French Ball

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

2008-10-27T01:25:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-10-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

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"

2008-10-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-16T02:39:00.000-07:00

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.

Things of ole'.

2008-09-11T06:57:00.000-07:00

Bonjour mon amis et famille. Well here I am again, sitting in my apartment, and thinking about what to write about since I last left you. First off, thanks for the comments and I appreciate the feedback about the video. I have to tell you that the video was a success with the club. All the kids love it and have sent me emails expressing their thanks as well as the parents. Not to toot my own horn, but that last part is pretty good eh? Haha…love you guys. So on with the info…

Cole and his girlfriend, Jen, came to Rouen for the tail end of their “Euro Trip” and they were going to spend the rest of the week with me. We had a blast. I showed them around the town, we went to a castle, and Cole got to make a superb dinner on his birthday. If you don’t know Cole, he is a chef in a high class restaurant in Denver, Colorado. So he kinda surpasses the level of skill that would be on “Cooking with College Dudes.”

Cole's Paella

I have to tell you one more thing about Cole and my trip. Jen had to leave a day earlier so Cole and I had one more day in Rouen. We did something that I haven’t done in over 7 months. We saw a movie at the theatre. So I found out that the only showing of “Batman Dark Knight” in English was at 8:30 at this one cinema. So Cole and I walked over to this place, about 30 minutes walk. It was really funny at first when we took our seats because we were the only goof balls in this huge theatre. I mean, who wants to see a movie in a language they can’t understand. Then a couple of people started strolling in….but I noticed something. They were speaking French. So more people started showing up….and they were speaking French. Well shit…..this better be in English. The previews start commencing. ALL IN FRENCH. Well shit. I could have sworn that this showing was in the original version. Cole was giving me the look like,

“What the fuck Tony, I just wasted 20 bux American on tickets and some shitty Popcorn.”

I just told that we would wait for the first word spoken on the screen and go from there. The movie started…Cole and I were just glued to the screen waiting for the first spoken word. It was English! Cole and I just gave high fives and laughed. We got looks. It was just really funny.

Cole left the next day, Sunday, and I prepared for our first games of the playoffs. Sorry, not going to give and in depth analysis about the games. We played Dunkerque for the 5th and 6th time. We swept them….again. Marc pitched a 1 hit shutout in the first game 7-0 and I picked up the 9 inning win in the second game 11-5. We played well, we hit well…yada yada yada.

Okie dokie. Now let me backtrack a bit. I have to tell you a funny story that happened last Wednesday. I treated Eric to a dinner because we needed to talk about the new club. After Cole, Jen, Eric and I ate and talked for a bit, Cole and Jen retired for the evening because they were pretty train lagged and Eric and I went out for a beer. Eric took me to the “Underground.” It is an Irish pub that is really chill. Eric and I were the only cats in this place besides the stereotypical Ted Dansen Cheer’s bartender. So Eric and I were talking about the next year as well as playing some darts. It was about 10:30pm and I was almost ready to call it a night and head home...
But something magical happened…..

I’m talking “thank you god” magical……

A bus pulls up outside the bar and about 40-50 girls come into the bar.

Eric and I just give each other maniacal grins. Hold on, this is the best part.
They are all English speakers.

So Eric and I got a couple more beers.

It was a great night.

I met a really sweet girl from California. Her name is Katie and we hit it off as soon as we started talking. She is just a sweetheart and we have been hanging out the past couple of days.

Enough of that though. Let me tell you something else that happened this week that I haven’t done since I have been back to the states.
Eric asked me after the games on Sunday if I wanted to stay at his house that night because he wanted to take me trout fishing.

“Oh well, hell yeah.”

So early Monday morning, we headed out to a little rural town outside of Neufchatel. We started at about 8:00am. Another one of Eric’s friends, Michel, joined us. He is a really nice guy who loves to fish. I told him….
”Man, if you love fishing….you need to get to Missouri.”
So we drank beers, bullshitted, and pulled trout out of the lake all day. We left at about 1:00pm for Eric’s to start BBQ’n our bounty. Good day.

I really haven’t mentioned one of my good friends on the team. His name is Vincent, CF, for our team. He is a really cool guy with always something to do. He always has friends with him and he has been a good friend of mine. So here are some pics.

That is about it for now. We go to Beziers this weekend for the next match-up in the playoffs. It is in southern France, along the coast. I will talk to you guys soon and I love and miss you all. Good night.

Hey guys.

2008-09-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

Post coming in two days.

2008 Bois Guillaume Season Movie

2008-09-02T05:39:00.000-07:00

Here is the movie I made. Two parter. Enjoy.

Also, new post below if you didn't notice.
Love y'all.

Paradise: There and Back Again. French International Baseball Tourney

2008-09-02T04:20:00.000-07:00

Sunset in Marseille, France

Chillin in Barcelona

What is up my peeps? Well, I know I am going to catch hell from the comments that follow this post….SORRY DAMMIT. I will be posting more now since I am back in Rouen, so just bare with me. Love you guys and hope I still have some of y’alls attention. Goes without saying that I miss you guys so much and I wish you can see what I have seen these past couple of weeks.

Well, I have done quite a bit since I have left you. I have swam with beautiful women in Spain, climbed a summit in Marseille, drank Mango rum in Cannes, admired the beaches of Nice, and walked the streets of Monaco like I owned the place.
Cole, one of my best friends, came over here and we took a little Euro trip. He arrived on the 19th of September and we just took off from there. We started off in Paris….

Lemme tell you one thing. “Tous les truc en France est tres dificil.” Sp? (Everything in France is difficult). I say this because when we arrived in Paris, we just wanted to hop a train to Barcelona as soon as we got there…but…all the trains were booked for the next two days to get out of the country. It is the tail end of the vacation season here and it seems that everyone wants to get out of Northern France to catch the tail end of summer’s rays. So, Cole and I bit the bullet and bought two tickets for an over-nighter to Barcelona. So that meant we had a 7 hour wait in Paris.
I then said to Cole,

“Well….you wanna do Paris in a day?”
“Dude, yeah buddy.”

“Yeah, buddy” was the motto of pretty much the whole trip. So we hiked through all of Paris admiring the major sites. The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Monte Marte, Notre Dam, and the bridges over the Seine. A extremely tiring day, but we got it done. We knew we had a long train ride ahead of us that night (12 hours) so we bought a bottle of the cheapest rum we could have found and boarded the train. I will tell you now that I will never buy “Rum Blanc” ever again. We might as well just taking turns punching each other in the nuts until we past out. But…it did the job and we slept all the way to Spain.

Barcelona, Spain

The craziest town I have ever been to. The best word to describe this Spanish center is Alive. The streets were always filled with people, conga beats, and life. Cole and I took in all the sights as well as relaxed on its Mediterranean coast. I will say one thing…it maybe because I have weak spot for Spanish women, BUT…these women were absolutely beautiful. I have never seen this caliber before. Cole was saying that he felt sorry for the “o.k.” looking girls (which are 10’s in Spfld) because of the competition that is here. So we admired the food, sun, and feminine beauty. Now off to the French Riviera.

Marseille, France

This jewel of a town sits in southern central France with amazing beaches and cliffs that surround the area. The bulk of our Euro trip now was just pretty much beach hopping. So we scouted the area for the best beach and planted.
Just complete relaxation.
Our routine was to buy a bottle of coconut rum, a bakery sandwich, sun tan, listen to music, and toss the frisbee that I brought. Hahahaha, do you think these sun loving French people have ever seen how to really throw and catch a frisbee? Well, the answer is no. It was hilarious to see the looks that we would get when we would launch this bee across the beach. Cole would throw long bombs and I would track it down with laughter. It was absolutely great. I turned into a complete beach bum at this moment. The sun was our long lost companion accompanied by coconut rum leaving a taste of tranquility in our mouths. It is hard to describe the feeling. Laying on a beach, looking at cliffs that over hang the blue coast, and just thinking…..

“I must be doing something right to be able to see this."

Now off to the next paradise.

Nice, France.
Cannes, France.
Monte Carlo, Monaco.
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Nice, France Beach

Nice at Night

Cannes, France

Monte Carlo, Monaco. My ride, Lamborghini Diablo.

Paradise. I have to tell you that I needed this relaxation. Just complete bliss. I really wish I could have lent you my eyes during my time on these beaches. Cole and I shared laughs of old times and reminisced about memories of all of our family and friends. If you guys didn’t know, you guys were laying with us on those beaches.

Now back to reality. Cole went off the Switzerland and Germany while I headed back to Rouen to play in an International Tournament in Paris to give us some warm-up before the French playoffs start. So we split ways. Cole will spend the tail end of his trip with his girlfriend, Jen, in Switz and Ger and end up in Rouen with me for his last couple of days.

Paris, France. International Tournament.

There were 5 teams in this tournament. Bois Guillaume, a team from England, two teams from the Paris area, and team comprised of Hispanic ball players. Let me start off by saying, I would like to have punched whoever was in charge of our schedule right in the fucking mouth.
Saturday morning start time 11:30. Triple Header. Back-to-back-to-back.
First game was against PUC. Paris…U…ummm…C. That’s all I know. We came out really strong. Eric Coutu, a Canadian, took the mound for us and pitched really well. It was good to see that we hit really well despite the fact we have had a two month baseball hiatus. We killed them. 13-2.
Next game. The English team. They were the strongest team in the tournament that we faced. It was kinda funny because they only had one guy on the team who was actually from England. The rest of the players were either American or Canadian. I got the start on the mound for us. I pitched really well keeping them off balance with the ol’ knuck. We just crushed them. 11-5. I was kinda worried about not hitting after a while but I was just knocking the damn cover off the ball. It was also just incredibly cool to be able to bullshit with the other team. I was just chattering up a storm with everyone of their players. Giving and receiving compliments. A good hearted team and an even better win.
Last game of a horrible Saturday was against the other Paris team. Killed them….8-1.

Once our grueling day was over, we marched back to our hotels with the feeling of just complete soreness and fatigue. We were all just bushed. We had an oriental dinner at a shitty buffet and collapsed in our hotel beds once our hunger was satisfied.

Day 2. We were only going to have two games today. Thank god. We guaranteed a spot in the Championship game due to our triple-header sweep the day before. So the game against the Latinos was…well…….not so serious. We switched everyone around, putting guys in different positions, and just really played half-asleep. I was so fucking tired I told Jean Luc I was going to sit this one out and just coach on the base path. We lost the game against the Latinos…it seemed it was a huge victory for them but we could really give a shit to be completely honest.

Championship Game
Bois Guillaume Woodchucks vs Courdan Pirates
Game Time: 3:00 pm
Weather: Sunny
Attendence: a good 150.

Now this is the same English team. I have to start by saying I was just completely fucking pissed. This tournament was fucked up from the get go. We walked all over everyone in the tournament but if we lost to this English team, we would get second. Just complete bullshit. Oh, and one other thing.
We were the only team using wooden bats.
A fucking joke. This is baseball ladies and gents. Not fucking beer league.
Anyway, Bernie got the start for us. First play of the game set the tone for the first 3 innings. A ground ball to me deep in the hole….I gun it over to Arthur…it pulls him off the bag a bit but 3 steps ahead of the runner….the runner runs completely out of the base path and dives in avoiding a tag.

“SAFE.”

I was fucking livid. I was shouting shitty French at the umpire explaining to him fundamental baseball rules that you can not run outside the line on the way to first. The call stood and I was just completely pissed. I will say that it was the first time, since that I have been on a ball field here, having the attitude of…
Fuck this place. Fuck these people. I want to go home.
We made three more errors in the inning going down 4-0 in the first inning.
We were dead the first three innings. I was not saying a word being a little baby bitch and our team chemistry was awful. It wasn’t until the 4th inning that something game changing happened.
I know I have told you about Eric Coutu before but I am going to take time to tell you what he did in this game. He took me aside and told me,

“Tony, we need you. You are not here. We can not win unless you pull us together.”

I gave him a dejected knod.

He strode up to the plate in the bottom of the 4th with two runners on and two outs. He got down 0-2. I was getting my glove ready to take the field after the third out but I then heard the crush of wood on a baseball. Eric hit an opposite field double scoring in two runs. He slid into second safely but at a cost. He badly twisted his ankle. He gave his all that at bat. He put us back into the game, but more importantly he brought me back to into the game and into sanity.
We had to substitute a runner for him and Eric was greeted by high fives when he limped off the field. It was the spark we needed.
Bernie’s arm was hurting him so he came out. I decided to pitch my second game in two days. I know your guys are just pissed right now knowing that I threw on 10 hours rest but my arm was good. I threw about 40 out of 60 pitch knuckle balls the day before, so I was good. Relax…Alex. Don’t want to hear it. So I took the mound.
They scored in the top of the 5th off a couple of errors giving themselves a four run deficit again. In the bottom of the inning, I snapped out of my mood and hit a 2 run triple to narrow the lead back to 2. 6-4 going into the last inning.
I strode up to the mound again…tired, hungry, but focused. I struck out the first two guys but our defense and a badly placed knuckle ball let them score two more runs almost putting the game out of reach 8-4 going into the bottom of the last inning.
6,7,8 hitters up for us. You would be right in thinking that in our minds…the fire was sputtering out.
First two batters for us. K’s.
Two outs with Charles Paturel, 8 hitter, up. He draws a walk. 9th hitter for us gets a hit by pitch. The fire was rekindled just a bit…
Olivear hits a hard ground ball to the short stop that avoids his glove for an error. We score one run putting the score at 8-5. At this point I was on deck with Arthur ahead of me. Bernie is telling me that he sees it in his mind that Arthur will get on base and I will hit a game ending grand slam to give us the Championship.

First pitch to Arthur.
Hit by pitch.

8-5. Bases loaded. Two outs. Bottom of the ninth. Your truly comes up to the plate.

They make a pitching change.

The hurler for the English team threw some gas but the problem was that he didn’t know where it was going. So when I took the plate in hopes of a walk off HR, but I got the first pitch right on the ankle. It hurt like a bitch.
O.K. Now, 8-6. Bases loaded. Two outs. Bernie the 40 year old machine comes up.

First pitch comes.
Bernie swings and makes contact….

It is a seeing eye ground ball through the diving 2nd baseman’s mit tieing the game 8-8.

The BG team is just going nuts and the crowd is just loving it.

So there I am.
The game winning run, standing on 2nd base.

Romain, our 3rd baseman, comes up. He gets down 0-2. The pitcher then fires another mistake and plunks Romain in the arm.
I’m standing on 3rd base now with the game winning run in my head. I have to tell you this now. I saw what was going to happen before it happened.
I thought…

“A pitch in the dirt….I’m taking off if it goes anywhere but the catcher’s mit.”

