Milwaukee

A few years back I was able to attend a game in Milwaukee.

My brother lives in the area, we were driving through, and the Brewers were at home.  This was a good combination.

This was our first time at the new stadium, but not my first time at a game in Milwaukee.

I had been to several games at County Stadium in the '80s when visiting my brother's place.  One of the more memorable games came in celebration of his 30th birthday.

My parents and I were on our annual visit and, while we were there and unbeknownst to him, my other siblings and their families arrived in the night to have a surprise party.  The next day (or the day after, maybe) all the "kids" went to a Brewers game while my parents stayed home with their grandchild.

The only thing I missed on the last trip was the closing of the dome.  It was open for the entire game.  When we got to our car, we turned around and saw that it was closed.

Next time, perhaps.

Generational

Baseball goes back at least a couple of generations in my family.  The picture above is of the county's championship team in the early/mid 20th century.  Both of my grandfathers were on that team.

My paternal grandfather had a light blue pickup truck about the color of blue in this baseball figurine's shirt.  I remember him sitting in the truck in the driveway at the farm on weekend afternoons listening to Tigers games.

My grandparents from both sides were lifelong neighbors on farms about a quarter mile apart.  My dad said that as a kid he could sometimes hear my maternal grandfather's voice hollering out from the other farm when a serious game of ball was being played.

I couldn't hit a ball with a bat if my life depended on it.  But the game somehow still ended up somewhere in a few of the genes.