Picture Post

Pics:
1st- Jean-Luc and I on way to Honfluer
2nd- Park where I had lunch the other day
3rd- The open air market I stumbled upon
4th- Cathedral Top
5th- Old men playing "PaDunk". It is like the French Shuffleboard.
6th- View of Deville from the forest
7th- Picture from Abbaye Du Bec Hellouin
8th- Cathedral Pic
9th- A minotaur statue. Looks kinda suggestive, if you ask me.

Here is a link to my YouTube page. This is what I have been doing with my spare time. Miss you guys and I will post soon. Au revoir.

http://youtube.com/user/Stabone03

Woodchucks Split With Les Andely. A Taste of Humility.

Hey guys. I got back not too long ago from today’s games. Love you guys and miss you a ton. Thanks for the comments and please keep’em coming. I get taste of home with every message. Love you all.

I will start off with Friday/Saturday. On Friday, I had absolutely nothing to do. I just hopped on a bus with no intention of getting off at any particular stop. So I just made my way through Rouen, looking around at all the buildings. Before I knew it, I was riding along the Seine and out of the city. I started to have a giddy nervous feeling. But I took the bus until it completely ended in another suburb. I can’t tell you the name of the little town, just the fact that I had to follow the river back to town. So I just started walking. Following the river, taking pics, and just taking in the warm summer breeze. It was really nice. I ended up at the boardwalk and had a nice stroll along the river. I then walked into the town visiting different cathedrals. I listened to a great guitarist outside one of the cathedrals. I automatically knew this guy was going to be good because he didn’t have a money hat in front of him. You just knew he loved playing outside in front of a crowd. He had a Spanish tone and was very good. I then stumbled upon a huge open air market, and had lunch outside at a very serene, quiet park. Just a nice day.

Saturday. The softball team had a scheduled match against Honfluer, a town that sits next to the coast. So we drove to this town and I got the girls ready. I say girls, but we were mostly comprised of cadet ballplayers with a couple of girls mixed in. The field was absolute shit, but he scenery all around was beautiful. Huge poplars just shot up all around the field. Jean-Luc then told me something that I really had never thought of.
“You like trees don’t you Tony?”
“Well now that you mention it….I guess I do.”
We won the game 27-12. More like a football game if you ask me. That night I had dinner at Jean-Luc’s house where we would mentally prepare for the next day’s games. We were away at Les Andely which is the same town where the castle was where Chris and I visited before. The field sits actually right next to the castle, but trees blocked any view from the field. I was wanting to hit a bomb that landed in one of the dungeons but that wouldn’t be at this field.

Game 1: BG vs Les Andely
Time: 12:00
Weather: 70 with Sun
Attendance: around 19 peeps.

I had a bad feeling about this team all week. NOT BECAUSE YOU ASSHOLES WERE WARNING ME, but the guys look really lackadaisical this morning. Marc Bouchard, our Canadian ace, was scheduled to start. We started off the game like gangbuster again scoring three runs right off the bat. I lined a ball that almost broke the pitchers neck and other guys got base hits as well. Let me just say right now, that that was the best we looked for the first game. So there we were, in our element after the top half of the first inning. Now their turn. First batter for Les Andely, SS makes error. Next batter, 3rd makes an error. Next batter, double. Next batter, 2nd makes error. Next batter, RF makes throwing error. Next batter, 3rd makes error. You see where I am going with this? We found ourselves in an unlikely position after the first couple innings. Losing. We pinballed the lead back in forth for awhile until our poor defense got the better of us. We lost the first game 11-7. They had 3 earned runs fueled by our 9 errors. It was a piss poor performance. I stranded bases loaded twice. Damn…that is painful to write. So the 2008 Woodchucks are no longer undefeated. You would have thought that Les Andely just won the fucking World Series. They were just screamin’ and shoutin’. I was just waiting for them to start doing beer bongs.
I don’t think Emerill Legassi himself could have made our sandwiches taste good after that game. But one thing that we couldn’t do, is let this roll into the next game. So I tried really hard and shook off the pouty face and starting laughing a joking around. Anything to get our minds right. I did my impression of a woodchuck that always gets the guys laughing and it seemed that all was forgotten. Let us hope eh?

Game 2: BG vs Les Andely
Time: 2:00
Weather: Beautiful
Attendance: 21, Benedict and Laura showed up.

I stepped back before this game started and just looked around. I realized a couple of things.

1. I am playing baseball in France next to a castle.
2. The weather and smells of the field were just like I was back in the states.

They were two completely contradictory thoughts but they were singing with harmony at this moment. With one out in the first, Arthur led us off with a double to center field. I then strode to the plate completely relaxed. I then proceeded to hit my second homer of the season over the left field fence. It was a decent shot, if I do say so myself. We scored two more runs off a couple of errors committed by the other team and we were chattering like the Woodchucks of old. Vincent was our starting pitcher this game and he threw one hell of one. Three up, three down. All game. We continued to pour in runs absolutely showing the other team that we had beatin’ ourselves the first game. I strode up to the plate for the 3rd time this game after a hit by pitch my last at bat. They had brought in another pitcher who was throwing the ball with a lot more velocity. Maybe intimidating to some guys but just how me likey. First pitched wizzed by for a ball. Next pitch, estimated time of arrival…..my house in Deville in about 10 minutes. I absolutely pounded the hell out of hit. It was beautiful. One of those shots where as soon as you hit it….you can just jog and watch the ball sail threw the air. Really poetic if you ask me. We continued to hammer them into the ground for the remainder of the game. Final score 15-0.

