Ok...Last Post......

Bonjour les gars,
I wanted to share some more last moments from this weekend. Going to get to it now...
We lost. We lost the first game on Saturday and couldn't pull off a win in the 11 inning second game. We had the lead in both games and it really could have gone either way. But that is life and the Woodchucks are moving on. It was a very sad moment in Mudville that day but I didn't feel so much joy in a matter of minutes.

It was just really bizarre. I was completely depressed with tears after I made the last out of the playoffs. I was welcomed with open arms from all of the guys coming out from the bench. I didn't even hear the celebration that was going on behind me. A real brotherhood moment. Don't really know how else to put that. The best part of the whole thing was...

We still drank our beers.

I learned so much yesterday as well as the past eight months. I am going to share pics from yesterday as well as Olivear's and my last song together.









Hope you enjoyed reading my blog. I know you say that you appreciate what I have written but I have to tell you that it was a joy to do.

Hell...I have been on a 8 month vacation really.

I love you guys and I will see you tomorrow. Au Revoir.

My Life Now: Reflection and Future.

Hey guys, I will just be completely honest to start off. I haven't had the muse to write. So I haven't...as you could tell. But I am sitting here in my friends apartment, Pablo, who I live with now, and I saw something. I will get to that later though. I first want to say "Hey" to Phyllis, I will see you really really soon Phyll, I can't wait and I have thought about you so much these past few months. Thanks to everyone else for keeping up. I don't have many pics this post. Just want to write. Sorry, but this is my blog and I can do whatever the hell I want. This is also the last post I will be writing.

The reason why I am writing now is because I found a piece of paper that was in my computer case. On this piece of paper, I had written down just words that would make me remember some things to write at a later time. I will start by telling you the first word on my list.

"Chris-Friend"

Most of you should know Chris Harrison. He has been my savior over here. I am being completely honest when I say, he is the nicest person that I have ever met. But "nice" doesn't even graze the surface. Chris does the things that would make one say, "Is this guy really like this...?" And the answer is yes. I have learned a lot from Chris. I have learned how to suppress anger, stress, French conflicts from him. If I didn't have those nights where we would get a bottle of red, Chris would just listen, and I would just pace and bitch about everything that was happening....I would have cracked. No doubt in my mind. I would not have survived. You can learn something from Chris right now.
What I would like for you to do once you read this, is this...
Do something very special today, out of the norm, for someone or people that you care about. Surprise them with just a gesture of kindness. I'm talking even if you have to do some planning, going out of the way, making a great meal, calling someone to laugh about a childhood memory, reliving a special moment...just something. Do it please. Once you realize how good it feels for the opposing end, you will want to do things like this more often. Hence, creating more light in your life.

The second topic that I wrote down on that piece of paper was,

"Rain- Re-Birth"

I wrote down these words to let me remember my feelings at this very moment. I had realized that my relationship with one of the girls over here was over, I was completely torn up. I called Ian, when he was in Florida, and was in tears. Everything was coming down in my eyes...my heart, the club, my future, my life, everything. But as I was walking from the phone booth back to my apartment something happened. It rained. It was really coming down. I just walked back very casually back to my apartment. One might think that the rain was symbolizing just more shit that was coming down on top of me but I completely interpretted it a different way. I just stopped outside my apartment, took in the view of Rouen from my street and raised my head to the sky. It was refreshing. If someone saw me...they would have thought I was high or something. But I didn't mind. It felt great. I felt like the water was washing away the negative coat I was wearing. In movies, rain symbolizes a change that is going to happen, a re-birth if you will. The next day was great. I got stronger at this point. Learned a lot about myself at this moment. Just when I thought everything was going in a downward spiral, I realized I am still here. I have support. I have support. I have you.

The last word that I am looking at right now is this,

"Silence"

I want you guys to paint this picture right now. Imagine you are in a different country, foreign environment, whatever. You are by yourself without your constant materialistic companions. I am talking about no cell phone, television, internet, ipod...etc. Now when you woke up this day, you have absolutely nothing planned. You are free to do whatever you wish. But the only thing is this...

You will not utter a word to someone the whole day. No one.

For 24 hours it is just you and your thoughts. Have you ever had a day like this?

I have.