First pitch comes to Vincent, our CF.

I see that it is headed downward into the dirt.

It ricochets off the catcher’s chest into the air.

I take off towards home.

I was hoping he was going to turn the wrong way to find the ball but he spotted it immediately.

He was about 3 feet aways from home plate and I was about 5.

I dive...

He dives....

I feel my finger tips feel the base before we crash into each other………
………………

“SAFE!”

We won the tournament. 9-8.
I was then mobbed at home plate by the team. Everyone just cheering on the top of their lungs. It was great. Such a memorable moment. The crowd was on their feet and the beer started to come out. The tournament officials handed us the Cup and a bottle of Champagne. Eric then filled the Cup to give me the first drink.
I then said.

“There is no way in hell I am going to take the first drink.”

I tipped it up to Eric’s lips and saw the champagne poor down his face. A great metal picture. I loved seeing the joy in our guys eyes.

We then gathered our equipment and shared beers with the England team. Really nice guys and we were all laughing about if I was really Safe or Out on the last call. I told them…

“Fuck yeah I was safe.”

They all burst into laughter.

We all got in our cars and headed for Bois Guillaume.
Olivier drove Eric, Vincent, and me back to Rouen. We shared hilarious dirty jokes to one another and played the funniest game of 20 questions ever.
I have to write this down just so I won’t forget it. We were playing 20 questions and it was my turn. The category was Animals of course.
The animal I thought of was just a bear.
Vincent asks the question, “Does it eat fish?”
But the way it was interpreted in English was if the animal goes fishing. Like with a fishing pole. I had the mental image of a bear sitting next to me at the lake with a beer and pole in hand. Maybe it was just fatigue…but we laughed about that all the way home.
I love you guys and will talk and see you soon. Can’t wait to see you Nena, Phyll, Mom and Dad when you get here. Love you guys. Good night.

Where is the Baseball?

2008-08-16T05:39:00.000-07:00

St. George Field, Normandy France.
My Dream.

Hey guys…where do I start…..Thank you for all the comments once again. I got to give props to Ian for his comment…very clever and funny. If you didn’t know France pretty much is not a functioning country in the months of July and August. It is their “holiday” season and it is damn near impossible to get anything done. But I’m still tryin’ for the net….

Ok…since last time I was able to talk to you, we were talkin’ about this St. George business. Well, for some reason in Jean Luc’s eyes, he doesn’t really want to pursue that option. I was really optimistic about the idea, so it kind of took the wind out of my sails. He wants to look for another lot of open land closer to BG, so that is that….but…….

That is not to say that the St. George idea is dead. That is all I am going to say about that.

These past couple weeks have kind of just drug on….just really slow past couple of weeks.

The fling that I had going on for a bit has completely died out, but I am not sad about it. I am glad for the time that I had with her. Other than my hopeless love life, things are going pretty good.

I have met some Spanish people through the brother of one of the softball players. They were a blast to hang out with. Their names are Zag, Pablo, Paco, Anna, and Vincent. We got to go to the beach in Le Havre last week and it was a blast. I was not quite ready for the complete Spanish experience though…I’m talkin’ eating dinner at 11:30pm and drinking and dancing until 4:00am. I was like… “Fuck…” but it was a great couple of days. We all hung out in Rouen one night. We went out to the bars for appetizers and drinks…afterwards I told them I wasn’t up for too much but they could come over to my apartment to hang out for a bit…..

Two bottles of the apple cider and three bottles of wine later…I was playing a set on the guitar with my Spanish singers helping me out on a couple of licks. Great night.

From Left: Pablo, Vincent, Anna, and Paco

So my clock has kinda been off these past couple of days you could say.
So I have been working on the field some with the kids and Chris the past couple of days and it is looking pretty good. There was an annoying amount of weeds that were sprouting of the dirt that I layed down 4 months previous. There will be no dandelions on my damn field…Maybe on Ian’s…but not mine (joke drum line).

I have to tell you that Chris has pretty much created an All-Star game for the DHR division. It is really cool because he is giving the Bois Guillaume club a much needed image boost due to reasons you can probably guess. But we worked on the field a lot for this upcoming Sunday All Star practice for the surrounding 4 towns involved. He asked me to help out and I of course agreed. We will practice, scrimmage, and BBQ afterwards. Lookin’ forward to it.

So…… baseball is pretty much dead during this time.

Makes sense not to play the world’s greatest game at the best time of year……..hmm…….

So I have had to drag guys onto the field for half-ass practices. I am throwing a pen every week to keep the ol’wing in shape. Still runnin…yada yada yada. But something really saweet happened today. Im talkin’ SAWEET.

One of the Rouen Elite team players, Boris, asked me if I wanted to practice with them since I am not doing anything. I met him when I umpired their games a couple weeks back. I quickly agreed and packed my ball bag and walked to the rendezvous point. Boris picked me up in one of those SMART cars. If you don’t know what a SMART car is….take one of Joey’s car toys and multiply by 3. So we headed for the Huskies Field.
Now, I have to tell you that I knew what to expect. I have had to deal with the same stares from other players on numerous occasions. For example; the first Missouri State baseball meeting my freshman year, every collegiate summer playing for different teams, etc. The look that a newcomer gets is pretty much….

“Who the fuck is this guy?”

So I warmed up with Boris. He is a great guy. Kinda was lookin’ out for me all day. So we all warmed up and people started taking their positions on the field for ground balls. I, of course, went to SS and started fielding balls. It felt good to be at a practice where you can actually field a team and get things done. So I fielded and rifled balls over to first and also turned double plays until my arm almost fell off. This went on for awhile and it was great. I was even starting to warm up to the other guys a bit. Giving and taking shit.

Then batting practice commenced. I knew I was going to be the last dog to hit so I headed to the outfield to shag. So there I was watching these guys hit. I will say that they are pretty damn good. The balls have some spunk on them once they leave the bat. But I will say one thing…not one of the balls left the park.
So after I was asked to throw BP to some guys, they told me I could hit and to grab my bat. I loved the feeling of these guys thinking… “Alright, can this fuck hit?”

Now let me ask you something. In the movie “The Natural”, do you remember when Roy finally gets to take bp for the first time? If you don’t know, you should be shot, but he hits his first 6 balls out of the park. Pretty much the same damn thing happened.
It was so cool. The other players were chattering to each other not really paying attention when I first walked up but when I hit the three balls thrown at me out of the park, there was a silence. Won’t forget that moment either.

So after I got done hittin, I got some smiles and looks of acceptance from the guys. That was the end of practice and so Boris and I started walking to his BigWheel.
I made a great dinner tonight, lemme tell ya. Spiced chicket breasts, butter filled mashed potatoes, peppered green beans, and some great vanilla sorbet yogurt for dessert. I’m kinda getting hungry again just thinking about it. Love you guys and will talk to you soon. Good night.

What's goin' on.

2008-08-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

I also have to thank you guys for the package. Love it all. From the The Bass Pro shirt to the Apple Butter. But wait one damn second.....

"RED DAWN" COULD HAVE BEEN THE WORST WAY I WASTED 2 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES OF MY LIFE.

A Long July.

2008-07-24T06:33:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. Yes…Yes….Yes….I know. It has been a long time. But trust me, I have had to deal with a lot the past month. This past month I have been all over France, moved apartments, fallin’ in and out of love, and had scuffles with administration. I will address those characteristics shortly. I appreciate you guys still commenting and entertaining yourselves. Trust me again… I am trying to get internet soon and will let you all know when I do. Right now, I am pondering what to write as I am sitting in my apartment with a glass of Bordeaux and smoking a cigar. I love and miss you guys so much. Your stories were heartfelt and I have read them over and over.

Let’s see here. Where to begin? Let’s just start from my birthday, July 3rd.

On my birthday, Chris and his family had Olivear and his girlfriend over to celebrate my birthday. At this point I was sleeping on an inflatable mattress in Chris’s house. The night was great. I was with the people who truly make me happy over here. Olivear and Marie bought me “Thirty All Time Great Acoustic Guitar Hits,” from an English bookstore, and Chris and his family bought me an authentic Marseille soccer jersey. I love these guys. We had guacamole, french fries, and grilled cheeseburgers. It was a great taste of home.

In the first week of July, if you didn’t know, I was homeless. Andree’, my former landlady, and I got into a scuffle about making noise past 10:00pm and me not being able to leave the apt. past that time. I decided to move out and find other means. I was saving the club hundreds of euro’s a month by staying in the past two apartments. I needed my own place. My words were along the lines of “All Woodchuck Club involvement that I have will be suspended until I get proper living means.” This broke the younger kids team’s hearts. They were incredibly supportive in sending me text messages and emails pleading with me not to quit. Jean Luc got the message and found me an apartment. It is my own studio next to the train station in the heart of Dtown Rouen. It is pretty small but the independence is worth more than the square footage.

I went out on Saturday, July 5th night with Camille, one of my softball players, and we went to go see the Armada. The Rouen Armada is this national event that happens every 4 years where ships from all over the world come down the Seine River from the English Channel into Rouen and dock for a week full of music, fireworks, and other festivities. So we went out on the opening night and saw some huge wooden ships. Pretty impressive. We then went to a night club where other friends of Camille were going to be. Some of her friends had positions on the French National Softball Board and greeted me really nicely.

So after doing some negotiation, I was going to southern France to coach the girls in Bordeaux for a national tournament. I was pumped.

Bordeaux, Southern France. July 7-12. This is a national tournament held every year for the Minime, Cadet, and Softball levels in France. Since my Bois Guillaume Cadet and Softball clubs were champions of Normandy, we had a good number of kids representing the Normandy region. There are 5 regions of France that are a part of this tournament. Normandy, Ile de France, Aquitaine, Rhone Alps, and another one that I cannot remember. Lets just call that team Southern France. When I showed up on the bus to go to southern France the girls were happy and surprised that I was going. It was a good feeling. I was going to help coach the Normandy Softball team with two other coaches. Florian and Melvin. Sorry, I do not know their last names. Flo, is from Louvier and Melvin is from Caen. Both really nice guys and they were happy to have me a part of the squad.

When we got to the tournament, their was a half-ass banquet for the teams. The coolest part of the trip was that the Normandy teams were to stay in these old dorms of this school in a little town outside of Bordeaux. Right in the middle of the country. Vineyards and farmland. I have some pictures of the place. It was a great time.
We played two games the next day. We went 1-1 in the first day. I wish I could remember the other name of the other team because they were the eventual champs of the tournament and that is who we lost to in the first game. We beat Rhone Alps in the second game. Now these girls can play. The majority of our girls were not ready to see competitive softball and it seems that they were just thrown into it. We collected ourselves the second game and took care of business.

During the nights, the coaches would all get together for beers and wine. I even had a mock football game with the little kids. They were all wanting to play football every night with me and always asking what I was going to do. They were incredibly sweet. So I made a lot of friends and had a blast. Another plus it that, the Southern France team did not have a coach for the next day. Melvin said that he would take over for them , leaving the reins of the Normandy team to me. It was great. So in the end, I was the head coach of the Normandy team with Flo as an assistant. Flo and I got along great. He is just the nicest guy who took care of all equipment, documentation, and other legalities. The next day, our girls kicked ass. We slaughtered Aquitaine and found ourselves in the semi final match against Ile de France. We lost in the last inning by one run. It was a heart breaker but I was just so proud of our girls. We won the consolation 3rd place game the next day and took home some medals. It was just a great week .

When I got back, I had a game the next day against Cergy, last place team. We had already locked up number 1 seed for the entire country of France with the best record of 26-4. We trounced Cergy that Sunday. One thing of note this game was that Olivear had two homeruns that game. His first’s of the season and career.
So the regular season is over and not a game until September 7th. Can you believe that shit?

So I have had to keep myself busy the past couple of weeks.

It just so happens that the last night of the Armada was that night on Sunday. I had a lot of people from the club over to my new apartment to have a pre party before trekking down to the Armada for firewords and Iggy Pop. That’s right folks…Iggy Pop was the final act of the festival. He was just as vulgar and crazy as ever. So we all drank, saw Iggy Pop move his old ass across the stage…(hahaha, this guy rocks.), and walked around.

Stephanie Joly, one of the players from the club, had an American girl with her and I met up with them after Iggy Pop. It was a great night. The fireworks were amazing across the river. I will never forget that moment.

After going to a couple bars with them, I retired home for the evening. The next day, Stephanie called me and asked if I wanted to go to Paris for three days with her, Natalie (her American friend), and Paul, her brother. I quickly agreed cause shit…I got nothing else planned for awhile.

Paris 16th-18th. This was just a great couple of days. I have always said that I really don’t like Paris much but this trip turned it around. A big reason that I have not liked Paris so much is because of the fact that the girl who we don’t mention broke my heart last time I was there. So when I was under the Eiffel Tower this time, there was no care about a girl cheating on me. I was with friends. We rode a Ferris wheel right next to the Louvre that was just amazing. You could see the whole city. The Eiffel Tower, Mont Marte, Champ Elysee, Notre Dame, The Seine.

Stephanie and I from the Ferris Wheel

It was just a great couple of days. We stayed at Paul and Stephanie’s sister’s apartment in town for the days we were there. It was Natalie’s birthday on Wednesday of that week and Paul and Steph said they had a surprise for her. We went to Mont Marte which is a little sect of Paris that has a cathedral and the whole area just over looks the entire city. Stephanie also told me that my birthday present was there too.

The birthday present was that Stephanie and Paul paid for Natalie and me to have our portraits painted. Hahaha…..not some bum from Silver Dollar City….real artists. It was great. I will show you a picture of what mine looked like. That night we had a great dinner and walked around the city. We then shared drinks in a park for the remainder of the evening. The whole trip was unforgettable.

So when we got back, I had to get prepped to umpire a game in Rouen. I had asked Jean Luc months ago about getting me a job so earn money since the club is not paying for me to be here during the remainder of July and all of August. So on Sunday, 20th July, I earned 100 Eu for umpin’ a game. It was good. I got into the role, pulling out some outrageous strike and out calls. It was fun for both teams to have an American umpire. I umpired the Rouen vs PUC Elite game. This is the division above us, and yes, it is better than N1 but not overwhelming by any means whatsoever.