I will mention that something really funny happened today. In the first game, I had not realized that the other team had another American. It wasn’t until their hitter jawed at Marc, our pitcher. I had told Marc only to throw this guy sliders because I could tell he was their best hitter.

This guys pops off,
“Throw me a fucking fastball you fucking pussy.”

Really loud. Marc really didn’t know how to react. I then stepped in from 1st.

“What the fuck is your problem you fucking asshole? This is baseball. Not fucking tiddlywinks, you fucking pussy.”

He responds, “You shut the fuck up, you have been jawing all game.”

I then replied a retort but you guys can guess what the majority of my words were. Marc now knew what was going on. The next pitch found the middle of the Americans back. He trotted down the line towards me. Shit…now I gotta deal with this asshole.

“C’mon man…what’s up.”

“I’m just pissed because I got nailed with a ball during practice before the game.”
I replied. “Welcome to France.”

We laughed and all was forgotten. We then introduced ourselves. Josh Galla is a guy my age who played ball at Sam Houston State University and has family in Les Andely. We have the same French speaking ability. Non-existent. We joked around to each other for the remainder of the day and exchange contact info. He is actually a really nice guy. So we might hang out over these next couple of months.

Yes, we lost the first game but the guys learned something today. Not only in baseball, but in life, when you get knocked down, you have to get back up and score 15 runs against your boss. Love you guys and I will talk to you soon. Au revoir.

Just Livin'.

Hey guys. Past couple days have been pretty relaxed. Love the all the comments that you guys are giving me. I have read them many times. I have to give this week's winner to Dad. Just a good comment. Tiff and Karly, thanks for burnin up the #1 spot as of late, Alex, I am taking it easy, probably not going to throw another curveball for awhile and thank you for all those sessions...wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, Ian, thanks for the comment...I'm glad you laughed at the Ray Liotta part, Emily, I am positive that two glasses of Calvados would put you under the table, Mom, thanks for the apple butter and I love you so much.

I have been nursing my arm the past few days. I haven't thrown a ball. I got tendonitis cream from the doc and anti-inflam. pills. So it's all good. I feels good right now but I am not going to chance anything. So onto the week.

On Monday, Chris said that he had something in store for me. We were going to a religious relic. It is a monastery by the name of Abbaye Du Bec-Helloin. It sits in a river valley about one hour outside Rouen. It was really nice to get out of the city and see rural scenary. On the way to the monastery you can see fields of gold. It was just a relaxing sight. The gold seemed to stretch forever. Then once we made a couple of turns, you could see the tower of Abbaye Du-Bec rise up out of the valley. It reminded me of one of Tolkien's towers. I got out of the car and took some pseudo-aerial pics. Chris and I then parked our car outside the gates and walked in. We looked around the buildings and the relic of where the original cathedral sat. The place where the church used to sit had to be thousands of years old. I was telling Chris that back in MO that it was impressive to see something from the Early 50's. It is just a different culture here.

We then walked around to the front of the main building and I noticed that a creek ran from the outside to right through the cathedral. It made for a great pic. Chris then told me that he got most of his information for his religion philosophy thesis from the library that they had. He was also telling me how devout the monks and nuns were in this area. He was telling me that they were very precise and practiced almost a zen-like catholicism.
Chris also told me that that day was a religious day that they would hold a special mass where the whole convent would be singing at the mass. So we decided to sit in on it. I was greeted by angelic sounds.

Their voice was one. It filled your body. The power of their voiced made hair stand on end. It was beautiful. That music could pleasantly put me to sleep. The cathedral was a very long hall that had the effect of creating great acoustics for their voices. It was great. Chris and I sat near the back and listened to the readings and procedings. We took communion and I felt like one wrong movement would shatter the walls. Everything was precise and it was expected.
Ok....left hand over right....take the bread....carefully place in mouth...close mouth...take wine...delicately tip...walk back. So I made it back to my seat without disturbing the gods and all was good. It was a great experience. These experiences are the ones that will stay with me.

After the Abbaye, Chris took me back, I went for a run, and then went to bed. The next day, Tuesday, Jean-Luc delivered my medicine for my arm and said he wanted to take me downtown just to walk around. I eagerly agreed. Anything to change scenery is good. What was even more spectacular was that it was T-Shirt weather. We sat down at an outside cafe and had drinks. I had a tall house beer and Jean-Luc had a cafe'. What was even more sirreal was the fact we were sitting right next to the Joan of Arc Cathedral. It was just a nice afternoon. We talked baseball and enjoyed our drinks. I went back home and that was pretty much Tuesday.

Today, I had baseball ALL DAY. I had to sub-in for Sebastian Grimaud, elementary kid's coach, and take the 5-7 year old kids at 10:00am, then I had to run practice for the Cadet team from 4-6, and take the N1 from 6 until the sun goes down. I woke up this morning, had a yogurt filled breakfast and headed for the field.
I was greeted by 7 little kid's curious eyes. I think they thought I was a pro American player and they were asking me all these questions. They were so cute. I tried to answer their questions with laugher following. So I had a ball with these kids. We played a soccer game to warmup, and then we started on some basics. Like step with your left foot before you throw, stop stealing Cami's glove Alexadria, and stop picking at dandilions Maxim. I could easily substitute Ian's name for Maxim. Hahahaha. Had to do it. So we took a photo together and they said their goodbyes. I went back to Chris's house for lunch and then I headed back to the field for the Cadet practice. Most of the kids had been on a 2 week spring break vacation and they were all impressed with the field.