Sounds very dismal and depressing but I think everyone should have atleast one day like this in their life. One thing that I will take back to the states with me is that I am forming into the person who I want to be. Not caring about my image to other people. Just being me. If you don't like me, then get out of my way. If you are responsive to me, then let's have a glass of wine and play music. I can just hear Alex calling me a damned "hippie" all the way from Dallas right now....I don't care asshole. I still love you though.

That is all I am going to write from my slip of paper. Let me fill you in on just a couple of other things that are going on real quick.

*I am in love with a girl that I met on the train when I took Nena, Mom and Dad back. We have spent almost everyday together since then. I haven't felt like this in a long long time. Her name is Gabrielle Caron. She can speak three languages and doesn't know where life is going to take her the next day. I had the first family dinner last night and I performed pretty well. It was a night full of laughter and bad english/french. They have an apple tree in their yard with huge red apples. For dessert we had an apple tart cake. Really reminded me of home. I was really leary about writing about Gabrielle because as soon as I open my mouth about someone, the Black Cats come out. But this one is different. I know what you are thinking...
"Tony...what are YOU thinking?"
I have to follow my heart. That is all I am going to say about that.

*Bois Guillaume is in the National Finals. Won beat Compiegne in the Best-of-Three Semi-Finals yesteday to advance. I played really well. I picked up the game winner yesterday as well as slugging my 11th and 12th homeruns of the season. We play Montigny next Sat/Sun for the National Title in Paris. The field where I played my first French baseball games. Best-of-Three series. Winner gets a 12,000 eu bonus as well as a ticket to the Elite division next year. I am trying not to stress about it too much because outcomes of these next games help determine what path I will walk next year.

It was sad on Sunday the 19th of October in Bois Guillaume. Not because we advanced to the National Championship but becuase this was the last day that Bois Guillaume's field would see a game played on it. My Minimes field, my cadet's field, my softball girl's field, my team's field,.....

My field.

After the game, Chris came up to me.

"So...you gonna get some dirt or what?!"

Hahahaha. So Chris and I strolled to the pitchers mound and collected some dirt. A great souvenir.

I love you guys and will see you next week.

Happy Birthday Dad

This is just a post for Dad. I love and miss you. Be home soon. I leave you with a good pic.

Fiesole, Italy.

"STAY HERE....DON"T MOVE"

Classic. Hotel De Cathedral.

Hey guys. Well, as some of you probably already know...my parents and aunt made it safely back from their European excursion. We had a blast and I will show you guys the pics after some words. First, I would like to say Happy Birthday Ian, I wish I was there my man, be back soon. Have a good one...maybe Lela will watch Joey for ya tonight. Love ya Ian. To everyone else, thanks for the comments and the encouragement to keep writing on my blog. I have to be honest...it is getting harder to sit down and write about what has been going on. I am ready to see you guys and I can't think about anything else. Karly...I still laugh at your comment, GO TO KCI WHEN I LAND!!!!. Phyllis, love you and I will see you as soon as I get back. One more thing...Ian...my dog better be alive after you took care of him. I am personally taking the accomplishment of having the best dog in the family. Alex...Sachel sucked (from what I hear), and Mandy....I'm sorry...good dog, but I have never had to worry about Jake's rear end getting dirty...haha...you have to be a Lewis to know what I am talking about. Miss you guys and will see you soon.

Concerning baseball. I am just going to give you a rough recap and explanation about what is going on. We have made it through our "pool play" in first place. We advance to the semi-finals with home field advantage. We are waiting to see who we play from the other pool because they started a week after us. Therefore, I have this weekend off and we will host a team in two Sunday's. In the Semi's and Finals you have a best of three series. If we win two games in the Semi Finals...we advance to the France National 1 Championship. This all will go down in a three week span. Semi's October 18th and 19th, and the Finals on the 25th and 26th of October.

My plane ride back is the 28th if everything goes to plan.

Ok. Now to talk a little about the family trip....well, I will just let the pics do the talking. One thing...I was always telling them, "Stay here...don't move." Cause I was scared I was going to lose them at these places in Italy/France. Mom was getting irritated because I was talking down to them...hahaha...I guess I was.


Cinque Terre, Italy


Dad getting much needed smoke.