Yes, I did fall in love for a spirt. Not going to get into it much at all…sorry. Had some phenomenal nights with this girl. We saw fireworks, talked all night one night, and we have shared memorable time together. Not going to release the name, because I really don’t know if it is going anywhere at all. There is the obstacle that I am leaving in about 3 months and that I am still a teenager at heart with not knowing where my path truly leads just yet. I will probably not see her again due to our schedules, but spending time with this person has made my past weeks the most memorable ones in France.

So here I am, my glass empty and cigar almost completely out. I love you guys and will talk to you when I get this internet connected in my place; should happen within the next couple of weeks. I am thankful for every one of your words of support. You guys are in my prayers every night. I love you with all of my heart and I will see you soon. Promise. Au Revoir.

Je suis desole :(

2008-07-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

I have had a great two weeks. I will post a video soon of my stories. Sorry for the absence: typing fro, a french keyborqd: I will post as soon as I get internet in my new kickqss apart,ent: Love you guys and talk to you soon.

"Happy Birthday to me...(blowing sounds)"

2008-07-03T04:13:00.000-07:00

Fishing the English Channel.

2008-06-27T16:01:00.001-07:00

Howdy y'all. Lovin' the comments. Ian, I laughed out loud at the black shorts and yellow T-Shirt comment....I am laughing as I type that, Alex, get off my ass...seriously I work my ass off, travelin and relaxing can really make you tired...my eyes have just worked too hard :D, Karly, I'm not just the dumb jock you might have thought me to be so nyah nya na nya na, Tiff, miss ya and cole, Phyll, seriously the moon must have been aligned perfectly last night for the first post, Mom and Dad, love you guys.

Today was another great day in the Tony Lewis book. Jean Luc picked me up this morning around 10:00am and we headed for Dieppe. Dieppe is the closest town, about 50 minutes away, to the sea. We were going to try to catch some rays and some fish at the same time. I will tell you neither of those things happened but I couldn't have been happier with my day.

The sun decided to hide today. It has been out all week, but for some reason it did not follow routine and we were left with overcast skies and wind. It was only Arthur, Jean Luc, and I at Dieppe because Benedict and Laura decided to pass on a cloud filled day. There was a slight breeze and the Paturel's were pissed. I was unusually really happy with the weather. Just a tranquil feeling. The was a crisp breeze that made your hair stand on end. I loved it.

We set up shop (fishing) on the boardwalk and cast out. We used artificial bait at first but later had to resort to other methods. So we had our poles propped up as we made ourselves some french baguette sandwiches with ham and hard boiled eggs. I was just completely content with just watching the waves roll and standing next to my pole. Just a completely relaxing day.

Arthur and I started to walk into town to the bait shop to get some worms but we made a detour to walk along the beach. If you have ever seen the Coldplay "Yellow" music video, this is it Lewis stylee.

The water was pretty cold so swimming in the channel will have to wait another day. So we headed back into Rouen taking a different route.

We stopped at a WWII Canadian Cemetary and I got some good pictures. We also took a more scenic route home because Jean Luc has picked up that I really enjoy the French countryside. I can see myself retiring amoung the rolling hills.

Got back home. Showered and went over to Olivear and Marie's for dinner. I supplied the main course with an assortment of sausages and they made a pot full of rice. We then drank rum and played guitar until the fingers felt pain. Great day and great night.

Love you guys and talk to you soon. Au Revoir.

Reflecting and Killing Time.

2008-06-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

*Rallying the troops

*Crushin' a ball

*Another Cinque Terre Pic.

Hey guys. I'm glad you had fun with the last pic...Did you assholes even read the post? Bah...anywho, I'm glad I still have y'alls attention. Thanks for commenting. I love you guys and miss you. You might be tired of hearing that...but it is so very true.

Since my last post I have had a lot of time just to sit and take some things in. Where I am at, what means most to me, and how fortunate I am.

I am so grateful to be playing the game I love.

You guys mean the world to me.

I thank God every night for the the strength he has shown me through your support.

Without your words of encouragement, I wouldn't make it very far. Sorry if this is coming out sappy but it is what I feel. If you gotta problem with it, go read someone else's blog. :P <-- (Mom, that's a little smiley sticking his tongue out)

This week's weather has been absolutely beautiful. About 75-80 F and clear skies. The past couple days I have taken my book and walked into the forest. I pick out a secluded spot amidst the trees and plop myself down. Before I crack open my book, I take a second and just let the breeze and warmth welcome me. It is a warm embrace that seems to tell me,

"Tony, you are with friends...now get lost in your novel."

Again...this is just what I feel.

I cannot express the feeling when you are in the middle of a good book. When the world is throwing you obstacles and strife, a book is a retreat. I am glad that you, Ian, stole this book from Critter to allow me this recess. It's not the best book I have read but it definitely lets me retreat. To all of those who are wanting to know the name of the book...it is called, "Acacia." A fantasy novel...not going to get into it because it's nerdy fantasy stuff.

So after I take a couple hours of reading, I head back home...and either get ready to conduct baseball practice or my night's meal. Chris and I have hung out some of the nights. Chris usually preparing dinner with Anne, while I entertain the kids. I am their "Uncle Tony." I KNOW, I KNOW. I am only Uncle Tony to Joey, Olivia, Claire, and Zach but I see their smiles through Chris's children. I miss you kids so very much. Alex, tell your kids Hi for me. Ian, you do the same.

Well I am going fishing tomorrow on the English Channel with Jean Luc. I hope I bag a lunker. I have never fished deep water before...it should be interesting. I will take pictures and let you know how it goes. I miss and love you all. Au Revoir.

Last Italian Days, Getting back, and Kicking Ass.

2008-06-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. I am sorry for long absence. I have not found the inspiration to write the past couple days and I wanted to wait until it felt right to type. I still don't really want to write but I miss hearing your comments. Evan, thanks for the mail and advice, Karly, thanks for keeping up, Tiff, good talking to you last night, Ian, I love you and miss you man, Emily and Jo, I love you guys and can't wait to see you, Alex, I get a lot of my humor from you and Ian...Your quips are hilarious and that is a gift that you have had ever since I have looked up to you. Mom and Dad, I love you guys and I'm pulling for the other side to pay up pretty damn soon. Music, thanks for joining the party and for the comment, sorry but I do not know your name. To everyone else...thanks for keeping up with my antics and I want everyone to know that I think about them everyday and you guys are in my prayers.

The last of the Florentine air....
My weekend in Cinque Terre will go in the memory banks for my entire life. I didn't get to mention the soccer guys much in the last post...but we all stuck together like best friends on my week in Italy. I want to give a special thanks to Connor, Brian, Jake, and Chase. You guys have made my stay a little easier and I loved our wine filled nights on the town.
We explored the whole town. Connor even went running with me one day. After our long run/walk I decided to take the gang of bro's on a hike that I did last year. It was great to get out of the city and immerse yourself in the waters of Tuscany. You could see the look on all of their faces. They were out of their element and were treking into new lands. It was the same feeling I had when I hiked. It was great. We made out way to a little outskirt town and had coffees and beers. We hiked about 4 miles back into town and stopped at Fort Belvedere to get another great vantage of Florence. We took some goofy pictures but this one right below actually turned out really well.

I love this pic.

So after our days of doing these types of activities, we would see what the girls were up to and I would try to think up something fun for us to do at night. Hannah and Lindsay had an absolute ball with the Crepes so that was a success. And the clubs that we went to were filled with dancing, so that was good too.

*Lindsay and Hannah

So the icing on the cake was Cinque Terre once again. I can't talk about this place enough.

It is where tension, seriousness, and formality go to die.

After a beach filled day, Jake and I saw this little cathdral sitting on top of a mountain. I then asked a local in Italian,

I pointed to the top of a mountain...
"How do you get to that little cathedral?"
He chuckled,
"My friend, that is a hike. But this is the way..."

He explained and Jake and I started out. It was a great hike. Im talkin worn out steps at vertical angles. I felt like we were in search of the Holy Grail or something.
One thing that I always tell myself when I go hiking or running is that, God seems to reward those who go the extra mile. When we reached the summit after 2 1/2 hours of hiking, I was face to face with the most beautiful view I have ever seen in my life. This is the actual picture. No postcards...just me behind the digital device. We stayed up there for about 45 minutes.

Zipping into the future. My journey home from Italy wasn't an easy one. I had a 5 hour train layover in Paris when I got back into France.
....Paris fucking sucks.

So my first days back were relaxed. You can't stay in a paradise like Italy for too long...you will spoil the effect. I left Italy wanting more and that is how I like it. I never want to feel bored with that beauty.
I conducted practices like usual. The girls had a softball game on Saturday. They creamed the hell out of Les Andeley and that was that.

Jean Luc and I had something planned for a long while for our Sunday's games. So on June 22, 2008, the Bois Guillaume Woodchucks enjoyed something that has not been apart of the club in their 20+ years of existance.

Intro Music.

Jean Luc finally got the city to lend us a sound system with long ass extension cords. So I got a list and had the guys write down what songs they wanted before they came up to the plate. It was great.
I'm not going to do a game summary because I don't feel the need. We creamed Cherbourg 12-0 and 7-3. I don't want to talk about the games but the feelings the guys had.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Hannah Carter and Ashley Vincel came up from the DU Italy class to spend the weekend with me. They enjoyed Paris for a couple days and train'd it to Rouen for two nights. So they were at the games. You would also be right in saying the guys were all about that. I will not get into detail what the guys were saying about the American girls...but you can imagine for yourself. So we had Pat Benetar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," and "Put Me In Coach," by John Fogherty blaring through our one loudspeaker between the innings. It was great. Before the game started, Anne Clair (one of my Softball players) took the mic and announced starting line-ups for both teams. It was an incredible feeling. These guys have never had their names announced through a loudspeaker while standing on a baseline. It was great to see the smiles and jeers from both sides.

The intro music was just fantastic. One could hear anything from Olivear's AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" to Pierre's choice of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." Hahaha, it was so great. I went with a more classical selection of "The Kiss," performed by Clannad, the violin filled jig found in the Last of the Mohicans.

Great day. We had a barbeque afterwards and played our Baseball Golf game. More players, more beer, more laughter. Great day and I am blessed that I have been able to witness such joy. It would have made your heart smile Dad.

That is it for now. Oh Ian...almost forgot..."Acacia" is actually getting pretty fucking good. Thanks for your patience guys and I hope I haven't lost ya. I love you guys and I mean that sincerely. I will sit down and talk to each and every one of you soon, as we share a bottle of wine. Au Revoir.

Standing on the Edge of Reality.

2008-06-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

*Cinque Terre, Italy

Hello friends and family. I have gone 100 mph the last week and I finally have a chance to sit down and share what I have done in Italy with y'all. Thanks again for all the comments. There was like 20 of them and I don't really remember what they said but I am glad that you guys have been keeping yourself entertained. I have been jotting down notes on my hikes/train rides to have a give you an accurate account on what has been going on. So I shall begin...

Arriving. I step off my Beauvais to Pisa plane. I am immediately in my element. I used my Spantalian when I was in Pisa and the excitement was growing. My goal: Get to the Pisa train station because the last train to Firenze left in 45 mins. I made it to the station with plenty of time to spare and I get my seat. Plug in my ipod and listen to songs that reminded me of last summer.I step off the 10:30 pm Pisa to Firenze train. Such a great feeling you guys. The night was alive in Firenze. The same street entertainers, shops and clerks, streets, buildings, smells, everything. Firenze is my second home. I know Firenze better than I know north Springfield. So I buy a bottle of wine for Jackie, my teacher and friend, and I make it to her apt. because I was going to stay with her for the next week.
I was greeted with hugs and she made me a great dinner because she could see that I was famished. Jackie, Todd (other teacher), and Tom (Jackie's bf and my guitar mentor) will be my friends for life. A great welcoming.

I got up the next morning and got in my Florentine run. Took a familiar route and was just loving the fact that the bakers were just pulling out their first batch of bread. Went to Michealangelo's Piazza and sat for a long while. Something happened at that moment. I usually have no problem thinking about baseball at any location. I simply could not think about baseball here....I tried today when I was there but I can't....There is just too much beauty around. Your mind is at ease and you use your eyes for the first time in your life.

Later on my first day, I met up with this year's class of kids that Jackie is teaching. They were happy to see me and the feeling was the same on my side. Chase Vincel is one of my buddies from high school that I didn't even know that was going to be on the trip. He immediately came up to me and said,

"Tony, I am so glad you are here. Jackie said 'Good things will happen when you are with Tony.' "
"Well, I am glad to see you too brother. This is going to be a fun week."

I am just going to give you a brief overview of some of the things I have done during the weekdays.

*I cooked a meal for the whole class, my Poor Man's Lasagna dish. They licked the bowls clean. I then showed the girls how to make crepes. They were so appreciative of it. I gathered my dessert ingredients: Bananas, chocolate syrup, strawberries, apples, cinnamon, and whipped cream. I showed them how to do it in one demonstration....then they took over. The girls absolutely loved the fact they were making these crepes and just had a ball. I was so happy to be giving them my recipe. I was happy because they were happy.
*Most of the nights are filled with wine and walking. The nightlife is so phenomenal here. Street musicians, art, statues, and clubs. I even saw the same Latin Jam Band outside the Academia Arc. Just perfect. It is an unspoken role that I have taken as well. I am the tour guide of the class. All I need is an umbrella to let the group know how far ahead I am. I couldn't be happier guiding these guys to a good time. We go to the same bars, clubs, and hangouts.
*My afternoons are usually spent with Tom while the kids have their class. We play guitar together and he has taught me so much. He is really impressed with what I played for him and he said I have a Spanish tone. He said it's from you, Momma. Not only has Tom mentored me on how to be a good guitarist but I have learned a little about the person that I am trying to be.

*Playing the Guitar next to the Arno

"Tony, you are an entertainer. You are not happy if other people are not happy. You have to be the leader. People look up to you and you have to deliver a good time. If not...all is lost. You need to strap a guitar on your back and teach the world how to have a good time. If you can't strap a guitar on your back...you need to find the girl who will carry it for you."

I love these sessions with Tom.

*I had a great Italian night. Chase and I didn't want to club it up one night so we went to a square on the other side of the Arno, (Major Italian river), and made our way to Santo Spirito Piazza. Now this place was bumping. There were atleast 1000 Italians hanging out, playing soccer in the streets, drinking wine, and playing music. It was great.

Now the last topic is about Cinque Terre. I decided to take the whole class, 14 kids, to Cinque Terre. Jackie was completely ok with the fact they were going with me...but again...shit....I have only been here one other time. I also go at a different pace than most people. But I will tell you right now these kids know how to move and not doddle. Oh I'm sorry, I haven't told you...