"You guys like it?" I said.
"Ooooo tre bon!" They replied.

You bet your ass Tre Bon.

We conducted a normal practice but this was their first one outside. The only difference in their play was that they were rejoicing at the fact they were outside on their field. It was a proud moment.
So after that team departed, the N1 guys started coming in. I had enough guys to field a team! Normally, I just have about 5-6 guys but I think the sun brought out more of them. So we took an extra long infield, I skyrocketed flyballs, and everyone was just having fun. Once again, this is summer baseball. We took an extra long bp.
We had a little crowd in the outfield because a soccer game just let out and I could tell that some people were thinking....

"What the hell are they doing?...." and "Who the hell is that little American who is barking orders?"

After the team had taken their turn at bp, it was my turn. I have to say I wanted to impress this little crowd. Mom, does this remind you of when I was at the batting cages when I was a little kid? I have to tell you that I am still that little boy who turns his head to see if anyone is watching. I skyrocketed 7 balls out of the park and everyone was all smiles, especially me. A good day.

I hope this will tide you over until our games against Les Andely this Sunday. We should kill them. Miss you guys and love you very much. Au revior.

Seas of Beer. Woodchucks Sweep Seagulls!

Hey guys! Just got back from Cherbourg and I just got done my potato dinner. Alex, wins this weeks "Best Comment" with the Ace of Base, F U at the same time asshole, Ian, I'm glad I do not know the words to the "poopy song", Emily, tell Joey he is still numero uno, Dad, I was thinking the same ..."Don't Stray From The Path....", Mom, Love ya and I hope the funnel cake is good while you are in SDC...Man I miss that place, Karly, took the pics for you!, Tiffany, you rock and I am eagerly awaiting your package.

Game 1 BG Woodchucks vs Cherbourg Seagulls
Time: 12:30ish
Weather: Slight Drizzle
Attendance: 30

That's right my peeps. We had spectators today. Even though they are probably wives, girfriends, and kids of Cherbourg, it still felt good playing in front of an audience. Bernie "The Warrior" got the start.
Bottom of the first. We just took it to them. Scored 4 runs off of 3 hits and never looked back. I crushed a double of the wall, 1 of my 4 today, in the first inning massacre. Now let me just tell you about Bernie.....

He threw a no-hitter. This guy still impresses the hell outa me. And I haven't even got to the most impressive part to this guy's day.

We just sprayed hits all over the place and won 17-1. They scored off a walk, steal, and SAC fly. So the no-hitter was still in tact. Arther had the most impressive first game going 4-4 with two doubles and 5 RBI's. Everytime he stepped up to the plate, I yelled at him,

"Relax baby."

After the game, Arther told me that he now really understands what I mean when you have to relax at the plate. You just completely block everything in your mind and think of nothing but the ball coming your way. He said that he wants me to tell him this EVERY time he comes to the plate. He is starting to see the method to my madness. So we are all grins after the first game onslaught.

Olivear picked me up this morning and I told him that we had to get these sandwiches that Chris and I got a week earlier. So it was my treat and we enjoyed some great sandwiches between the games. Now the question was....

Who is going to pitch the next game?

My arm is shot. I threw atleast 50 curveballs on Wednesday's "Curve Ball" practice so I was going to take a break today. Eric's arm was bothering him and Marc, our normal ace, is still on holiday. Then someone spoke up who I never expected or anticipated.

"My arm still feels great!" proclaimed Bernie.

Yes. Bernie. The guy who just got done hurling 5 innings of hitless ball wanted the GAME 2 NOD!!! Now, in the states....this is unheard of. A pitcher starting two consecutive games. This guy is in his late thirties and has the arm of a 15 year old. I had my doubts because we need his arm for later in the season but he persisted on starting game two. He had family in the crowd and wanted to have a day. What is a 23 year old coach to do when a 38 year old guy tells him that he wants the ball? I know you guys are just cringing in your seats. BERNIE GOT THE GAME TWO START!!!

Game 2: BG Woodchucks vs Cherbourg Seagulls
Time: 2:45
Weather: The sun was in full form.
Attendence: 30

Let me just start by saying that the weather for the second game was the best since I have been in France. It felt like summer. I was actually getting hot. The sun was out, a friendly breeze, and the smell of the ballfield. Just great.

I will always know this type of smell. The movie, "Field of Dreams", puts it best when Joe Jackson, Ray Liotta, is talking with Ray Consella, Kevin Costner.

"I miss the grass. The smell of the field. The crowd....the ambience. Have you ever just held a glove up to your face?"

Yes...Yes, I have Ray Liotta.