St. Peter's Plaza


Dad doing the "Pisa Stance" at the Patheon. Rome.


Michealangelo's Piazza. Florence, Italy


Nena in Florence.


Mom and I in Fiesole, Italy.


Mom walking down Italian steps.

A great trip. I loved every second. I hope you guys did too. I love you guys and will keep in touch soon. Happy Bday Ian and I hope "Fire and Ice" 's Cashew Chicken is good. Miss you and 20 MORE DAYS BABAY!

The hills are alive with the sounds of the Lewis's.

Hello my fellow readers. Thank you for keeping up with all of my blogs and extended absence. To Ian, Alex, and Grant….I love how you guys call out the fact that I get excited about a girl and usually it ends up not working….Same thing happened again, but I am seriously getting used to it. To Karly and Tiff, love you guys and I know now that I have two more friends for life now, love you guys and you have made it easier to live over here. To Phyllis, I love you and I am really glad I got to talk to you the other day. I pray for a speedy recovery and I lit a candle for you at Joan of Arc Cathedral. Who else is better to light a candle to for strength huh? To everyone else who reads and doesn’t write, I hope you enjoy my words.

I really don't have an answer for my relationships. The best way I can describe them would be like lighting a string of Black Cat fireworks. You are surprised and excited when you light them but before you know it...the show is over.

Enough of that. I am just going to give you a string of pics of Mom, Dad, and Nena being over here. I want everyone to know that we are constantly talking about you guys and wishing you were here. We have had laughs and conversations about certain things everyone would enjoy. So here are some pics. Enjoy. Love you and talk to you soon.


Outside their hotel next to cathedral



Chateau Clere. A wildlife paradise


Nena baiting a marmot.


Mom and Nena outside Notre Dam


Louvre.


Eiffel Tower Pic


Their having a blast and I am looking out for them. Love you guys and know that you are missed. Pce.

Hey

New post coming in the next couple of days.

Quick hits:

Won last Sunday's games. Now 6-0 in a 10 game playoff schedule

Katie-Me = Se fini.

Mom, Dad, Nena, and I havin a ball.

Italy next Monday.

Love yall. Post pics soon.

A Beziers Beating.

Hello my loved ones. I loved all the comments. Alex, you get the reward for best comment...I had to read it twice to get what you were talking about...then I laughed hysterically...Happy Birthday too. Love you Alex and sorry it's belated. Karly, miss ya and glad you're still on board...gonna party it up KC stylee when I get back, Tiff, thanks for the Myspace message, very sweet and I loved it, Ian, thanks for your humor and wit. Send Willow with Mom and Dad. IF I GET ANOTHER "RED DAWN" I am personally kicking someone's ass.

To Phyllis,
I just recieved the news of what happened and I am terribly depressed. I send all my strength, love, thoughts, and prayers your way. I really wished that wouldn't have happened. We will see Europe together next year.

Finally, to Mom, Dad, and Nena....

I have had to change what I originally wrote because the chippy feeling just isn't there now. I am still thrilled to see you and pray you have a safe journey.

K...Let me just jump to the weekend. This was our only big away trip that we have had this whole season. The Bois Guillaume Woodchucks would depart from Rouen on Saturday, 12:00pm and not arrive in Beziers until 7:40pm. This trip was a lot of fun because it just brought back every road trip memory that I have had on all the baseball teams that I have ever played with.

If you didn't know....on these trips, playing cards is a must, an ipod is definitely needed, and you try to pull the most outrageous/dirtiest shannigans on other team mates. It was a lot of fun. I tought Olivear, Pierre, and Vincent how to play Heart's and Youker(sp?). It was a great time.

We finally got to Beziers and settled in our hotel room. We ate a team dinner and headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest for the next day's games.

This beautiful Mediterranean bordering town sits in the south west corner of France. It was really cool because two weeks earlier, Cole and I passed through this town on our trip from Barcelona to Marseille. Olivear then said to me,

"I have never been this far south in France."
I smirked and replied,
"Oh, this is my second time...no big deal. You should try the crepes."

He gave me a "you smartass" look and we laughed.

Now, I told you the city is beautiful...but....the field.............

Not so much.

