back in his seat, at last

His last outing for a Savannah Bananas' game had
been before I left for Florida.
That was the June 9th make-up game for two
rain-outs earlier that week.
He had been in and out of the hospital since then, but the doctor cleared him on Monday for baseball - yes!
And here he was, waiting out a rain delay with Steve Gerard, on his first game back.

Actually, that was a blessing.
As there was naught of interest on the field except
the rain, that made it easy for folks to spot him in
the grandstand and come callin'.
Gene "Gene Gene the Dancing Machine" Perrone was
very happy that Willie was there tonight.
In fact, he came by a couple of times to visit.
(smile)

Peanut came by a little after the game began, during
the first inning break.
She knows not to interrupt Mister Willie's enjoyment
of baseball in action!
After all, she and her father have been coming here for more than twenty years, like I have.
Jim Beasley passed away in April, but I know he still is beside Candace in their box seats at the games.

Numerous others came by to greet Mister Willie
during the night, but so did a few Bananas.
Not the players, mind you, but staff and the like.
For instance, here's the top of the bunch himself,
Jesse Cole, having just chatted with a fellow all
the way from Ireland.
That's a long way for a Bananas game!

Brenda Andrews was able to take advantage of a
rare lull in the action at the concession stand
to pop up and say hello!
She's one of the cheeriest people out there,
always with a ready grin for all and a high
five to us regulars!

That fellow in the Bananas-bandanna-wrapped
straw cowboy hat?
He has another ever-smiling face!
That's Berry Aldridge and he hadn't come
empty-handed for his visit.
No sir, he came bearing treasure: a DVD with the
video interview with Mister Willie, plus a
baseball autographed by all the boys of summer!

Super-sweet, isn't it?
I told Willie I'd be more than happy to take it off his hands!
Look, there's my favorite catcher, Bill LeRoy!
And right there by him is heavy hitter Rafi Vazquez - what a cool name!
Mike Williams - Willie's favorite this year - is just around the curve!
What a definite treasure...
oh, yeah!

What about the game itself?
Well, for only the second time this season, we truly did have horses in the back, just like in the latest Bananas music video!
I'm so glad I was able to see them cavorting in the outfield, even though the Martinsville Mustangs are normal folks, not like those horse-men in "Sorry To Bother You".
That would've been bothersome.
(Get it? Little joke there!)

The game was well-played by both teams and rather enjoyable.
The Bananas scored first, in the 2nd, then the Mustangs tied it right up their next at bat.
The Bananas made two more in the 3rd, then the Mustangs tied it up again, though not until the 5th.
And so the score stayed another couple of innings, until a wild pitch allowed a runner to break the tie... and that man was Mike Williams.
Go, Bananas!

There followed something which has been rare this summer:
the losing team filed out of their dugout to shake hands with those on the winning team.
I cannot recall seeing the Macon Bacon show that good sportsmanship, nor did the Florence Redwolves last week.
I guess it takes a herd of wild Mustangs to demonstrate good manners.
Kudos to their team!