I wanted to get after these guys the second game and try to get rid of that "Game 2 Laziness". And we did. We scored 2 runs right off the bat.
Bernie took the mound for the second time this afternoon and pitched another hell of a game. I gotta tip my cap to this guy. This guy is a machine. I hope I still have this guy's ability when I am his age. Who knows....I might still be a Woodchuck when I am in my fifties.....Just playin' the game.
The game was a little closer this time but we broke loose towards the latter half. We won 12-2. Another bashing.
During the game I made some friends too. The coach of Cherbourg spoke fluent English and we were bullshitin' to one another during the games. I would bullshit with the other French guys as well. Felt like home. Still being a competitor, but I like to be courteous in any game. I like to put today's wins as "Gentlemanly AssBeatings." Bois Guillaume moves into first place in the Northern Division with the help of a loss of the Montigny Cougars to GIF this sunday. Record: 5-0

Bernie got BOTH wins today and we all celebrated with Heinekens that Bernie brought to the game. I think this asshole was anticipating celebrating before the first pitch was thrown. So we all drank together. Umpires, opposing players and coaches, fathers, and the Woodchucks. I took some pretty snazzy pics as you can see. It felt good to have these kinda celebrations after games. I think the states should adopt it. Who cares if 15 year old are drinking right!? But really, what is the harm in that?

That is the recap of this weekends activities. I will post again soon. Love you guys and miss you with all of my heart. Love you guys. Au revior.

Seas of Lavender

Hello my friends. Sorry it has been a bit since a post ;) To the comments, Alex, I have been resting my arm and thanks for talking to me the other day, Ian, love ya...How do I reeeech theeese keeeds?, Nas, I will get you a damn chuck hat soon, thanks for the comments brother, Tiffany and Karly, j'taime, Phyll, gonna make it to Paris next week,Evan, my man I KNOW, I gotta become a fan of the vino, Mom and Dad, love you guys and it is kinda bittersweet that you got your computer fixed.

I have been pretty much haven't done anything baseball related these past couple days. I have been spending my time just getting out and seeing what there is around me. It is absolutely beautiful. I get the same feeling like I did last summer when I was in Europe.

"I can't believe I am looking at this."

On Wednesday, I went with Chris and his kids to a park that sits right outside Mt. Saint Agnon. This was some park. It had rolling hills, huge slides and zip cords for kids to play on. Joey would absolutely go nuts. Im telling you these slides were huge. Then once you get away from all the playground equiptment, the park just opens up to a beautiful apple orchard and forest behind it. Chris was telling me that when the apple blossoms turn into fruit, people can just come to the park and gather some apples or simply just pick one from a branch and enjoy it as you walk around. You know I am going to do this...
That night, Chris invited me over to watch a football match on tv between Paris SG vs Caraquefou in the Quarter Finals of the French Cup. This was a huge match because every year in France they hold a country wide tournament that has every level of every soccer club involed in an intricate tourney setup. Caraquefou is the equivalent to the Drury Panthers and Paris SG is the equivalent to the St. Louis Cardinals. So imagine a small town club team playing in a massive stadium vs a team that should just woop the shit outa them. The whole stadium was just rockin cheering for the underdog. I bet the guys from Caraquefou were just livin' it up. Paris SG won on a goal toward the end of the game and the whole crowd was just upset.

Thursday was just a lazy day. I woke up, ran, and went to the field to do some touch-ups, and had pasta with the ol' roomie. She is so nice. I know I have told Mom and Dad this, but when I fall asleep on the couch watching French tv, she sometimes puts a quilt over me. Hahaha, I really think she enjoys having the company. I'm her foreign son. We have the best charades. I have been able to learn a lot of household objects around the house. I will tell you one funny thing that happened....

When I had correctly labeled everything in the kitchen in French, she was very happy and I exclaimed a French slang for "That was wonderful!"
That slang is "Tod du la ball!" But I said "Tod tru da ball!"

Tru ball is french for asshole.

She just laughed and laughed. To her, I must have said something along the lines of, "That was wonderasshole."

Okay...on Friday, I went with Chris's family again to another park. This park was somewhat a refuge for forest animals. Wild boar and deer is all I saw. Really...kinda the first park that didn't wow me. C'mon Chris...gotta wow me man...EVERYTIME. You know I'm joking.
That night I was going to have dinner with Olivear from the team at his flat. Olivear lives really close to Chris and I, and they pretty much take turns totin' me around. So Olivear picked me up around 8 and we headed for his flat. He had a great dinner made. Rice, pork, and filled vegetables. I brought some whiskey and ice cream for dessert. He lives with his girlfriend Marie, who is just as nice as she could be. So we all had ice cream and drinks after dinner then Olivear and I did something that I haven't done since I was back in the states...

I saw that Olivear had two acoustic guitars in a corner of the living room. I asked him if he played and he said he plucks around a time or two. So we brought out the guitars and played together. It was just great. Drinking whiskey and playing guitar with a friend. Hadn't done that since Carl and I played together. We laughed at the mistakes that both of us would make and would just yell with excitement when we put chords rhythmically together. It was so much fun. I have a feeling that we will play together more often.

Now to the forests. Every forest that I have visited, you can find hundreds of small purple flowers. That just coat the ground. The pictures you see are the ones that I encounter every day on my morning runs. It is absolutely beautiful. They fill the scenery with their color and fill your nose with a their fresh scent. I really wish you could just walk through these paths. Seas of Lavender.

Miss you guys and I am going to catch some Z's. We got Cherbourg tomorrow and hopefully we can pull off a sweep. Love you guys and talk to you soon. Au revior.