Cinque Terre is the most beautiful place that I have ever seen.

It sits right on the Mediterranean and has 5 beautiful towns. When the kids saw the view from the train for the first time. They all gasped in awe. I did the same even though I knew it was coming. A funny thing happened when we all got off the train...
I gathered the whole group off the train. The crystal blue water was just crashing into rocks behind me. I stood on a step and started the tour. I was explaining where everything was...the Lover's Walk (a walk along the 5 lands), Riomaggiore (the town we stayed at, the cool bars, and dinner destination. I noticed that other people were gathering behind the class and was getting information. I then yelled to one of the squakers...
"HEY, this info. is not free my man. That'll be 5 Euros my friend."
Everyone laughed.

This past weekend was great. Beautiful views, hikes, and old memories of the past summer. I have photos in my mind for life.

Well, I am leaving to go see Michealangelo's 'David' statue right now. I will talk to you guys when I get back into France tomorrow evening. I love you guys and will talk to you soon.

Leaving On A Good Note. BG vs Montigny

2008-06-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all. I am tired as shit but as promised...I am giving you one last post before I leave for Italy. Absolutely loved the comments. Ian, Don't worry, I'll be lookin for some gifts for people back in France...maybe the bumper sticker where Calvin (N Hobbes) pissing on a Chevy emblem, Alex, dude...I have probably worked more over here in three months than you have in your whole life, Emily, thanks for keepin up and like the support about the pics, Karly, you're a darlin' for talkin to me on Facebook, Tiff, my only advice about teaching lil ones is maybe just a swift slap across the head is in order, Mom and Dad, thanks for talking to me after my games and I will be keeping in touch when I am in Italy. Now to everyone else who reads, Lemme hear ya.

I will start with Friday. Olivear and I pretty much schedule Friday nights as dinner/jam session night. It was great. I made a pasta dish and Olivear had a French delicacy planned. Crepes. Now, maybe it is just me, but I thought crepes were a breakfast thing. But not in France. You can have crepes at all times of the day with whatever you want to put in them. So Olivear closely instructed me how to make a perfect crepe. I added deli ham, tons of cheese, and a sliver of butter that melted over the thin cake. It was phenomenal.

For dessert, we made dessert style crepes. Lemme just say my banana chocolate crepe was delicious.

After a good dinner, Olivear made our way down to our studio. Olivear's girlfriend, Marie, said that we played too loud last time so we had to play in the basement of the building where Olivear's flat is. At first glance, it is a small dungeon, but we brought some chairs and some lights down to make it our own. The acoustics that the basement bring out are just great. So we had whiskey filled drinks and played until our fingers couldn't move. It is great to hear both of our guitars ring out. We are at the point where we can just tell each other a chord arrangement and put together a really good melody. Just a good night.

*Olivear and I in our studio*

Saturday. Nothing much happened. Both Cadet and Softball games were cancelled due to lack of players on opposing teams. This happens a lot. So I conducted a practice with both teams on the field and we played a mixed scrimmage at the end of practice...it was fun but I could tell all the kids were pissed that the games were cancelled. I went back home, heated up a pizza, and just crashed. I had to get ready for Sunday's games vs Montigny.

Now if you have been keeping up...You know that Montigny is 2nd behind us, 3 games back. This double header is huge. Not only huge in the race for first in our division but also because of the fact I am going to miss next week's games vs GIF, 7th place. So we just need to atleast split with Montigny to ease things over with the BG club concerning my departure. So let's just jump into it...

Game 1: Bois Guillaume Woodchucks vs Montigny Cougars
Time: 11:30
Weather: Sunny, beautiful
Attendence: 25

Montigny is a pretty big club with a really nice field. It is the only astro-turf field in France with a good grandstand in the background. If you look at one of my first posts of the pre-season games...you will see the field. It doubles as a soccer field in the outfield, so lemme just say it is really deep. Hard ground balls through the infield can go for triples.

*Marc and Me*

Marc, our Canadian ace, got the start for us. This guy is good. About a 82-85 mph fastball with a D1 slider. He usually just shuts teams down.

First inning. We struck first off a double by Bernie. God, I love this guy. 1-0.
Marc shut them down in the bottom of the frame.
The beginning innings for us were pretty slow and even slower for the other team. I got the most ground balls at shortstop that I have had to field in a long time. I wanna say atleast 8 6-3's. Before my next at bat, the umpire says to me in a broken English,

"Montigny must really hate you." Followed by a chuckle.

They hated me even more because I laced a RBI double down the right field line after he said that.

So after some hits by us and errors by the other team, we found ourselves out front with a 5-0 lead.
Bottom of the 6th. First two batters get extra base hits. The next batter hit both of them in. 5-2. Ok...no problem. I told Marc that those runs don't mean shit and that we got'em. He walks and HBP's the next two batters.

Well fuck.

We got two outs and they are threating to put two more runs up with their next batter. The next play was incredible.

Marc throws a dirty slider, but it stays over the middle of the plate and the batter laces a flyball into the gap. I was sure that it was trouble. All of our hearts stopped except for Pierre's, our right fielder...

He gets such a good beat on this rocket and makes an over the shoulder leaping catch. Just incredible. We just exploded with joy. Pierre was so happy that he jumped into our huddle in front of the dugout as we were praising his name. That catch saved the game.
In the top of the 7th, we put up 4 more runs with the help of a triple by Marc...yes our starting pitcher. You could say he helped himself out big time. Montigny went down in order in the bottom of the 7th and we got the victory.

I can not tell you how relieved I felt. Now I didn't have to worry about my holiday anymore. It was effecting my batting and Olivear had told me that he could see it. I told the guys I was so proud of them. I told everyone to forget the game, get a second win, and most importantly to have fun this game. I love having the player/coaching power. I love being able to step back and look at baseball from a different angle. I took that role in my last season at DU and it was amazing, but I love that these guys really listen to what I say. I am their SS, power hitter, coach, and friend.

Game 2: Bois Guillaume Woodchucks vs Montigny Cougars
Time: 2:00
Weather: Still perfect
Attendence: 40

Montigny has really good support. It really nice to see people in the stands supporting their team playing a sport that is miniscule compared to other sports in France. Vincent, a lefty, got the start for us. Vincent got the win against Montigny last time and we figured that his floater would work its same magic.

Montigny was not fooled this game. We went down in order in the top of the frame and they jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Vincent was doing well but was throwing too many pitches and was getting wild. We had managed to tie it up 2-2, Pierre led off with a hit, I walked, and Bernie hit a 2 RBI double.

4th inning. I warmed up on the side of the dugout to get loose in case I needed to come in. First batter for them hit a shot deep into the left side hole. Romain dove and missed the ball but I was running right behind him in backhand position...

Now I have to stop and tell you something. All my plays to this point were pretty routine allowing me not to throw the ball hard at all to get the out.

On this play...I had to use the gun.

I backhanded this play deep in the hole, like I have done all my life, and fired a frozen rope across the infield. It beat the runner by a step.
The whole crowd stood up and clapped at my play. It was awesome. The umpires and other team members said that they have never seen a play like that. It was just really cool. Vincent got into trouble in the same inning and I took the mound. I got us out of the inning without a scratch.

2-2. We went down in order in the 5th. I took the mound and started getting careless. I was leaving my fastball up and the other team took advantage. They got a couple of hits and sacrificed a run in, going up 3-2. I cursed to myself and decided to use the knuck even more. It got the next guys to strike out and we finally got out of the inning.

Top of the order up for us. Olivear, Arthur, and yours truly. Olivear and Arthur struck out swinging. Then I make my way to the plate. I gotta tell you that my little rituals are the same over here. Strap the gloves a couple of times, walk behind the umpire, say a silent prayer to myself, spit behind the umpire, and make the sign of the cross on the plate.

Jean-Luc then yells at me from 3rd base.

"Hit a homerun and we are tied."

I laughed.

I thought to myself..."Well, I'll try."

First pitch.

I absolutely swung as hard as I could.

It was the longest ball ever recorded on Montigny's field.

It felt great. Dead center field.

Tie game 3-3.

I took the mound for the bottom of the 6th. I have to tell you that I pitched really well but the batters duckfarted some balls that landed for base hits. I had one out though without giving up the leading run. I then threw a great knuck. The ball knucked right onto the absolute end of the guy's bat and it was enough to sacrifice the runner in. 4-3 Montigny. I got the next guy out and we were down to our last 3 outs.

We all put on rally hats but it wasn't enough. We went down in order in the last inning. So we split with Montigny.

I was happy to still be up 3 games on them. I think everyone was happy with the outcome and I am sure that Jean-Luc is going to sleep better during my absence. So that is a good thing. I got compliments from the other team for my shot and I went to go fetch my ball. I tossed it to Jean-Luc and said I wanted him to have it. He was happy and we made our way back home.

Now to prepare for Italy. I leave tomorrow at 6:30pm and get into Florence around 10:30. I also want to mention to you...that if you are in the Springfield area, turn on Scott Puryear's and Ned Reynold's Sports Talk Radio Show tomorrow, Monday, morning from 9:00-10:00am. I am doing a short phone interview. So that should be fun.

One thing I have to share is that I love digging into my little old Italian language reference book and re-learning the phrases. I will probably post when I get back to France, Wed. 18th, but will try to when I am in Italy. I miss you guys and will talk to you soon. Au Revoir.

Getting a "Green Light."

2008-06-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

*View from Michealanglo's Piazza, Florence, Italy. Last summer, this was my favorite spot.*

Hey guys. Thanks for all the responses. I have to say I laughed the most at Alex's comment...but just at his 'hobbit' comment. Hey dude, I am like Shaquille O'Neil over here. Ian, another good comment...Phyl, I am glad you are still keeping up, miss you, Karly, I always love hearing your comments, makes living over here easier, Tiff, miss ya and we are catching up on "Lost" when I get back, Mom and Dad, love you guys a lot and thanks for the email, Dad. It helped.

Okie Dokie. Well, on Monday of this week, I opened up a great email. It was from Todd Lowery, Drury Art Teacher, and he is in Florence right now. The class that I went with last year is in Florence right now. I got a great message that contained the words "Get here anytime from the 7th - 19th of June." You do not have to ask me twice to have a break in the most beautiful town I have ever seen. I quickly started looking at plane tickets online. I know now, from past experience, that you have to be very careful who you buy your plane tickets through. So my Monday morning was full of just surfing the net to land the best flight deal. I went through so many possibilities on how to make it to Florence from Rouen. *I am not using my train pass because once I activate it...I only have 2 months to get my 15 train days in...So I am hopefully saving that for certain family members who need to get their shit together....*
So anywho, I finally had a couple of possible routes to get to Italy. The only thing now was covering all fronts on the French side. I have to tell you...it has not been easy.

We play Montigny this weekend, currently in 2nd place behind us and 3 games back. I will be here for that game definitly but the only obstacle that I am facing is trying to miss the next week's games vs 7th place GIF.

I ran by some flights by Jean-Luc. First Option: I can spend 120 Eu (about $180) and leave on Monday, 9th, and return the Wednesday, 18th. Second Option: 157 Eu (about $247) to leave on Monday and get back on the 14th, Sat. night. Both Monday flights put me in Florence at about 11:00pm.

Jean-Luc obviously favoring the second option. Now let's look at some facts. I am not touting myself in anyway...but...I have put in a 110% effort to the club + another 20%. I really need this break for peace of mind. To see my teachers, a lot of friends I convinced to go, and old Italian acquaintances from last year. I have to tell you that it makes me so excited to visit this place again.

So after a long discussion...good and bad...not hostile in anyway though....Jean-Luc gave me the green light to take the longer break. WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!BOOYA! I am taking this next line to thank Jean-Luc for understanding my need for a little holiday.

So I bought my tickets and I am bound for Italy next week!

K...well the rest of the week has gone pretty well. I had two Cadet games in Caen on Wednesday. These were make-up games vs Cherbourg. Both teams decided to meet halfway in Caen. Now if you remember our N1 game vs Cherbourg...they had an older Canadian who spoke perfect English with me. He was their coach. So we bullshited awhile. It is really nice to relax my brain from French and be able to speak English fluidly. I have to tell you a funny thing...when you don't use English everyday with everyone...you have trouble finding words. It is so weird. I am mixing English, French, and Spanish. I think if I don't have someone to speak English with every now and then...I am going to wonder the Earth speaking a broken language containing all three languages.

The Cadet won both games. They were pretty good games too. Not a blowout by any means. So the kids were pumped and we headed home.

I have to tell you a funny story that happened on our way home. I was sitting in the front seat with Eric chatting away and then I get a text message on my french cell phone. It was from a number that I didn't recongnize at all. So I read the message...

I can't tell you what exactly what it was but it pretty much said, "Are you the American I just saw at the field? You are really good looking!"

Hahahaha...I knew some of the kids were probably fucking with me. The kids were all laughing with excitement and that's when I got a second message...

In French, "I want to meet you sometime and feel your muscles..."

Hahahahahaha.....I demanded all the kids in the car to show me their phones. I didn't find the criminal.

So all of us were waiting for another message and sure enough...another one came.

"I am in love with you."

All the kids were almost in tears, laughing. Well dammit...just who the fuck is this?

Eric told me to give him the number without the kids in the back seeing. So I gave him the number as secretly as I could. The kids didn't know he was calling...

We heard a cell phone ring inside the car. Sam was ducking behind the backseat just laughing as hard as he could. What a fucker. I will never forget that. It was so funny.

Today, I had a practice with the softball team. Now if you remember from last week, I had mentioned that these girls were being little whiny bitches. Little did I know, I was going to be called out on it today. Camille, 3rd base, reads the blog regularly. She then asks me in front of the team,

"What is a wheeny little bitch?"

I started laughing so hard. So shit...I gotta watch it my words. So all the girls gave me mean looks because they knew I was talking shit on them. I then brought them all together and said it was a mixture of things that day and that normally they bring joy to my life. I brought them back from the darkside and things were all good. We had a great practice. As soon as one of the girls was mouthing...I quickly told her to sit on the bench and not come back until she had a smile on her face. I told them that I only wanted to see smiles today. They all understood what I wanted and everyone had a good time and playing really well might I add. Good practice.

Well, tomorrow, I think I am doing something with Chris...taking some choo choo pics I think. ARE YOU HAPPY JOEY?!
I love you guys and will talk to you soon. Au Revoir.

Jammin' with Captain Live Cavern, Winnin' Some Games, and Playin' Baseball Golf.

