busy with 2 little blondes at the ballpark!

Here we are, wonder of wonders, having literally walked right into five open seats!

Even more incredible was this: they were on the very front row!!!

My gratitude to the angels for these, as it was well past 5:30 by the time we walked in!

My first niece snapped this one of me, Chloe, Miyah, and her, with the sun heading back behind the bleachers.

She'd brought along her friend Kayleigh.

That girl was definitely there for fun!

When Steve, the bartender for the Savannah Party Animals, came by to offer shots, she was the first in the section to open wide!!!

One of the gals in the next row followed suit, and I'd bet Steve ended up with an empty bottle by the time he got to the beer loft area.

Just what was in that bottle is anyone's guess, but the song clip told me this: tequila!

If not for A-fib, my mouth would be open, too!

Yes, that was definitely one of the perks of those front row seats we had!

The game was only 13 minutes in the tequila man came up to Kayleigh.

Not three minutes later, a series of Party Animals came past us, with treats in their hands.

Not for us grown-ups, but for the kids!

Specifically, the guys were in search of Cupcake Girls, and our two little blondes won out!!!

For being such cuties, they were each awarded a gorgeous, frosted sweet, nestled in a protective plastic shell... but not for long!

The girls gobbled them right up!

Within an hour, Miyah had obtained another treat: a yellow Banana baseball!

Chloe kept trying to get one, too, but no luck.

So when it was suggested that the big sister let the little sister help get autographs, that brought smiles to both of the girls!

This photo was about thirty minutes later.

One of the dancing Party Starters came by and, when Chloe asked her to sign the ball, the woman was delighted to do so!

Miyah kept scooting closer and closer while the woman talked and personalized her autograph for Chloe; it was quite cute to watch!

But the icing on the cake came afterward.

As the Party Animal moved on to others, the little sister sat down and handed the baseball to her bigger sister.

The item had turned from a sports memento into pure treasure, with both girls admiring it.

What an absolute treat for me!

The game ended within the next thirty minutes.

The Visitors won, but by what score I knew not.

I still don't know!

For me, it was a night at the circus, under the stars... and that was absolutely perfect!

bananas in boston, boy-o!

"That's Fenway Park, the home of the Red Sox! Wow!!!"

Heard! Those Savannah boys have been playing their Banana Ball at major league stadiums on their 2024 World Tour.

"Look at all those people that turned up and turned out for all that!!"

Amazing, right? That stadium holds over 37,700 and it was sold out. SOLD OUT!!!

"Oh, man, Jesse Cole is making money hand over fist, isn't he?"

I'm sure he's doing quite well, but here's the thing: he's touring like a rock band. Know what I mean? Not only does he have to get all the Bananas there, but he also imports the Banana Pep Band, the field emcee from Daytona Beach, Mark "The Shark" Ediss for music, all the pitching and hitting and catching staff, the dancing umpire, the dancing first base coach, and who knows who all else.

"Plus, this time, the Savannah Party Animals were all transported to Massachusetts, too."

That's correct, as Boston didn't have a Challenger team.

"Just out of curiosity, why had you tuned in? You haven't done that for a while."

Well, they're all playing at one of the oldest "big leagues" park in the whole country. I was curious to see how much yellow the fans would be wearing. Let my tell you, there was a whole lotta sunshine in those stands!!!

"Wow."

Right? Plus, I wanted to refresh myself on the Banana Ball rules. Not that I don't miss those days of baseball with the team, but those have been gone since 2021. Ah, well, change is the way of the world, right? Back on track: I'll be going to see the boys at play at Grayson Stadium next Saturday. I exchanged four of my tickets for that Saturday, June 15, game, for which I already had one ticket. That gave me 5, for me, Tony, Laura, Noah, and the boy's girlfriend. A family day at the ball park! Yeah, only it didn't work out that way. Noah, 18 now, and his girl didn't come to Savannah for the summer, so I invited Smitty and Mary. Woohoo! It's been quite a while since me and my brothers were there together!

"Oh, that will be very nice! Definitely a little something different for y'all to enjoy!"

I'm really starting to get excited about it! Oh, by the way, the Savannah Bananas will be on hiatus, so our game will be with the Party Animals and whoever they can scare up to play against. Honestly, the renegade boys in pink and black are actually the better ball players. They really are. Several of them used to play for MLB teams, so their baseball skills are top-notch. In that photo, they're waving their pirate flag, having bested the Bananas 4 to 1 in front of that sold out crowd.

"Good for them! I do seem to recall you bragging on the boys in pink before."

Yeah, I think next Saturday will be a good time! I'll just have to remember ear plugs to keep the circus noise level in the stands from being a distraction from the baseball. Guess I'll bring extras for my brothers!

got hotdog?

Of course I did!