Livin', Runnin', and Chattin'

Pics: 1: Le'Euro bar 2: Paul, Stephanie, and Seb 3: Chris

Hey guys. Thanks again for the comments guys. I love looking forward to your thoughts, words, and arguements. Tiffany, way to take the reins, Karly, still a good comment, Ev, thanks for all the insights and advice in your emails, Ian and Emily, tell Joey that I am not in 'water' everytime my video comes up on your computer, Joey, I will get some choo choo pics for ya, Mom and Dad, I will have to agree with Alex and Ian on the "accident" theory, kinda like the destruction of the "Fragile" in A Christmas Story. Love you guys and keep 'em comin.

As you might or might not know, my Mondays and Tuesdays are my off days. So I have the time to do really whatever I want. These past two days have been mainly spent catching up on some much needed rest. But when I am not laying in bed or playing the ol' guit I am out and about. On Monday, I walked over to Chris's house to help him with some yard work. Really it was just me standing there watching Chris trim his landscape with clippers. One thing that I have noticed in France is the artistic ability people have put into trimming their bushes, trees, etc. Edward Scissorhands ain't got nothin' on the average French gardner. I was laughing to myself when Ann, Chris's wife, was directing him on how to trim this pretty tall bush. Poor Chris was wobbling on this ladder trying to reach these impossible angles and clipping the best he could. I could tell he was kinda getting discouraged but he doesn't have the heart to tell Ann,

"There is no way in hell I can shape this tree into a perfect square."

So after we gathering all the trimmings we put them in bags and took them to the yardwaste dump. I mean it was nothing special, just a yard waste dump. So pretty much the trash dumps are like the states, so that's pretty cool I guess....
Anywho, last night I went downtown and had dinner with Romain and Jag. Jag is Romain's girlfriends brother who is 24 and just a great guy. Before we went to the restaurant we had a drink at this pretty posh bar. I told him that I wanted to drink a far share of booze. Jag then asked me,

"How much money you got?"
"40 euro."
"HAHAHAHHAHAHA, you are in France my friend. Not some shit bars like in the states!" in a heavy French accent.

Hey buddy. 40 euro in the states can buy everyone and their mother a drink at any pub in good ol Springfield. So I just got my $12 beer and was happy.
After our drink, they said they had the perfect restaurant for me. I was expecting some authentic French cuisine but I did not get it. We ate at a restaurant called, 'Restaurock'. The Rolling Stones was blaring in the place when we opened the door. This was a mock Hard Rock Cafe. What the fuck. I can get this shit anywhere back in the states. I didn't argue and got a 15 euro burger. That's right. Equivalent to about $22 dollars American. Thanks Bush, you fuck. I ate with gusto because it was pretty good but hell Ebbet's Field serves up the same for about 8 bucks. After a couple pitchers of beer, they dropped me off at home and I retired for the evening.

This morning, I slept till about 1:00pm. I know, I got a late start on today. But after a bowl of "Fruit Rings", sponsored by Tucan Pierre, I got ready for another run into the forest. It was another great run. Their are small purple flowers starting to bloom all over the forest floor. It is so pretty. I have seen nothing like it. There is just a sea of purple throughout the entire forest. You have to see it.
Later tonight, I went to Chris's for dinner. They are just being absolutely so nice to me. I told them that next week that I would make a dinner and bring it over to the fam. We didn't go to the D-Day beaches yet because we are going in the first week in May when it marks the end of WWII. Ann said that at time, there would be some really cool WWII commemorations in the area. Restored vehicles, guns, and other war relics. So tonight, we had a great dinner followed by a bottle of wine and an assortment of cheese. I have to say that after a couple glasses of wine, I start to talk politics. Chris laughs because he loves to see me all rev'd up about politics. It feels like home to these talks with him and his wife. I will never forget our talks.
Well, that's about it for now. I will give you news over the next couple of days. Miss and love you all. Au revior.

Bois Guillaume Stomps GIF.

Hey guys. It is Sunday night and I have just been relaxing for the past 4 hours. Why am I so tired? Well, it might be due to the fact that we won both games today to stay #1 in the North Division. But I will get to that in a bit. Love the comments. Karly takes the cake for best comment. Tiffany, I laughed out loud when I read yours...BAM!, Ian and Alex, I think the real reason for me not doing any yard work was because you can't have your talent get hurt...Thats me baby. Emily, love ya, Phyll, about damn time, Mom and Dad, love you guys and get a working webcam. Oh yeah, Alex...get Skype...I know you have the time because you are usually the first one on here.

OKAY....Let's just start with this morning. The rendevous for the Woodchucks was at 9:30 this morning. What time do you think I got up? Yeah...bout 8:55. So I pretty much just let the luke warm water of the shower to just say "Hello" to my skin and I scrambled to get all my gear together. Chris showed up and I could read what his thoughts were without him saying anything...

"Did you just wake up?"
Yes. Yes I did Chris.

But surprisingly we had time to make a stop at a bakery to grab some food before we went to the field. I got an apple bread thing that was just phenomenal. Chris and I also got these amazing sandwiches but I will get to that later as well. Chris also treated me to the meal. Thanks C.
So we got to the field with about 45 seconds to spare. Not the best thing to have two starters, one being an assistant coach, showing up with minutes to spare. But what the hell...this is France right? So I warmed up the team and we started taking Bp. I will just go ahead and say that the field looked great. I say 'great' because you should have seen this sandlot about 2 weeks ago. The only thing on my mind about 30 minutes before the game was,

"Please God, give us sunshine today. These guys, (and me), have worked our asses off. Please God."