2008-06-02T01:12:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. Sorry, I was too tired after yesterday's games to post but I figured that you would enjoy reading on a Monday anyhow. Thanks for the comments. Karly, thanks for the comment and miss ya qt, Biff, I'll try my best to record our music day, Ian, thanks for the Neosho flashback...that was nice, Emily, funny comment about "Ian's Blog", poor little bugger...Alex, If you were over here, I know you would need a couple of cold ones to numb your aches...tet de bit (dickhead), Mom and Dad, really glad I talked to you guys yesterday. To everyone else, thanks for reading.

Ok. I will start with last Friday. I met Jean-Luc on the field that afternoon to clean up the field. Raking, mowing, and adding dirt. Charles helped out as well and that was good. The sun was blaring and I was getting a pretty good tan during the whole day. Jean-Luc quickly noticed something.

"Tony, you are getting skinny man!"
"Ha, I have lost about 8 kilos." (16 lbs)

So all three of us were on the field, working, and then I saw a whole class of kids walk through the gate. They had a P.E. teacher with them and they were going to play a mock softball game in the outfield. I gotta tell you...I am lady killer with the 15-16 year old girls. I know...I'm a pimp. It was funny because when they were warming up, the girls would purposely overthrow each other in my direction and they would chuckle when they got close. Dammit, send me a 20+ and we'll talk.

I saw Jean-Luc talking with the P.E. teacher and he was motioning in my direction. Soon after his chat he walked over to me and said that he wanted to throw me some BP so these kids could see how I hit. At this point, the P.E. teacher brought all of his kids together and told them what was going on. I stared hearing "Bonjour Tony..(tee hee hee)" from the girls. I put my shirt back on and strapped on my batting gloves. The very first pitch Jean-Luc threw I knocked an opposite field homer. The whole class was "oooing" and "aweing" at the hit. Out of the next 10 pitches, I hit 8 more out. On the last homerun that I hit, the whole class erupted in applause. It was really funny and I was laughing the whole time.

After our little Bp, Jean-Luc asked if I wanted to go to his band's jam session. I agreed of course and we made our way to his band practice. I was greeted by the rest of "Captain Live Cavern."

*From Left: Denis, lead guitar/bass. Theirry, vocals/rhythm guitar. Jean-Luc, Drums. Benoit, lead guitar/bass*

This is a band of older guys who just love to jam out to classic rock and roll. Before their practice began, Denis (Lead Guitarist), asked if I wanted to play his stratocaster for a bit.

"BA OUI!" (Oh, YEAH!)

So I played some of my electric guitar riffs in my repetoire. I was nice to have an electric in my hands. I then started on an easy but bad-ass riff that I knew. "Seven Nation Army", by The White Stripes. Jean-Luc came in with the drums and Benoit came in with a sweet bass line. When I got to the chorus...we just jammed out. The guys were are laughing and it was a great time. The guys were impressed that I have only been playing for about 6 months. Then Captain Live Cavern took over. They played some really good songs. Smoke on the Water, Where is my mind, Hotel California, and Stairway to Heaven just to name a few. The lead singer, Theirry, has a good voice but it is really funny to hear how he pronounces the english words. Completely off but you can get the point. Hahaha, they would always look back at me when they would finish a song and ask,

"Do you know that one?"

When I said yes, they all would look at each other in a successfull grin.

After the Jam session and a couple of brews, I went downtown with Charles and had a good night.

*Paul warming up*

The next day, I would go with the Cadet team to Honfleur to coach their game. There was no softball game on Saturday due to lack of players. So we went to Honfleur and proceeded to kick ass. Paul and Dimitri pitched really well, using lessons that I had given them, and the whole team had great hits. I am really proud of our progress. Our infield was flawless and our hitting was superior to Honfleur. The umpire came up to me and said,

"Your kids look like they know what the hell they are doing." In perfect English.

Woah, wait...

"Haha thanks, and what are you doing here?!"

"Haha, I have lived here with my wife for the past 7 years and we love it here."

*Don and Me*

His name is Don and he was a NBC News correspondant for many years and he has been stationed all around the world to be a T.V. personality. I couldn't believe it. He and his wife have written several books and he informed me that his next book is going to be about baseball in France. So we talked the entire day, and I am meeting with him and his wife at a bar close by to get an interview on my take on things. He has visited the blog and loves my style. So that was really cool to hear him say.

So we made our way back to BG and I retired early to get ready for our double header on Sunday against Dunkerque.

Today was a special day because after the games there was going to be a barbeque for the whole club/parents.

Let me just jump into the games.

Game 1: Bois Guillaume Woodchucks vs Dunkerque Korvers
Time: 11:30
Weather: Humid as hell
Attendence: About 18

There was a lot of cloud cover just creating an oven over our field. Marc got the start for us and he shut them down in the first. In the bottom of the frame, we tacked on 2 runs to get an early lead. They struggled not only offensively but defensively as well. We just completely routed them 14-2 in 5 innings for the run rule. Bernie and Marc had homeruns and 8 RBI's between them.

I was informed a couple days ago that other teams are talking a lot of shit about us. On the French Baseball Forum, other teams are saying that the only reason that we are good is because we have "a strong American player and two Canadians." This has caused some bad blood against other teams but tough shit...start recruiting and shut your mouths. There is a lot of bark but no bite.

So we relaxed during our break, having sandwiches and drinks. I have to tell you that my arm feels 100% now and I wanted to get some innings in to get some practice in on the mound. Jean-Luc and I decided that I was going to start the second game and go until I would feel the slightest pain in my arm.

Game 2: Bois Guillaume Woodchucks vs Dunkerque Korvers
Time: 2:30
Weather: Sun finally came out to break the clouds
Attendence: 25

The other kids from the program started showing up. It is nice to have their support and that gave me a little more incentive to pitch well. So I took the mound for the first time in about 2 months. I have to say my knuckle ball was on.

First inning. Struck out the first guy on outside heat. Struck out the second guy on a knuckle ball that I still think he is thinking about right now. I remember when I was pitching in high school and when I would throw a knuckle ball...I would just laugh at the faces the batters would give me. Just utter confusion. Like...

"Just what in the hell was that?"

Nothing has changed now. I still giggled to myself on the mound and the guys in the field were laughing as well. The next guy fouled out on a first pitch knuck and we were out of the inning.

We started off slow in this game. Not really what I wanted when I was pitching but oh well. I had completely silenced their bats in the first part of the game. We finally struck in the 3rd. I started off when I triple to center field and then Bernie blasted his second homer of the day to put us up 2-0. I was thinking that was all I needed, but my assumption wasn't right on.

My location was great the entire day. Changing arm angles and just completely keeping the other team off balance. We tacked on three more runs to go up 5-0. Then the Korvers finally put together a decent inning. One of their batters got a chopper over my head and Romain, SS, failed to make the play. Next batter, ground ball to Romain, and he failed to handle it cleanly. K...relax, just get the batter. Next batter for them hit a side arm fast ball pretty well to center but I was almost sure that we were out of the inning. Vincent, CF, took a horrible route and the ball went over his glove for a 2 RBI triple. Next guy got on first on a ground ball to Charles at 2nd. Well, dammit c'mon guys. Next send a duckfart into center. Another RBI. I jammed the next batter to get a ground ball to me, inning over. 5-4.

Dammit. I was pissed.

We went down in order in the 5th.

Ok...six more outs. First batter for them hit a weak ground ball to 3rd. Our guy sailed it over the first baseman's head and the tieing run ended up on third base. Unfuckingbelievable. Jean-Luc called time and called Eric, C, and me to the mound.

"I am sure they are going to squeeze here."
"If you see him square, throw it up." Eric said to me.
"Pfft...Ok."

I threw a knuck for a first pitch strike in defense of a possible bunt. He didn't square. We didn't know, but the squeeze was on, on my second pitch. I motioned for Romain, who was at 3rd now, in Spanish to be ready. So I went into my wind up with a long pause that completely threw off the runner. He got a very late break but he was stealing home for the squeeze! I launched a high fastball that wizzed into Eric's mit. The batter missed the bunt and Eric easily tagged out the runner to foil the tie. It was great and everyone was pumped including myself. I blew a side arm fast ball that buckled the batter's knees for the strikeout and threw three sweet knucks to get the next guy wiffing three times for the final out of the inning.

Bottom of the 6th. 5-4 BG.

We needed some insurance. The heart of our order was coming up. Arthur, me, and Bernie. I told Arthur if he gets on, I am hitting a homerun. Arthur grounded out on a first pitch ground ball.

I really needed to get something started here to help out my situation. I stepped in and let a pearl of a strike blow by me. Well dammit Tony, swing the fucking bat. The next pitch was a complete mistake by the pitcher. He let a changeup hang on the inside part of the plate. I proceeded to hit it over the trees in right center that landed on the soccer field. It felt so good. We tacked on two more runs in the frame to go up 8-4.

Momentum was with us. The whole club was in attendence and was cheering. The softball girls were telling me the same things that I would tell them during their games followed by laughter.

I struck out the last three batters of the game.

We got the sweep and everyone was happy. We were even more happy now because we could smell the grill being fired up and the meats that were being put on the rack. So we cleaned up the field, showered in the clubhouse, and satisfied our hunger with some sausages, cheeseburgers, and beer. A great day. The other team stayed for the barbeque and we all just had a good time. I love the fact that all of us were friends off the field yesterday.

So we were all sitting around not doing much and I motioned Olivear over to me.

"Wanna play some Golf?"
"Hahaha, sure...how?"
"Grab a ball and a bat."

Baseball Golf is a simple game that incorporates the rules from a traditional golf game. You pick out a spot anywhere on the field (an outfield pole, a base, billboard, etc). You get one drive where you get to toss the ball up to yourself and try to crush it. Then wherever your ball lands, you have to hit the ball on the ground using a golf swing. Whoever hits the target with less shots wins the hole. So Olivear and I played a couple holes and I noticed the people from the barbeque were looking at us wondering what we were doing. Before I knew it, we had a 10 person scramble match going on. Jean-Luc even put wooden stakes at different parts of the field for different holes. It was great. Just like back home. We all were laughing and I got some good pics.

*Laura judging the distance of the next hole*

*Vincent watching Olivear wack the ball from the fairway*

That is it for now. Sorry, the post is a little long. Love you guys and talk to you soon. Au Revoir.

Finding Happiness and Peace.

2008-05-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

(Left to Right)
Top Row: Zack, Gabrielle, Contal, Luke
Bottom Row: Vondri, Arthur, Cami, Xavier

Hey guys. Thanks for the comments. Just gonna jump right into it...

Past couple have days have pretty much drug on...the weather has been shitty and so is the general mood of not only me but the club as well.

Wednesday. So I guess it is assumed that I am the Minimes coach now because the fucker named Sebastian has yet to show up for their practices, leaving the kids with no coach. I get calls the day before either by him or Chris saying that there will be no one there. I have said this atleast everyday I have been here...

What would happen if I was not here?

There is no way I am going to let these little kids sitting at the field with no coach so I am glad to do it, but the lack of structure is starting to kinda get to me. So I had a ball with the kids as usual. They never fail to make me smile. It is a breath of fresh air. They feel like they can say anything to me in French like I am one of them. I find comfort in that. They just think that I know what they are saying and keep rambling. With the older guys/kids, they make fun of my French attempts (which is expected, I know) but it gets old. I'm trying with them. I don't have to try with the little ones. I haven't been with them long enough to see improvements but I hope I am making a little impact on their carefree lives nonetheless.

Cami and Vondri

Earlier in the day, after the Minime practice, Chris and I were walking up the field (our practice was on a practice soccer field) and we saw some kids who were not affiliated with the program fucking around on the field. It wasn't a big deal, but I walked up with Chris and he told them that they needed to put our equiptment down and hang out somewhere else. All was cool, and they left no problem.

Next I had the Cadet practice. So I ran them through their drills but I wanted to focus on hitting more today. I lined them all up in the outfield with bats in their hands. Now if you were just a passing Frenchman, you probably think that some American kid is running a zen-hitting exercise. These are the drills that I picked up during my college years. What helps is that I am absolutely crushing the ball and they can see I know what the hell I am doing. They all mimic my moves and I can see them incorporate them in Bp. Now let me tell you about Sam...

When I first showed up at the gym in BG to start coaching, I so this beanpole of a kid with some raw talent but I didn't think it was going to be enough. His swing was awful, his arm motion was subpar, and he could not field a hard hit groundball.

Now...

If you saw Sam play...you would think he is a different person. I take pride in the fact that EVERYONE is saying how much better Sam has gotten. He has a better arm, fields ball pretty cleanly, and has a pretty damn mean swing. He really sponges what I say. I reward his progress by always taking a little extra time before and after practice to work with him. Not only do the younger Cadet kids ask for some personal lessons but the N1 guys genuinly want my advice.

After their practice and some personal pitching basics with Dimitri and Marc, the N1 guys strolled in. I was getting pretty tired at this point and told them to warm up in the outfield and let me have a seat. After about a 10 minute break, the Sun broke through the sky. Massive clouds formed and I got a picture that I will always keep in my mind. Chris and Olivear were throwing in the outfield and the landscape behind them was breathtaking. When I make this into a book, this picture will be the cover. The picture doesn't do it justice and the lower half is kinda dark...but I didn't want to miss the opportunity. A light breeze, the ball being tossed back and forth, a light breeze, God's sun rays breaking through the sky. Just incredibly peacefull.

We took our normal practice with BP following. My arm is about 98% so I threw bp to the guys. I always hit last and I love to see the guys rush to the deepest parts of the field. I just wanted to crush a ball so I could imagine it would land in the pillows of the sky. Once, I got the image in my mind with my ball sailing threw the air in right field, I stopped my bp short and ended practice.

I had the softball girls today and they were just being little whiny bitches. Kinda got me in a bad mood for the rest of the night but I remedy'd it with a shrimp pasta dinner with creamed oyster sauce. Followed by a tall stiff rum drink mixture, that partially numbed my physical and mental aches and pains. Love you guys and I will talk to you soon. Au revoir.

Playing the Ol' Guit, Coaching youngins', and Winning a Great Game. Bois Guillome vs Dunkerque

2008-05-26T03:41:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. I know you are thinking that I have all the time in the world to sit down and write about what goes on over here but you are wrong....The past couple days I have been incredibly busy and have been drained by the time I get home. So I finally have some time on my hands this Monday morning to share what has been going on the past couple of days. I have to praise Karly for her quote comment, incredibly heartfelt and I have read the quote over and over...thank you Karly for that, you are a sweetheart, Tiff, not mad anymore and still love you, Ian and Emily and JoJo, thanks for keeping up and I am trying to catch you guys on Skype...just missin' each other I guess, Mom and Dad, I tried calling you guys the other day and I will try again soon, and now Alex, if making you seem all big and bad, high and mighty, with your weak words about the Conservative party...more power to you...If brawn and money are aspects of the Conservative Party then knowledge and common sense are aspects of the Democrats. I love you anywho.

