has a way of putting the big squeeze on a person. Life gets so busy and chaotic that it seems to live you instead of the other way around. I’m not quite sure who is to blame for the insane schedules that families keep these days, but it seems that between work, school and “extra-curriculars”, the fewest number of hours in the day are spent with each other and the greater number of precious hours are spent with…others. I rather like spending time with my little monkeys and I’m kinda jealous over our time together as a family. There was a time, in the not-so-distant-past, when I wondered if Brian and I were ever going to have children to share this amazing life with. Then to have TWO perfect little boys!
Ben and Jack are such reminders of God’s faithfulness to us!. We don’t want to squander a minute of time we’ve been given. I feel blessed to disconnect from the tangle for awhile in an effort to slow life down and make our precious moments together count. To tell the world, “Hey, you ain’t the boss of us!”
Ben's First Double Play
Well…a proud dad has to brag! Ben completed his first double play tonight as he caught the line-drive and threw the ball to first base before the runner made it back for a forced out. It definitely wasn’t a smooth display of baseball…but none the less…it was a double play!
After the game (a defeat after three extra innings), the coach of the other team said. You’ve got a great second baseman there. I said thank you and told him his son did a great job. He then said, “So what position does your son play?” That’s when I realized his earlier compliment was directed at the team having a great 2nd baseman…not just me. I proudly said, “Second base!”
Proud daddy, signing off.
Toni’s MySpace Site
Toni’s MySpace site (http://MySpace.com/ToniBecker) has been online for one week. It is my goal to make her an online artist. So we’ve been working the system hard, gleaning friends and posting messages and forum posts. During the first week we spent over 20 hours on MySpace but we currently are at:
Profile Views 244
Friends 58
Duty Calls 314 plays
Real Time 72 plays
Honest Man 42 plays
My Best Friend 50 plays
Total Plays 483
Watching Busch Stadium Demolished
I donated some money to a charity because with the donation came a chance to have a VIP pass to watch the old Busch Stadium demolished. Low-and-behold, I was picked! Awesome!
My father and Lance Donze went with me and it was cool. They gave all the winners a beautiful lithograph of the hall-of-famers who played in Busch stadium signed by eight of them: Jackie Smith, Dan Dierdorf, Ozzie Smith, & Stan The Man.
While there, I was intervied by several TV stations about my GGFather owning the Cardinals. One of the interviews was live. Very Cool.
What a great day.
Houseboat on Norfork Lake
The trip was inspired originally by my father. When I was 12, my father showed me a brochure of a houseboat from Bullfrog Basin but mother wasn’t convinced that being surrounded by water was much of a vacation. Ever since that time I wanted to tackle that adventure and last year our family of four did just that on a 40ft houseboat on Norfork Lake.
This year we invited our entire family. Unfortunately my parents were not able to join us because my father was in the hospital after falling off the roof of his home. But the rest of us, my brother’s family & my sister, had a blast. The fishing was great!
The boat was 56ft long and 14ft wide with four double beds and a pull out sofa. The trip was a great success and our family is doing it again in September so my parents can join us this time.
Check out 101BoatDock.com to take your own adventure!
Shake-off #3: Applebee's vs. Hardee's
A letter from Cardinal’s Owner Fred Hanson
The same day I presented the photo to Tony LaRussa,
I also presented a photo to Fred Hanson and the owners of the St. Louis Cardinals. We spoke for almost ten minutes in his office about Cardinal history. It was wonderful.
I received this letter from Mr. Hanson earlier this week that states they will be putting the photo in the Cardinal’s Hall of Fame next year located inside the new stadium.
St Louis: Bar Italia (4/5 stars)
Bar Italia is absolutly wonderful. My suggestion is to walk in, order an espresso martini and tell the waiter to “serve you whatever the special is tonight!” You can’t go wrong…I promise.
I recently took three colleagues to the restuarant and each were more than impressed with their meal. I even convinced them to try their calamari salad…rave reviews!
A moment with Tony LaRussa
I had the opportunity to talk to St. Louis Cardinals baseball manager, Tony LaRussa, on Friday. I presented him with a copy of the photo of the 1899 St Louis Baseball team which my great-grandfather owned from 1898-1917. The team included three hall of famers including, most notably, Cy Young.
I walked in the front door of Busch Stadium at 4pm on the first day of a three day series with the New York Yankees and asked to speak to Tony LaRussa’s secretary. I showed the 13″ by 17″ photo and his secretary escorted me down onto the field where the Cardinals were taking batting practice (yes, I tried to time that one and it worked). Tony was doing TV interviews but after 20 minutes of waiting (Larry Walker, Scott Roland and several others batted while I waited) Tony came over.
I presented him the photo and he was extremely grateful. He asked several times if he could do anything for me in return and I kept saying, “it is just an honor to present this to you.” Finally the third time he asked I told him I had two small boys at home, he wrote down their names and ages.
When Ben (my six-year old) found out what had transpired he said, “DAD! You mean the Cardinals coach asked you if there was ANYTHING he could do for you? And you didn’t ask him if Pujols could come over to our house for dinner?”
What was I thinking!?!
Chicago: Harry Carey's Restaurant (4/5 stars)
I had to travel to Chicago for the day. SuperCom ended at 3pm and my flight wasn’t until 8:25 that evening. I strolled down the Magnificent Mile (bought some golf-shorts at Eddie Baur’s), went to see the OmniMax presentation “The Mystery of the Nile,” and then it was time to eat.
When in Chicago, you have to go by the Harry Carey’ Restaurant. Everyone in sports knows the name Harry Carey. But his restaurant is absolutely fabulous: packed with great history, wonderful photos, and the wonderful food.
Meal
Fried Calamari
Wedge Salad
Pan-Crusted Beef Tenderloins over garlic mashed potatoes
Tiramisu & Cappuccino
The calamari was as fresh as if being on the coast. Served with a very nice cocktail sauce, but also included was a plate with lemon wedges and a bottle of Tabasco. Excellent.
Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and blue cheese with a thin blue cheese dressing. Often blue cheese dressing is too thick, but this was perfect and a very refreshing salad.
I should have ordered a steak from the tray they bring to your table, I will do that next time for sure. But I usually like to try the chef’s special when at a restaurant for the first time. My choice was very good and I enjoyed it thoroughly, a side of pasta noodles in a red sauce is included with each meal…not sure why because the flavor was lacking.
The tiramisu was good, but I didn’t taste enough rum. Tops in the category of tiramisu are still:
1. LaRusso’s in St Louis
2. Brian’s home in Poplar Bluff
The total experience is worth it. The wait-staff is very friendly and full of charm. The food deserved a strong 3+ stars, but All-in-all with the atmosphere, it’s a solid four.