I will take this next line to thank the big man above. In the Jim Gaffigan voice, "Grazi Padre." It was pretty chilly and dew glistened on the grass at first, but by gametime, there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun put a warm blanket on our skin.
It's gametime baby. I gotta tell you this. I get crazy just before a game. Drury's players can tell you the same. I am yelling, cursing the other team for having the audacity to stand IN MY PRESENCE, and just trying to get everyones mind to wanting to put their cleat on the other teams' throat and twisting. This is why I love this game. It brings out the absolute competitor in me.

Game 1: Bois-Guillaume vs GIF
Temp.: 18 C
Time: 11:30
Attendance: 3

I will tell you one thing. We had the best damn 3 spectators this side of the Seine. Starting pitching for BG was Bernie. This guy is an absolute machine. He is 42, Canadian, and has the nickname as, "The Warrior." I will tell you that that is exactly what Bern is. An absolute machine. He dropped the first three batters in order in the top of the 1st frame. Now our turn.
Eric, CF, lead off the game with a double to right field. Arther, 1B, advanced him to third on a groundball to the right side. I was next and drew a walk. Pussies. Bernie then collected an Sac RBI with a groundball to 2B. I later scored on a walk and an error. We went up 2-0 in the first inning.
The following innings went by pretty fast. 3 up and 3 down for them and us scoring a couple runs in between.

Now, my next at bat I will never forget it.

I just want to start by telling you how sweet the feeling is whenever you absolutely crush a baseball. The feeling is that you don't feel the ball hit the bat at all. The feeling is a smoothness that makes your heart flutter. So on my first pitch, I hit my first French bomb. It left the park in about three seconds. Left-Center. I play this game for that feeling. It was great.
The next innings Bernie absolutely just mowed them down and we scored on a couple other hits by the guys and my double in my next at bat.

Final Score
BG 6
GIF 0

The guys were all smiles after their last out. This was a proud moment for me. Our first home game, on the field built by our hands, and our first home win. So now we would take a 30 break before our next game. Now to the sandwich. I think I'm going to name my first born after that sandwich. It has fresh turkey, tomatoes, with hard boiled eggs slices lining the entire french bread. Damn...that was a good sandwich. Alright, forget the sandwich. Kill the other team, kill their mothers, No mercy, No mercy, Kill em'. Gotta get back in the mindset. It is the hardest thing to get focused again after a blowout like our first one. And our next game was too close for comfort.

Game 2: BG vs GIF
Temp: 20 C
Time: 14:00
Attendence: 10

A couple of kids were playing on a jungle gym behind the backstop so I am counting them as spectators. Eric Coutu, our CF, was going to start the second game and go for as long as he could. I was going to close out the game if I needed to. So I will tell you this about the first 4 innings. The score was 0-0 and their was no life in anyone's body. This is when weaker teams beat better teams. I could just sense it. So in the top of the 5th inning, GIF squeezed out a run on a couple hits and an error. We were behind to a weaker team and everyone knew it. The sense of urgency was kicking in everyone's mind. We had 2,3,4 hitters coming up.

Arther struck out on three pitches. So my turn. I had been walked twice before this at bat and hadn't seen much since my double in the first game. Then the pitcher made a mistake. I was thinking this guy is going to have to give me something sometime and he did. I lined a base rip down the right field line and was standing at first.
So am standing at first, with our team down one run. I was thinking was going to be the time to tie this game up. So I took a huge lead to draw three consecutive pick off attempts. All failed. I shortened my lead just a hair after the last attempt knowing that I was stealing now. I was off..............SAFE. Ok Bernie, now it is time for you to do your job. But Bernie struck out swinging putting two outs on the board. Shit...we need a big hit.
Vincent, LF, stepped up to the plate with a look of pure relaxation. I couldn't tell if he was just looking lazy or extremely composed. Either or...it worked. He lined an opposite field line drive down the left field line and I was hurling around third base. I knew the throw was coming and this was going to be close. I slid across the plate. SAFE! I jumped up with adrenaline pumping through my veins. Okay, all tied up. They got the third out and we went back onto the field. Only one change was made to our line up.

Jean-Luc, "Eric, CF. Tony you got the mound."
I had warmed up on the side with Chris after I scored knowing that I was going to go in. So I got warmed up and slowly walked up to the mound. In my mind I was thinking,
"There is no fucking way these chumps are going to hit any of my shit."

But I will tell now you that they did.

I got the first batter out no problem. I mixed in a knuckle ball to get him out. The next batter almost made my good day into a bad one. I started him off with gas and he didn't even touch it. I was getting a little too overconfident and wanted to try out my curve ball. As soon as I threw it, I knew I made a mistake. The ball went sailing into left field. My heart sank. I thought it was going out. But it hit off the wall and the guy got a long single out of it. I think he was jogging out of the box thinking it was a homerun and that's why he didn't make it to second. Wheww. Alright....Focus, deep breath, relax baby, you got this. Next batter. Line drive single through the left side. Shit. Runners on the corners with one out. I got the next guy to duckfart out to Bernie at SS. Two out...okay no damage done.......

So far.