*I have found out that my Free Box, which enables me to call the States for free, has a catch to it. I CANNOT CALL CELL PHONES. So I have to pay the fee this month for the calls I have made to cell phones. So only calls to landlines.*

Ok..I will start with Friday. Olivear ask me if I wanted to go to restaurant on Friday night named Buffalo Grill and then afterwards we would have our jam session. The restaurant is the French version of Lone Star Steakhouse. They have Dwight Yoakum and Hank Williams blaring in the background and all the workers are dressed in old time Sherriff uniforms. It is really funny to see this cultural adaptation. I looked at the menu and decided I was going to have the biggest piece of steak that I could afford. Olivear pointed me to a Buffalo Steak on the menu, a choice he always gets, and I followed after him. It was really good. But there is one thing that I have learned with how steak if preferred over here. 'Rare' is rare but 'Medium' might as well be rare...I ordered 'Medium' and I was afraid my steak was going to stampede of my plate. It was fine but I think I am going to order 'Well Done' next time. Now to our jam session...

I am absolutely in love with the Last of the Mohicans jig so I look up versions on the internet that could incorporate two guitars. So I learned both parts...chords and tabs and instructed Olivear how to strum the chords. I have to tell you this...our version could might as well include Daniel Day Lewis running threw Olivear's living room. It was a great night. We worked on songs that both of us made up, and we played all through the night. Laughing, beers, and music. Perfect. Hahaha, I have to tell you this also. June 21st makes a special day in France. It is "Music Day." So on this day, as I understand, people come out of the woodwork to grab any instrument they can muster and start playing in the streets. From what I am told, people just barbeque all day and play music. So I think "Tony and the Pierre's" might play a set in a park next to the Seine. Olivear is pretty nervous....hahahahaha.

Saturday. I had two games in Bois Guillaume this day. I had to coach the Cadets first and the Softball game soon afterwards. The Cadets played Rouen. Eric, the cadets normal head coach, was sick and had to go to the hospital to get treated, he would not only miss Saturday's games but also our game on Sunday. So I had the reins on Saturday. I started Paul on the mound to see how he has progressed after our pitching lesson on Wednesday. It was great to see that he found the zone. He was all smiles and the Woodchucks were up with a 9-3 lead. Paul was doing great in the 5th inning but I can not say the same for his defense. They had 3 errors and we found ourselves down 13-9. We battled in the last inning but Rouen prevailed 13-10. I was proud of Paul but not of his support. I took the kids into right field for a briefing of the game and explained that Rouen didn't beat them, they beat themselves. I concluded with..."Be ready for an extensive ground ball practice." So the Cadets made their departure and the Softball team was getting warmed up.

I love the fact that they are mimicking the warmup that I have showed them time and time again.

I have to tell you that not only has Jean-Luc has noticed my homesickness but the kids have as well. It puts them at ease to see my goofy self and a smiling face. A lot of the girls took me aside and told me to "Relax..." and made a gesture to smile. It was nice to see. So I was chattering and dancing around like I normally do, trying my best to put on a show for them, but I have to tell you towards the end of the day, that life is a lot better over here when I have a smile on my face.

It was absolutely pouring down on us and Charles, our ump, asked if I wanted to cancel. I was in too good a mood to cut things short for these kids...

"Hell no. Let's play ball."

The Caen girls and our girls rejoiced with my call. I have to tell you when I was coaching at third, water was just dripping of the brim of my cap. But it was all good. We took about a 15 minute delay during the game and we continued playing Black Magic. They still didn't find out the secret and cursed my name. After the delay, we continued to pound Caen into the ground. So after the games on Saturday, I made my waterlogged body back home to get some rest for Sunday's game. Sunday's game was one game in Dunkerque. It was a makeup from the early part of our season. It was kind of a bummer that we had to go all the way to Dunkerque for one game. Dunkerque is in the northernmost part of France right next to Belgium.

We had to win.

Game 1: BG Woodchucks vs Dunkerque Korvers
Time: 12:00
Weather: Over cast but the sun came through later
Attendance: 25

I have no clue what a Korver is. But I will tell you that the Korvers were ready to play the top seed. We were without Marc, our ace and decent hitter, and Eric, our leadoff CF. So we had a botched lineup with the heart near the beginning. Dunkerque's pitcher was warming up. This guy was not bad at all. Good fastball, good changeup, and controlled curve ball. I asked Arthur how old this guy was because Arthur plays baseball with this kid at his school.

"He's 16."
"Hahaha, what a CHUMP!"

It is funny because this is the way baseball is played over here. 15-18 year old kids pitching to 23-40 year old men is the norm. And visa-versa. In the states, if a 16 year old struck me out...I think I would hang up my cleats.

First inning. He fanned Vincent and Arthur for two quick outs. I came up. He got two questionable strikes by me. You gotta be fucking kidding me.

In my head....

"You better not let this fucking 16 year strike you out, you fucking asshole."

He let an 0-2 pitch on the inside part of the plate. I nearly knocked every lace off the ball for a triple. Bernie squeaked a liner over the 2nd baseman's glove to bring me home. 1-0.

Bernie got the knod for the Chucks. He absolutely shut them down. But in opposition...so did the other pitcher. It was 1-0 for the first 4 innings. Now this is baseball. Not a 23-4 score. Guys were feeling the tension that makes me love this game.

Pierre led off the 5th with a single and got pushed over to 3rd with the next two batters. Two outs and I come up again. They put the lefty shift on me. 3rd baseman on the line, SS almost behind 2nd, 2nd playing shallow right field. This just completely brought be back about baseball needs to be played in the States.

Get an outside pitch...make them pay for their mistake.

I lined an opposite field shot to put us up 2-0.

They struck in the bottom of the 5th with an unearned run and stranded the tieing run at third in the frame.

We went down in order in the 6th...so did they.

Last inning. 2-1. We need insurance. We managed to get the lead off runner on with one out. Silvain lined a ground ball into the 3rd basemans mit and they turned a 5-4-3 double play to close our last attempt for a cushion. They had momentum on their side but the bottom of the lineup coming up for them.

Bernie took the mound again. Number 6 batter in their lineup. Strikout. 1 out. I have to tell you that the outs were so precious to the guys in these final innings. There was roars of success with every out. Everyone was feeling the pressure.
Number 7 batter. Pop out to Charles, 2B.

Olivear, C: "YEAH WOODCHUCKS, ONE MORE!!!!!!!"

The Number 8 hitter had the hit of his life to left center for a double.
Shit....

Man, I LIVE FOR THIS. You can actually feel your stomach tighten up. You gotta play these kind of games to let you know you are alive.

The other team and fans were just going beserk. Now for the biggest at bat. Poor little bugger. You could see his nervousness.

First pitch...

WHACK! The ball was sailing over Pierre's head down the line in Left field.

"FOUL BALL"

Oh, thank Christ.

The Woochuck's hearts returned to position after it was in our throats.

Next pitch.

The batter skied it to first base.

Bernie exclaimed, "GAME OVER!"

SHUT THE FUCK UP BERNIE!!!!

I could just see Arthur dropping the mother fucker.

It found his mit.

We rejoiced like we won the championship. It was great.

Great game. The other players were upset but happy to play a great game. So were we. The only difference between them and us was that we would have a lot better 3 1/2 hour drive home. I was telling the guys after the game that you have to live for these kind of games. The adrenaline shot that you get when you win makes you feel superhuman. The guys were just so happy and I was so proud of them. A great game, and just what I needed.

Love you guys and I will talk to you soon.
Au revoir.

Au Revoir, Monseiur Golf Ball.

2008-05-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hello you fucks. Sorry. Thanks for the comments. And yes I know....I gotta snap out of the "Oh woah as me..." Thanks for the support y'all. Mom, thanks for the comment...read it a couple of times, Karly, thanks for giving me a swift kick in the butt too, Tiff, mad, Ian and Emily, watched the Destin video a couple of times and thought of you guys, Alex, I watched the Texas Trip video too..made me really miss you guys...one more thing Alex....How in the fuck can you be a Republican at this time, Open your eyes...shit...this is coming from your 23 year old brother. Get it together. Dad, I started the Berlitz...did you do that bullshit environment dialogue at the beginning? It's working out though. Thanks guys and keep commenting...I check everyday.

My French friends have noticed how down I have been the past couple of days and they have done a good job of making me feel loved. Jean-Luc especially has went out of his way to make me feel better. So let's start with Monday.

Jean-Luc texted me on Sunday night and his exact words were...

"Just some words to support you...I know 2 months is a borderline hard to cross I keep on saying that you are the best foreigner player we have ever had. U are fab. I hope you will feel better in the next days."

He later called me and asked if I wanted to go to a driving range. I gotta tell you that nothing sounded better than hitting the shit out of some golf balls. I quickly agreed to it and he picked me up around noon on Monday. We went to a driving range in a town that sits just outside one of the national forests. It was nice to get away from my usual surroundings. So made it to this immaculate golf course that looked pretty pricy. Jean-Luc said that I wouldn't be able to play on the course because you have to have a "Green Card" assuring everyone around you that you know what the hell you are doing. That's fine with me because I just like to pelt balls...not really concerned what direction they go.

So we got two buckets of balls and headed to the range. I got a lefty driver from the clubhouse and starting swinging. Out of the 45 balls that I had...I only really hit 10 well. But it was a solid 10 lemme tell ya. Jean-Luc was really technical with his swing...not a lot of distance but straight everytime. I told him if we put our two games together...we could win the Master's. He laughed. When I would crush one...he gave an "OOOhhh..." He even gave me some pointers that helped out. Okay...my last ball...

"Au Revoir, Monseiur Golf Ball..."

Jean-Luc laughed.

I reared back and swing as hard as I could...

Completely wiffed.

"Au Revoir, Monseiur Puton Golf Ball..." ("Fucking")

I reared back a second time...and swing harder than the first time.

I was poetry. Completely therapeutic. The ball just sailed in the distance. It was nice to get out.

After we had a putting challenge, we went home. Did some shopping with Olivear that night and retired early.

Today, Tuesday. I went to bed early on Monday night because I wanted to be fresh in the morning. I think being tired all day normally has been a helper in making me feel down. So today I wanted to be fresh. I think it worked.

I woke up at 9:30am and showered. Got out, admired my diamond figure...(Badum bum), and got ready to run. To quote Forrest Gump, "AND I WAS RUNNING.." It was a great run. Further than I have ever ran. After about 3 miles, I wanted to walk around the woods to through my favorite path. I noticed something about the air that I really never thought about. It relates to the air that I was breathing in deep...

It seems that trees filter out all the urban things around me...sounds, polluted air, human contact, stress...

It was nice to have the chill of the air in my lungs.

I made my way back to my flat and got ready to go to the field. I wanted to work on it a bit. So I raked the infield and was greeted by Paul. He just got out of school and saw that I was on the field. He came up to me.

"Hey Tony, what's up?"
"Oh just workin my man, wanna help?" with a smirk.
"Ha, non merci."
"I tell you what...if you wanna go home grab your glove and bat...I will show you some things."

With a smile and a look of haste, he rushed home to get his baseball necesities. So when he returned, I gave him lessons on pitching and hitting. It was nice and I could tell he enjoyed it. He is one of the kids who really listens to what I say. It is really nice to see him play. I have to tell you that he has adopted my quirks in his swing. Spitting in his gloves, relaxed hitting position, and an improved damn swing. I enjoyed this lesson.

After I took the 40 back home, Chris came over to pick me up for dinner. It was his birthday today and he didn't inform me of it until a couple of hours before picking me up. I bought a cake and had a bottle of wine for a present. Chris and his family have been a savior for me while I have been here. I have friends for life with them. So we had a good night with food, cake, wine, and our usual political talk.

Well, I am off to bed before my baseball filled day tomorrow. Usual three practices again. Sorry for no pics again....I gotta get some batteries. Pics will come...Don't wanna hear about it. Posted a song I made up..titled it "Boule Française." (French Ball) Check it out if you want. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHKYkAVfqro. Good night, love you guys and talk to you soon. Au revoir.

Woodchucks Crunch Teddy Bears.

2008-05-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. I just got back from Cergy,FR and I was incredibly tired and wasn't going to post. But...I have snapped out of being tired and felt like writing. Thanks for the comments. Karly, thanks for keepin' up qt...a lot more than a certain Grant Sparks, who I don't think can read anyway...Tiff, I hit a homer for you today, Alex and Ian, love the comments and I am still looking for royalty to marry so I can become a Duke of Something. Don't worry, we'll fly you over for the wedding.

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain pounding on my window. Thank god I closed my window all the way last night. I mean the rain was coming down and in the States...obvious rainout. But here...this is sprinkles. It was really weird too. The rain was pounding down on Eric's minivan as we were heading to Cergy. I was thinking there was no way we were going to play. Oddly enough, the rain had not touched the field. Cergy sits close to Paris. Not really sure which direction. I was trying to nap because I was pretty tired so I had no clue where we were. So when we arrived, I was greeted by Cergy Field. It wasn't bad. Our bench was an extended park bench, really short porch in left, right field seemed to go on forever.. So it was highly improbable to jerk a homerun to right field....

or was it?

You might be asking yourself about the title of the post. But the mascot of Cergy is, yes, a fucking teddy bear. The only difference between today's team and their mascot is that I think a Teddy Bear is too intimidating of a mascot.

Game 1: BG Woodchucks vs Cergy Teddy Bears
Time: 11:30
Weather: Overcast, with scattered showers
Attendance: 0

The Cergy Teddy Bears, 1-13, really don't have the same support that we do. So no one was at the first game. Marc, our ace, started for us because we just wanted to test the waters of how bad we heard this team was. Let me put it to you this way. They have one pitcher. He pitches both games for them every weekend. Poor lil' bugger. This was pretty much like an extended bullpen for Marc and they didn't score a run in the first game. We run ruled them 14-0 in the 5th inning.

I mean, we all hit like all-stars this game and I really don't feel the need the explain play-by-play...you can get the point.