It was awful. I have never in my life played on a field in this kind of condition. Jean Luc was fit to be tied because the club spent over 2,000 Eu to get to this place. He was just because this place was embarrasing.

Their were huge rocks all over infield, the grass hadn't gotten a gulp of water in years, and the outfield fence was being blown over every five minutes. We all started making WWII jokes because the place looked like a battlefield. Here is our dugout....

The field.


You get the point.

We laughing about the place at first but when we started taking BP, we didn't laugh so hard when balls would hop up and hit people in the chest, head, and nuts.

The thought in everyone's mind was.

"Fuck this place."

We did what we had to though, and played ball.

Game 1: Bois Guillaume Woodchucks vs Beziers Pirates
Time: 11:00am
Weather: Overcast and Windy
Attendance: 1. The son of the head coach of Beziers. But a loud little pecker he was.

I have to tell you that in the playoff's, we have two 9 inning games. Long days, but we gotsa pitching.

We started off strong as usual and scored three in the top of the first. Marc started for us. He didn't have his good stuff though. He was complaining because he just couldn't find a rhythm. So this game was a little testy for us.
They scratched two in the bottom of the first and this battling back and forth continued throughout the first seven innings.
They actually made it 5-4 before we tallied 6 runs in the top of the seventh. Their spirits were broke and they caved in to give us the opening win. 11-5.

Now we get a 30 minute break. What the shitty thing was though, was that the first game lasted three and a half hours. Not really giving us a lot of leeway to catch our 6:30pm train back to Rouen.

Another kinda-funny-not-so-funny thing was that most everyone on the team forgot to pack sandwiches for between games. So we scrounged all of our bags and pooled in what we got. We had 3 sandwiches, a little jar of Nutella, a chunk of Camenbear cheese, and a sleeve of chocolate cookies (thanks to Olivear). So all 10 of us had an odd between-game meal.

Game 2: BG Woodchucks vs Beziers Pathetics...I mean Pirates.
Time: 2:30pm
Weather: Sunny and windy as hell.
Attendance: A couple cute gf's of Beziers showed up.

I am not going to say much about this game. We scored 8 runs in the first off of 437829 errors. Final score 25-6. The only cool thing that happened was during my last at bat.
Romain and I always give each other shit about our families. I give him shit because he has a really cute 19 year old sister and he gives me shit about Mom being hot. Just routine baseball banter.
So in this last at bat, he came up to me and said,

"If you hit a homerun, I will give you my sister's number and you can have one night with her. But if you don't hit a homerun, you have to buy me a bottle of whiskey."

I agreed and everyone was just laughing and waiting for my at bat. I told everyone to watch my warmup cuts and I just took some barbarian cuts registering hysterical laughs from the bench.

I step up to the plate.

1st pitch.

Landed 20 feet beyond the center field wall.

I was just hootin' and hollerin' from the base path and guys on the team were rolling on the ground laughing. Romain had a look of shock on his face. I think everyone will remember that moment.

"Dame el numero, puta."

"Ahhhh, femme ta guelle." (Ahhh Shut the Fuck up.)

We gathered our stuff, showered, and headed to the train station. We made it with 7 minutes to spare.

It was a great trip back home. We traveled in 2nd Class on the way to Beziers but we had 1st Class tickets for the return journey.
A great trip home. Romain bought a bottle of whiskey for the debt (no sister), and everyone passed it around while sharing laughs. A great time.
Vincent (back left), Charles (left), and Romain (right)


We arrived late that evening in Rouen and everyone departed ways.
Yesterday, I slept a ton and went for a run. I texted Katie because she was back from Barcelona and asked her if she wanted to hang out. She agreed and I offered to make her dinner and just have a chill evening. So last night, I made us mussels in pasta with a mushroom/onion red sauce accompanied by glasses of Apple Brut Cider and coconut sorbet for dessert. Not bad if I say so myself. We then walked around Rouen at night and stopped at one of the bridges over the Seine. It was beautiful looking at the cathedral from afar and seeing a full moon cast over the water. We just shared conversation the whole time. Came back to my place for red wine and cheese and listened to music. A great night.

Katie and Me


I love you guys and I can't wait to see some of you really soon. Have a safe trip and I'm sure I'll talk to you before you depart. Focker...out.