After the next batter had hit a two run single he had the widest grin on his face with his team going absolutely nuts in the opposing dugout. I was not sharing in this guy's shiny moment. I struck out the next guy in complete disgust and jogged back to the dugout. Okay...gotta get to work WoodChucks. I needed these guys to pick me up. And I will tell you that we exploded for a 7 run 6th inning to regain the lead 8-3. The first three batters drew walks, me included, and Bernie had a 2 RBI single to tie it up. After that, the next three batters placed perfect bunts all over the field completely driving the other pitcher insane.

It was like a gay porno. Balls flying everywhere. Hahahahaha. Had to do it.

So I went back to the mound with a 5 run cushion to close out the game. I forgot to tell you that every one of our games are two 7 inning games on Sundays. So there I was back on the bump. First batter, Charles had played wonderful defense all day but he committed a throwing error and the first guy got on base. I struck out the next guy. One out. I walked the next two batters, loading the bases. I know what you are thinking...Fuck Tony, just what are you doin? But I will tell you my arm was red lining. I got the next batter to ground out, thank god. Alright one more out baby.
First pitch to the next batter was hit in the air. It found Bernie's mit at SS and we got a double header sweep from GIF.

We all ran out on the field and gave each other high fives and shook the other teams hands. I will tell you that during the games I made friends with a couple of the other guys on the other team. They couldn't really understand me and visa-versa but we would bullshit none the less. We celebrated with Heinekins on the field and the it felt like home.

A Boy of Summer.

Pics provided by Chris and you should check out his blog. ChristopherHarrisonMarchand.blogspot.com.

I love you guys and I will tell you that this Apple Whiskey that I am drinking is absolutely relaxing. I will talk to you soon. Au revior.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Hey guys! Alright, sorry for the delay my posting. I enjoy the fact that I am putting a little more intrigue into some of your lives. To the comments! Lendsey, thanks brother for the comment and I will never forget I always hit so well when you were on the mound, Oh I'm reppin' youngin', Karly, thanks for reading qt, and you have to comment! Kim!!!, thanks for the comment and I hope you will join the small band of people who comment! Hope the Bell family is doing well. Critter, you take the cake of best comments, doesn't matter if you are first or not, I look forward to hearing what you say, Ian, WHY COULDN'T READ THE CORRECT RELEASE DATE!?, well, love you anyway, Emily and JoJo, I love hearing you guys on the computer, Alex, I love you and I am glad that we have this together, haha Grant always makes fun of me when I talk to you on the phone because he always makes fun of me because of how many "Love you Al's" I can fit in our conversations, Phyll, I love that Tai Fu cream and just where the hell are you? Mom and Dad, Love you guys and thank you for the support you are giving me.

Alrighty then. It is Friday morning here and the sun is finally shining. This post is dedicated to the past few day's events of pouring my heart onto our field. I am going to post pics of our field for the most part. If you could see the change in our field you would be amazed what this prima donna is capable of. My goal this entire week has been to get our field playable for our home game this weekend against GIF. Not only would I need the help of extra hands but mother nature has to do her part as well. And so far, everybody has cooperated.
Let's start with Monday, I got up and put that "Last of the Mohican" jig on my Ipod, and was getting mentally prepared to get my hands dirty. At this point, we had covered the whole field in new dirt except for the first base line, home plate, and a little bit of the third baseline. I know what you are thinking, sounds like you haven't done shit, but, I tell you that there is a lot of ground to cover on the diamond. So it was just me at the field from 12-4. Those were some grueling hours, lemme tell you. I had to fill wheelbarrels with dirt, lug it into the marsh land, and dump it. And continue this procedure for about 2 hours. After that, I have to spread it out and rake. I just kinda got into a madman's zone. I just wouldn't stop. I got as far as the third baseline on Monday.
Tuesday. When Jean-Luc said he bought a new mower for the field I was absolutely ecstatic. But what I failed to interpret was that it was a push mower, not a tractor. The first thought into my mind was like,

"Thanks Jean-Luc, I will see you in about week when I get done with the infield grass."

So we put the push mower together. And the Bois-Guillaume field heard a sound that hasn't been heard in a long time. The buzz of mower blades.
So I was dragging the whole field with my rake and Jean-Luc started mowing.
I will tell you that it was a sad moment when our only big rake broke in my hands. I had pushed that little guy to the limit and it seemed like the tool just said to me,

"Tony, I'm sorry. I have no more life left."

You might think it is weird but I wanted to bury that rake.


A moment of blood, sweat, and tears.


So I grabbed his replacement with dried blood in my hands.

Wednesday. It was N1 practice that day but I doubt there would be any 'practice.' So about 7 of us went to work. Dumping dirt, spreading dirt, dumping dirt, raking the mound, dumping dirt, filling in divots, and hmm....DUMPING FUCKING DIRT. Just as the sun was about to give up on us, I yelled from home plate.

"Grab your bats boys, let's take some Bp."

Everyone with pure excitement threw their tools on the ground and scrambled to put on their baseball gear. So on early evening, Wednesday April 9th, at approximately 6:00pm, the Bois-Guillaume Woodchucks took Bp on their field for the first time for the 2008 season. We had worked our asses off and were ready to play ball.

I will tell you this. I have never seen such pure joy and love for the game until that day. I am not lieing either. There was diving catches, roars of laughter, and smiles on everyone's faces. This is baseball to the grit. This is why I love this game. This is why baseball has been in my life since I picked up a bat at age 3.