Game 2: Woodfucks vs Teddy Fucks
Time: 1:00
Weather: Sun was peekin' through the clouds
Attendence: About 10

Five of the fans were Olivear's friends that came to see him pitch. He was going to start this game. I have been working with Olivear on his delivery and he was pumped to go in. I guess nothing can help your confidence than facing Rogersville. So Olivear had a great debut. Unscathed with only one hit. We clobbered them offensively and that was that. 16-2. I was pretty much pissed off the whole day because this is not baseball. No mental toughness was needed and couldn't be found anyhow. I was getting so upset because my line drive screamers were not homeruns. I finally belted one out to right in my last at bat. Olivear was telling me that he has never heard of anyone hitting a ball out of right field at Cergy's field. That's pretty cool...couldn't give a shit less.

Sorry if I sound pretty bitter. But that is the way I feel. I have been in a pissy mood the past couple of days and today's games didn't really help out.

I have to say that it is really hard to get mentally into these kind of games. We were pretty much laughing the whole time and joking around during the game. I made sure to keep the jokes and laughter at bay and not completely disrespect the other team. I mean shit...I felt sorry for these guys. I mean, they obviously REALLY love baseball to get their asses whooped every weekend. They even took bp after both games. The first smile cracked on my face at this moment. I started to feel a little happier. They were laughing and just playing ball for love of the game. So I tip my cap to Cergy for their attitude.

I will snap out of the Debbie Downer mood I'm in and be more chipper in the next posts. BG record 13-2. I love you guys and I will talk to you soon. Au revoir.

A Night At "Le Bateau Ivre".

2008-05-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. There will be no pics to this post...sry. Thanks for the comments. Ian, once again gets honors with the D.A.R.Y.L. comment....what a shitty movie. Evan, the house is beautiful and I will pass him your message, Karly, the cake was wonderful!!! But not as good as my 21st Bday cake...Tiff, I still laugh at your deer post on myspace, Alex, I love you and tried to call you the other day...hopefully I will catch you soon, Mom and Dad, love ya.

Well, this post is completely dedicated to my Thursday night. It was a good one.

After softball practice, I went to Jean-Luc's house for dinner. We had put sausages and kabobs on the grill. They were excelent. I then get a call from Charles,

"Hey, Tony, meet me downtown after you get done at my father's house."
"Ok...where?"
"Okalligan's."
"K."

I atleast knew how to get to this bar so it wasn't a problem. So after a couple of glasses of Kier (Champagne with Cherry Syrup) I started walking downtown. Thank god Rouen has a couple of huge cathedrals in the town. They are my guides and I judge where things are in relation to cathedrals. Okalligan's sits right next to the cathedral that I took those pictures of from the park/flowers. So I met up with Charles and met some of his friends. This group of his friends were the more punkish type. They were really nice and we communicated the best we could. My french is coming along a little better and it is getting easier to bullshit. So after a couple hours at this bar, Charles asked if I wanted to go to "Le Bateau Ivre".

"Sure, what's there?"
"Well, it's a pretty chill bar with an open acoustic set that we can play on stage."

I of course agreed but didn't really think that I was going to get on stage and play. I will tell you that I had stage lights in my face about 20 minutes later.

So our group made our way to the bar. The direct translation of "Le Bateau Ivre" is "The Drunken Ship." It was a really cool little spot. A kinda hole in the wall bar with a 'Cheers' feeling. I liked it as soon as I walked in. There were three guys already on stage. One on piano, one on bongos, and the other on vocals/guitar. They were alright and we sat around with beers in our hands listening to them. I was just happy with listening to music and really didn't have the desire to get on stage. I mean honestly, I am getting good at guitar but not anywhere close to performing...

"Tony, grab the guitar."

Shit.

The three performers got off stage and Charles started to grab the bongos. Another guy, named Pierre...there are a lot of Pierre's, sat on piano.

So there I was...tuning this guitar infront of a small crowd but a crowd nonetheless.

Pierre started first. I mean this guy might as well have been Billy Joel. He was incredible.

....How the fuck can I follow this guy?

Charles found the beat and started beatin' away. I was just about to hand the guitar to someone else but I found a correct chord. So I started strummin. I put three chords together and before I knew it...we had a beat. It was incredible. So HA, my first live show. After the piano man stopped his brilliance, Charles asked me to play anything that I wanted to and they would follow me. So I played the best thing in my repetoire with an upbeat. It is a funny thing for beginning guitarists...the only thing you really learn at first are sadder songs because they are easy to play. So I was frantically flipping through pages in my head...
K...got one.

I played the 5 chords that belong to Green Day's "Time of your Life", but added more zing to it. Before I knew it...my "band" came in right after the first verse. It was surreal at first to hear myself playing in front of people. Shit...I have played so much by myself that I don't know how it feels to have lights partially blinding my sight but still making out the faces watching my fingers work on the guitar. I was laughing pretty much the whole time because it was so much fun. I was pretty tipsy and I might not have sounded good at all....but to me, I sounded great! hahahaha. So after about 3 songs we handed the instruments to the next group of amateurs and we headed for the bar. We all laughed and shared drinks.

A night I will never forget.

Today, Saturday, I went to Les Andely with the Softball team and we destroyed them 28-10. I made a pasta dinner with creamed mussels. I am gettin pretty salty in the kitchen my friends. We have Cergy tomorrow, an absolute dogshit team. We are going to pound them and I don't want to hear..."Ohhh, be careful Tony." or "Central wins one every once awhile." or "The sun shines on a dog's ass every once in awhile." No...we are going to win and that is that. Shutup. I love you guys and will talk to you soon. Au revoir.

A Birthday, Three Practices, and Black Magic.

2008-05-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

Howdy yall. Haven't said that in awhile. Thanks for the response to the last post. I have to give honors to Ian and the Nightmare Band Vid...I also like the "Tony and the Pierre's" band name, Alex, I will keep my personal life to myself thank you very much and I know for a fact I am the hottest thing over here since Freedom Fries, Tiff, your Monday's at BigW's sounds good anyday, Karly, sorry will give description's about pics, Mom, thanks for chattin on skype, love you, Dad, love you and thanks for talking to me after the games.

Okie Dokie. After I rollerbladed the Seine...no big deal...I pretty much relaxed the rest of the day. The next evening, I went to Chris's house to help him set up for Anne's birthday. He said he needed some help with decorations and I said no problemo. When I got there, I saw about 100 balloons that needed to be filled. Chris was cooking and I was losing consciousness blowing up these damn balloons. It was Gabby's and Emmanuel's job to stick them all over the house. So we had it all set up for a surprise for Anne. I say surprise but Chris told Anne to stay outside until the kids were hid in the living room to throw confetti everywhere.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"

Confetti and balloons went flying everywhere.

I could read Chris's mind. "Shit...I'm going to have to clean up this crap."

So we had a great dinner with chicken legs and potatoes. The cake that Chris bought was phenomenal. It was a fresh Raspberry cake with laced icing. He put sparklers on the cake for more pizazz that sent Emmanuel crying. The cake and the icecream were great. After all was said and done, I stayed up with Chris, like we normally do, and cleaned up a bit with a bottle of Cabernet helping us out. Nice day, nice night. The weather is absolutely perfect now.

Today. Wednesday. I have gotten into the routine of relaxing on Monday's and Tuesday's and baseball for the rest of the week. I had three practices today. The little "Minimes", the Cadets, and then our practice. Chris picked me up early with Gabby and Emmanuel and we headed for Bois Guillaume. The "Minimes" start at 10-12pm, Cadet 3-5pm, and N1 6-8pm. I have to say that I really enjoy working with the real little ones. I am always full of smiles around these kids. I love the fact that they come up to me, real cute-like, and just start jabberin' like I understand a damn word they are saying. So I reply the best I can with a pat on the head. We played soccer to begin and had a good baseball practice. I got a couple of videos that I am going to try to put up with the kids. We took a team photo and that was the end of the first practice.
Chris offered to take me back to Deville but I felt like being at the field the whole day. I had to stick around anyway and so I got a lunch from the market and stayed on the field. I raked, mowed, and tanned all day. It was really nice. I love the smells of a field and have no regrets about spending a lot of time there.

The Cadet practice went well. Ground balls, sky rocketing pop flies, and batting lessons. It is nice to see improvement in some of the kids swings. As long as I can get through to some of them, it's a victory. I am having a harder time with the ones who hear what I say in one ear and then it goes out the other. I can't express enough that a lot of the skills needed for baseball are taught at home. Throwing a ball with you, Dad, in the backyard...throwing me over the shoulder catches, throwing a wiffle ball and chasing it time and time again, has molded me into the player I am. I can only do so much with 2 hours and I am blessed to have a family that pounded baseball into my repetoire. It started to rain and so everyone went into the dugout for cover. I then motioned Paul over to me.

"Wanna play a game?"
"Sure...what is it?"
"It's called 'Black Magic'."

Baseball mind games are the essence of sitting in the dugouts across the States when the rain is pouring down, therefore delaying play.

Here is "Black Magic".

"Black Magic" is a game that involves two people. *These people have the special power of reading each other's minds*. Person #1 will ask anyone in the dugout to name an object. It can be absolutely anything. A shoelace, the sky, the fence, my pulsing biceps...anything. Person #2, who stands far away to avoid hearing, then asks if the "Black Magic" is ready to play. Person #1 will start naming objects at random. For example, (The object is my glasses)

Paul: "Tony, is it the flag pole?"
Tony: I will look at the flag pole concerningly. "Hmm...no."
Paul: "Is it your right leg?"
Tony: I will touch my leg. "Uhhhh.....No."
Paul: "Is it...your Bois Guillaume Hat?"
Tony: "Uhh....No."
Paul: "Is it your glasses?"
Tony: While taking off my glasses for examination, " Uhh..YEAH IT's MY GLASSES!"

At this point everyone is stunned. They have no idea how I figured it out.

Here is the trick... Person #1 names something "Black" before what the correct object is. Really incredibly simple but it baffles everyone, and I mean EVERYONE at first. So this charade went on forever. Laughter, cussing, and looks of bewilderment. Paul was just tickled to death that everyone was getting so worked up about this game. It was a little taste of home that I could give to these kids. They still have no clue how it works.

The N1 practice that followed was really relaxed. Not a lot of people showed up, due to rain I imagine, but we did what we could. It was all good until a couple of foul balls flew crashed into the neighboors roof. A lady came out and started yelling at us.

"Desole.."

I mean what can you do? Foul balls happen. We quit soon afterwards and headed home. The mayor recieves complaints often from this house about us and we have been threatened that they will take our field away. Empty threats if you ask me because the Mayor's worker's still mow our damn outfield. So anywho, that is it for now. I hope everyone is doing well and living life. Because I am. I love you guys and will talk to you soon. Au revoir.

*Here is a link to a couple of clips I have put together. Very rough draft material but enjoy anyhow. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc-FQ1MHxsc

A Great Week. BG Sweeps Savigny.

2008-05-13T03:10:00.000-07:00

Hello. I know...I know......I just haven't had the urge to write the past few days. You can't force words. When I say "words" I really mean greatness. Ok, ok I appreciate all the comments. Alex, I love you and I am sorry for keeping you on hold, Ian and Emily, I took a pic of a choo choo for Joey but it came out shitty...sorry Jo, Tiff, that's my girl, Karly, get your ass to a pond and give me a fishin' story, Phyl, good to hear from ya...you would have loved the Normandy Beaches...we are going to have to go when you get here. Mom and Dad, Get your damn plane tickets, I am sending money soon and I'll let you know where to recieve it.

I am going to start with last friday. Friday's have become Olivear's and my band practice. I absolutely love playing. It is such a breath of fresh air. Earlier in the day, the softball girls were being little shits and that night Olivear told me to learn this one song by The Calling so we could work on it together that night. It sounds phenomenal and you can see it on my Youtube page. We had a great dinner, chocolate laced vanilla icecream, and I made Dirty Martini's for Olivear and I to have while we played. It just brought me home. I will cherish these times that Olivear and I have together. His girlfriend, Marie, even wants to play bongos while we play. So who knows...French Ball might become a band. We played until 1200pm because we had to pick up Will from the train station that night and he was going to stay with me the whole weekend.

Will and I hung out all night, drinkin', and sharing stories. Will showed me a documentary that his college buddies did while they visited him in Lithuania and it was so cool. It was professionally done and it captivated me. It is hard to realize the fact that Bois Guillaume has it heads and tails over the baseball players in Lithuania. We laughed and joked about baseball and retired for the night.

The next day, Will and I got up early and headed for the field. The Cadets had a game in BG and the Softball team had their game cancelled due to lack of players from Les Andely. Will and I got to the field early rolled up our sleeves to reveal serious farmer's tans and let the sun bake our skins as we got the field prepared. Will grabbed us a sandwich from the supermarket in Bois Guillaume and we had a nice meal. The kids started to show up and Eric, their main coach, said something to me.

"You don't have to do the lines....the kids don't need it."
"Bullshit. When I was a kid, one of the best parts about coming to a park is seeing perfectly marked lines on a diamond."

Will and I lined the field perfectly because I wanted these kids to have a field to be proud of. I want them to know I care about them and I care about how the game is played. They were excited and got their uniforms on. I then told them to get their asses in gear and start stretching.

We won the game on a hit by pitch, not the best way to win by any means, but a win is a win I guess.

That night, Eric invited Chris and his family, Olivear and Marie, and Will and I to his house to have a big barbeque. This night was another night I will never forget. Will and I brought some steaks and everyone pitched in something. So Eric lives way out in the country. He had been telling me that he had been working on his house for about a year. Let me tell you something....Eric is an artist. He has completely tranformed a dump of a house into a masterpiece. His house was a dream house. Winding stairs, huge rooms, and a cozy feeling. He has a view of french farmland. Cows, fields of gold, and a perfect sunset. It brought me back 2000 miles. It was the Ozarks. It was home.

The guys stood around the grill with canadian beers and the women were inside doing women things. Just perfect. We even played horseshoes in a pit that Eric created. Our dinner was fantastic. Atleast 5 courses. Sausage, steak, bread with melted Camenbear cheese, spiced potatoes, and rivers of wine. You are going to love what we had for dessert...

Flan with melted vanilla cream.

It really can't get any better. We drank all night and shared laughter. I will never forget that night. We might have drank a lil too much considering the fact that we had the number 3 team in the division, Savigny, coming into BG tomorrow. But I will tell you this....I have had a great feeling about these games all week. Will and Olivear said they had the same feeling. It was weird. Without any exchanging of words, we knew we were going to win.

Our feelings couldn't have been more right.

Sunday. Olivear picked up Will and I. Will and I had coffee that morning and we turned on the radio. The song we heard started to take shape.....

What...?