Nothing better at the ballpark!

Especially with catsup on it...

right?

That'll be my inside joke for Ronnie.

(smile!)

 

By the time I got loaded up with food (hotdogs, a burger, a couple of bags of potato chips, and condiments) and drink (Sprite), and up to an open seat, it was 5:45 PM.

I'd been at Daffin Park for right at an hour.

Admittance to Grayson Stadium had been nine minutes earlier, with the Bananas Pep Band playing "Welcome To The Jungle".

Everyone in line ahead of me had rushed in to snag seats.

I was the only one who'd wandered onto the apron to enjoy the rock and roll music.

(smile!)

As for the seat itself, it wasn't one I'd usually go for, but it turned out to be perfect.

I got to enjoy watching the dude from Daytona - i.e., Matt, the "Young Professor" - chatting up a visitor.

That was while I ate part of my first hotdog.

(smile!)

Another few minutes later, I observed Bill LeRoy atop the Bananas' dugout as he started working the crowd.

I guess he was standing in for Jesse tonight, as the Man in the Yellow Tux was absent for this home game.

That was fine by me -

Bill's butt is much better than his!

(smile!)

By that time, it was already past 6 PM.

Stuff and nonsense that had naught to do with baseball and everything to do with the circus ensued for the next thirty minutes.

The first-time visitors to either side of me chose that time to buy souvenirs for family back home.

They even fetched more food and drink.

None of them - nor even those in front of me or behind - were from Georgia, let alone this area.

Anyway, it finally got late enough for something else.

That's when the Party Animals stormed over the left field wall, pirate banner waving proudly!

Hooray!!!

(smile!)

So, enough clues!

Have you figured out where I was seated?

Not the exact place, just in general?

Well, that was definitely the first base gate, as well as first base, in the above photo.

That puts me along the wall at stage right, across from the aluminum bleachers. 

I was lucky, only four rows up.

The dog above belongs to this hunky, kilt-clad, Man Nana, who had come to stand before us to try to get the attention of the one in the center of the stadium running the "who's been married longest" gambit.

This fine fellow had found one across the lane who were wed for 56 years!

Sadly, they were beat by another pair by only 2 years.

Still, it must have been rewarding to have this man championing their cause...

it certainly was rewarding for me!

(smile!)

 

Oh, what about the game?

Well, the Party Animals easily took the first inning, getting in two runs after filling the bases.

So much for that "Mr. Electric" pitcher the Bananas had made such a fuss over!

The Bananas took the point for the second inning.

The third saw neither team score.

By that time, the temperature was sliding quickly toward 60 and I left.

It was not quite 7:45 PM.

Perhaps if the Big Ass fans were not running that might have changed my departure time, but I doubt it.

Even with my flannel wrap, my hands were chilly.

 

When I reached home, I tuned in to the game on youTube.

It was bottom of the fifth and the Party Animals had taken the 4th.

The 5th became another scoreless inning for both sides.

I took care of downloading my photos, then checked back just before 9 PM.

Yep, the game was still going, having advanced to the 9th inning.

By the time the bottom arrived and the Bananas had their last at-bats, the Party Animals were ahead, 6 points to 3 points.

The Bananas did score one last time, but that was not enough to make up the deficit.

Ah, well.

The time was 9:08 PM when I turned off the game.

Soon, the episode of "The X-Files" with Burt Reynolds will come on to amuse me.

Life is good!

(smile!)

true blue baseball, right here

Just which game might this be?
Georgia Southern University versus College of Charleston.
Right here, in Savannah, at Grayson Stadium.
Amazing, right?
(smile)
Even more amazing was that I was surrounded by family and friends!

Mister Willie was the first one there,
of course!
After all, he rode with me!
(smile!)

My dear friend Scott was the
next one up!
He's not only an Eagle Scout...
he's also the only one of us
that was a True Blue Eagle!
See him sporting his colors?
(smile!)

By the second inning, my brothers
Smitty and Tony had joined us!
My sis-in-law Laura was right
there, too!
(smile!)

And that artist friend that usually
joins me for the Bananas' pre-season
family day?
You know, that party they throw for my birthday?
Well, Julie was right there, too!
(smile!)

I'm telling you, I was so thrilled
to be with all my fellow baseball fans
that I could hardly sit still!
I kept bouncing from one side of
Mister Willie to the other, making
sure I let all knew how happy I was
that they had come out to be with me!
(smile!)

The GaSoU Eagles even graced us with a win!
What a nice bonus for our evening.
Plus, we watched two future Bananas -
Austin Thompson is the one I recall -
out there making their moves!
Thanks, Berry, for pointing him out!
(smile!)



What a great blessing I have had tonight...
time with loved ones at a baseball game on an April evening!
i thank You, God.