Thursday. Jean-Luc and I went out to the field to do some minor improvements. Mainly just adding more dirt to home, fixing the mound and giving the infield a fresh trim. Wouldn't you know it, the city tractor workers mowed our outfield. We have a field ladies and gentleman. That night Jean-Luc and I talked about the field, the team, and other things. He told me that I was the first foreign player to do any work like this and that he is blessed to have me a part of this club. That meant a lot to me.
This post is dedicated to the hard work of Jean Luc and the Bois Guillaume baseball team.
That night, it was Laura's birthday and he invited me to join his family at an oriental restaurant to celebrate it. My meal was really good but it is no Hong Kong Inn I sadly say. I love you guys and I miss you very much. Talk to you soon. Au revoir.

Horse please, well done.

Pics: Horse meal, Me, My Room, Bois-Guillaume Field, Sam and Max, My Grounds Crew, and the Forest outside my apt.

Bonjour guys! Ca va? Welp, that is about the extent of my French. It is about 11:00pm on Monday. Thanks for all the comments to the blogs and if you are reading and not commenting, you stink. I have to start by saying thanks to my family and a couple of my closest friends for talking to me on Skype. It has really been nice to still have contact with you guys. That thanks goes out to Tiffany, Lizette, Carl and Dane, Sparks and Ying, and of course my family.

OK....Well let's just start with this whole horse delicacy. I really don't know what the whole hubbub is about really. I already offended the hell out of my roomate, Bibette 2, because she said she used to ride horses and she refuses to eat it. She even kind of gave me the look like,

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Well, I guess it really doesn't matter because she has moved out because her school is done in the area so she moved back to Paris. Anyway, back to the horse. The raw meat looks really dark and bloody. I was going to make sure and cook the hell out of it because I really don't need any disease right now. Unless it's from a lady....HEY YOOOHHH...jk. So I just covered the meat in garlic powder and put it on the pan. After awhile of cooking, I decided it was about done. So I got some salad, fresh bread, my horse fillet and put it on the table. The picture you see is the actual first bite. And the verdict......

Kinda like a simple round steak. Nothing special. So I later got the ketchup and Americanized the hell outa it. Is it bad that I watched "Hidalgo" after I ate? That is one good mustang. Hmm...So that is that.

I dedicated the next few days for field work. I really have never seen any field in the condition ours is in. It never stops raining here if you didn't know, so there is standing water in the infield and the grass in the outfield is pretty much a wet marsh. BUT on Saturday's Cadet practice, I made a proposal to the kids. I told them that I was going to be on the field tomorrow, Sunday, from 10-12 working on the field. I told them that is was completely voluntary and that I would try and get a lunch for those who came.
So the next morning, I got on the 8 and 40 bus and made my way to the field. Out of the 10 or so kids that I told, only two was standing at the field gates. Samuel and Maxim. Both 15 years of age. I was so proud of them. So we waited for about 30 minutes for possible other grounds crew candidates.
"Hmm....welp, it's just us boys."
Our task for today was to completely put new turface on the infield. For those of you who don't know what turface is, it is a grainy, rocky dirt that is used on infields that, hopefully, soaks up water well. I gave them two wheel barrels and two shovels. I had a rake and I was going to spread the turface out when they dumped it. We were going to start at 3rd and make our way all around the infield hopefully meeting where we started.
It was cold, drizzling, and windy. But I tell you one thing....these kids worked their asses off. Another Cadet showed up about 40 minutes later and he did his part as well. Dimitri, 16 years and a very athletic 3rd baseman. I will tell you that Sam, Maxim, and D have earned a special place in my heart for the work they did.
Jean-Luc showed up around 12 saying his sorry's for being late. I asked him for a favor when he showed up.

"I need you to get 4 sandwiches, 4 bags of chips, and a 2 liter of Fanta."
He quickly agreed and sped off.

The N1 guys starting showing up for our practice but I could see the immediate, 'Oh Shit' looks on their faces. I was going to put them to work and they knew it. All of them accept for a select few starting working. I quickly chewed out the ones who were sitting on their asses and all of us were working on Our Field.
It was about 2:00pm. Still working and you will have never guessed what mother nature gave us. Snow. Yes, it is "April in Paris" and it is snowing out. We quickly doubled timed it. I was noticing snot noses and shivering bodies of the guys and called it a day. We got to home plate. Almost completely all the way around.
We went back to our club house and warmed up. Jean-Luc came back with the food. He got three sandwiches, a mixed salad, and a two liter of juice. He said there were no more sandwiches at the store and that was why he had to get the salad. I quickly gave all the boys the sandwiches and I took the salad. I was going to reward my grounds crew the best I could by taking the salad.
So we practiced after that in the gym. Mostly just ground balls and a long session of Bp. I was dog tired and not in the mood for conditioning so it was a relaxed day.

I went to the field today after the blizzard last night and looked at what the damage was. Well...there was standing water at certain spots of the turface but all in all, our work was still valid. Chris, who had family things to do on Sunday, helped me out today with raking and brooming the dirt. He put in a good hour.

Gee, thanks Chris.

I AM ONLY KIDDING IF YOU READ THIS CHRIS. HAHA, love you brother. Hopefully the field will be playable for next Sunday's home game against GIF. I love you guys and miss you a lot. Sacre Bleu out.