It was the song that Olivear and I had been working on together all night on Friday. I immediatly get a call from Olivear.

"TURN ON THE RADIO TONY!"
"Bwahahaha I know..! It's a sign my man!"
"K...be there in 5 seconds."

We stopped at that little bakery and got those phenomenal sandwiches. Things were falling into place. So we got to the field and started preparing.

Get your mind right. Crush them. Kill their mothers. Break their spirit.

And then something really troubling happened.

Marc and Bernie had told me of the tornadoes in Southwest Missouri. They had told me atleast 14 people had died. I started to freak out. Chris immediatly called Anne and had her check out where the damage was done. I later found out that everyone was ok and my mind was put to ease.

Game 1: BG vs Savigny
Time: 11:30
Weather: 79, sunny
Attendence: About 20

I can't express how happy I am with the fact that the BG Cadet/Softball players are going to our games. It is really nice to have their support and their screams of encouragement. Will got the starting nod this game. He absolutely shut them down. We came out ready to play. We hit incredibly well. We gained an early lead and never looked back. Bernie knocked his first homer of the year about 20 feet beyond the right field fence. I never like to tout some of my hits but I absolutely have to tell you about one of my hits this game.

We were leading 5-2 when I came up. They brought in a reliever who was throwing a lot harder than the first pussballer. It was a really good speed. Not good for the pitcher...for me. I led off the inning. I took the first two pitches for balls. Now for the next fateful pitch.
Imagine hearing a gunshot. Lightning cracking. I absolutely swung as hard as I could. I think I probably had my eyes closed when my bat made contact with the ball. It was the smoothest feeling I have had yet. I knew the ball was out of Bois Guillaume city limits. The ball left a comet trail into center field. It was still rising when it pelted a tree in dead center field. I hadn't made it 3/4's the way to first when the ball left. I honestly don't think I have ever hit a ball that hard. Kids rushed to get the ball and retrieved it for me. Now if you have been reading my posts, you will know that I owe Sam and Max a gift for their work on the field at the beginning of the season. Sam was sitting on the bench when I got the ball back. I walked up to him

"Il est pour vous."

A grin spread from ear to ear. His eyes lit up and he said back to me.

"Sign for me!?"

"Ba oui."

It was a great moment. We went on to trounce Savigny 13-2.

A funny thing happened in the last inning. Chris was with us this game and he was going into right field in the last inning. The funny thing is that the scoreboard was wrong saying we were only up by 9 runs instead of 10. Jean-Luc quickly alerted the umpire and the other coach about the run rule. The umpire then said "Game Over." Chris was like...

"AWW NOOO!!" In a comical manner.

Everyone was laughing at calling him the MVP of the first game.

Game 2: BG vs Savigny
Time: 2:00
Weather: Perfect
Attendence: About 25 now.

Marc got the start this game. They started off on top going up 2 runs in the top of the first and did not score again. With a barrage of hits and made plays we put the nail in the coffin. Sorry for the lack of analysis but nothing really spectacular happened. The funniest thing that happened was Will making fun of the umpire's strike calls and ring up actions. He was imitating all the goofy motions the umpire was doing and I couldn't stop laughing. I had to bury my laughter in my glove to avoid letting the umpire know I was laughing at him. So we won 8-2. Beers came out. We got the sweep.

The Cadet/Softball kids came out on the field to partake in the post game drinking. We got the hose out to water the field and it soon turned into a water fight. Everyone filled up their water bottles and everyone was chasing everyone. I didn't mind it at all at first because it was immensely hot out. After I finally wrestled the hose out of Stephany's hands, Will and I got our work done on the field.

So I have had a great past few days. Yesterday, Monday, I rollerbladed along the Seine with Chris. What did you guys do on Monday? Hahahaha...I rule. I love you guys and will talk to you soon. Au revoir.

The Beaches of Normandy

2008-05-08T13:13:00.001-07:00

Pics:
1- From Museum
2- Memorial Stature from cemetery
3- Star of David tombstone amidst others
4- Tombstone with Omaha Beach in background
5- Omaha Beach
6- Crater at Ponte Du Hoc
7- German Bunker at Ponte Du Hoc
8- Utah Beach
9- American Flag at cemetery

Hey guys. Sorry for the delay...jesus christ. I love you guys and today was a good day. Thanks for all the comments. *Just to clarify 1st comment honors* It is only legitimate if you READ the damn post first. Emily is awarded last post honors but no more "Tee hee....now I gotta read it." Thanks for the comments. Evan, man it was a nail biter and I'm happy with the split, Don, I am having a blast and thanks for the comment, Tiff, thanks chattin on Skype...you're a doll, Karly, thanks for keepin' up...We need to go fishin' soon, Alex, sorry for the delay in posting....I will try to update you as much as possible, maybe I should mix in a "Ate breakfast, ran, and guitar" post, Ian, HOW DO I REEEECH THEEESE KEEEEDS?, Emily, I support you even though it is no big surprise you get no love...You're a Lewis for fucks sake, Dad, thanks for the Berlitz tapes and I will fill you in when I can say "There is a fox in the middle of town" in French, Mom, thanks for the package and the apple butter, it is enjoyed by all. I assure everyone that I am not throwing a ball until 100% healthy. Now on to today....

I went to the beaches of Normandy today with Chris and his family. Chris and I immediatly brought up the lines from "Stand By Me" when Corey Haim, whatever 'Corey' it was, was yelling that his dad stormed the beaches of Normandy. I boned up on history the night before so I could get a fuller appreciation of what I was going to see the next day. To fill some of the less educated about the Invasion of the Normandy Beaches, here is a quick history overview.

There are 5 beaches that the Allied forces invaded on the coast of Northwest France. 'Operation Overlord' involved the invasion and the hopefull tearing down of the German 'Atlantic Wall' that spanned from Cherbourg all the way to the eastern part of Caen, France. There were 156,000 allies that were involved in the invasion. 6,900 vessels by water carried allied troups to the designated beaches. The beaches are Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. American troups had the toughest assignment of Utah and Omaha. On the first day of invasion there was over 3,000 casualties (mostly American) out of the overall 10,216 deaths. I visited the American Cemetery as well as the beaches of Utah and Omaha.

This is one site in Northern France that I was eager to see. So we got up early and headed for the coast. I will also have you know that today, May 8, marks the end of the World War II in 1945. I saw the French Presidential motorcade on the way to Caen. The French President, Sarcosi, was making a speech on one of the beaches. So that was pretty cool. Our first destination was the American Cemetery. This place was absolutely beautiful. The whole area is beautiful. I love the fact that the site is really hard to get to. Not touristic in the slightest. You have to take winding farm roads to get the beaches. It seemed right that this is how it was. It kept things more genuine. Once you wind in and out of towns...the beaches just open up to you. I kept reminding myself as I would look out into the sea that this is where D-Day went down. I was trying to put myself in German shoes looking out into sea and see a massive front heading my way. There are not many times, lately, that I am proud to say that I am American. But today I was.

I was proud to be who I was.

Even though I absolutely had no hand in that fateful day's events, but it felt good to have my feet on American soil. We went into the main cemetery's museum and read/saw some info. on D-Day. It was really sad to see that there were kids younger than me that had a rifle in their hands and surging onto the French coast that day. After the museum, we made our way into the cemetery.

This place was immaculate. There was precision everywhere. The statues, tombstones, and grass was just perfect. It was overwhelming to have all the tombstones in my view. It was just really sad and relaxing at the same time. I got the best pics I could but they do not show you the vastness of the area. After the cemetery, we made our way to the beaches.

We drove down on to the beach and I just tried to take everything in. I said to Chris that is was kinda weird that there were people on the beach playing around like nothing had happened. I don't think I would be comfortable tanning on a spot where that much blood has been shed. I am not meaning to be humorous at all, I mean honestly...

After we drove across the coast we made our way to Ponte Du Hoc. Ponte Du Hoc is where Ranger divisions of the American Army took out vital guns of the Nazi force. At this point on a cliff top, the Germans stationed huge guns that could fire down upon the Utah and Omaha beaches. With thousands of casualties, the Ranger troupe finally conquered this spot. Also at this point, were tons of German bunkers. You could actually walk in and out of these bunkers, looking out onto the sea where they had their guns sitting. Just unreal. I couldn't believe I was in Nazi bunker. Another characteristic of this area was the fact that there where hundreds of craters created by Allied Airborne fire. It was like walking around a relic war field. I got some pics of both beaches at this view. I didn't get my signature footprint pic...didn't feel right at the time. If I go back, I might get it...maybe not...I didn't feel the desire to try to take something away from this place. It was absolutely beautiful out but my mood was meloncholy. I don't look at this beautiful place as a place of delight and joy....I more took the vantage point of tranquility and awe. I will say again that it was just a feeling of speechlessness.

We went back home so I could conduct softball practice and that was my day today. I will talk to you soon and hopefully the pics can put you in my shoes. Love you guys, Au revoir.

A Great Baseball Weekend. Bois Guillaume vs Montigny

2008-05-05T03:20:00.000-07:00

Hey guys. Sorry for the delay in posts. I was dog tired after our games yesterday and went to bed around 10:00. Thanks for the comments. Tiffany, sorry...I have to award first post to Alex due to legalities, but thanks for the effort. Alex and Dad, thanks for your words concerning last week, Ian, I had to read your last line of your comment twice and when I finally got it, I laughed out loud. To everyone else, I love you and will talk to you soon.

Saturday. The softball team had a game today. This game was against Rouen. If there are any rivalries in France, this has to be the biggest one. So the girls were really pumped up about this one. The game was going to start at 5:00pm but I got there a couple of hours earlier and started dressing up the field. The girls started pouring in and I directed them to start warming up. It is really nice to delegate one of the girls to lead warmups and they know exactly what to do. We are starting to look like a team more and more. I HAVE REEEEAACHED THEEEESE KEEEEEDS. (You have to watch South Park to get that last line.) After a while of warming up, Rouen started to show up. Once again, male dominated. I still don't really understand the pleasure of beating up on girls...but whatever. Nothing sends a message more than starting 7 girls in a game against 7 other guy starters from the other team.

This game was one sided from the get go. I am starting to really dig the head coaching role. Giving signs, taking mound visits, and trying to look like I know what the hell I'm doing. We just crushed em'. Final score 20-6. The girls were happy with the win and Rouen had to take a hard loss with them as they drove 2 miles home. Good day.

Now, to start preparing for tomorrow. BG plays Montigny tomorrow. Our biggest test of the season. They are in first place with a 7-1 record with us right behind them 6-1. I have to tell you I have been stressing about this game all week.

Sunday morning. I got up Sunday morning, took a shower, and had a oatmeal breakfast. I was excited to get to the field because I was eager to meet Will Gordon. Will is the guy responsible for me being in France right now. He play for BG last year and left to play with a Lithuanian team who he still plays for. He is in a theatre troup touring Europe doing plays. But we have will to play with us for two weekends. It just so happened that the two weekends he will be with us are against the toughest teams in our conference.
So I got to the field and headed to the dugout.

"Hey Tony, nice to meet you."
"Hi...?"

It was really weird at first. I had imagined Will looking a little different for some reason. Will looks like an athlete let me tell you. This guy is huge! 6'5" with a gun stapped on his left shoulder. My nerves were eased a bit when I started to see him warmup. Another good thing is that when I started warming up my arm felt a bit better. So Will was to start the first game, bat 5th, and I was still going to play 1st base to nurse my arm. We all got warmed up, took bp, and got mentally psyched for gametime.

Game 1: BG Woodchucks vs Montigny Cougars
Time: 11:15
Weather: 67 F, sunny
Attendance: 15

Some of the softball and Cadet players were in attendance. It was nice to see support from the program.
Will took the mound. Top of the 1st.
First batter lines a ball up the middle for a hit. Maybe not what Will wanted for the first batter he faced in several weeks but he kept his poise like a pro. We got out of the first inning without a scratch on us. Will was telling me that his first inning, no matter where he pitches, is the hardest one.
Now our turn at the plate. Eric grounded out. Arthur got a base hit up the middle. I got plunked in the knee for my first at bat. Not what I was wanting but what the hell. Bernie lined a double down the line that scored Arthur with me at third. Will was next and lined a rocket opposite field to drive me home. The pitcher retired the next two batters to close out the first.
Ok...Ok...were are looking pretty good. We went up 2-0 after the first.
Next inning wasn't so smooth. Will struck out the first batter. The next batter drew a walk and stole second. Will struck out the 3rd hitter but Romain didn't catch it cleanly and he had to throw it to me at first. I failed to catch the ball so he reached 1st base safely. I was so fucking pissed at this moment. HOW DO YOU MAKE ERRORS AT FIRST BASE? I mean really, Tony? I was fucking so mad. The next guy line a shot off the wall and 2 runs scored, both unearned. We made a couple more errors in the inning, one by 2nd base, Pierre, and another one by me. Unfuckingbelievable. We finally got out of the inning but they tacked on two more runs going up 4-2. I expressed my sorries to Will because we should have gotten out of the inning unscathed.
K...relax. Shake it off. Let's get em' back.
We responded really well. We scored 4 runs in the bottom of the second to gain another lead change. I got my first hit of the game nearly knocking the cover off the ball into right field. Our guys were hitting really well. Eric got a hit, Arthur got him over, I hit, Bernie collected another hit, and Will lined another ball. So things were back in our hands.
I have to tell you that there was a tension in our first game. You could just feel it. The guys were not completely relaxed and it felt like we were on pins and needles for the entire game. There was lead changes throughout the entire game.

6th inning. Something bad happened. I moved to left field because I couldn't catch a ball at first base to save my life and then 'Time' was called. Jean-Luc motioned for me to come to the mound for a meeting. Will had opened a blister on his pitching hand and couldn't throw anymore.

Shit.

He could put a bandage on it and play outfield but not pitch anymore. So I took SS and Will took left field. Bernie took the mound to hopefully keep the game close. He got out of the inning still keeping the game knotted up 7-7.
Bottom of the 6th. I lead off the inning with another hit by pitch. They had pretty much silenced my bat with a walk and a couple hit by pitches. Bernie moved me over with a ground ball. Will then knocked me in for the go ahead run in the game. Will eventually scored off a couple errors and a hit. So we had the lead 9-7 in the last inning.
Bernie managed to get the first out of the inning but then the next two hitters got hits that tightened our lead only one run. We got the next guy to pop up. Ok 2 outs, one more and it's over. He walked the next guy to give them bases loaded.
Next pitch sailed to the backstop...SonofaBitch. They tied the game. He struck out the next guy so keep the game tied. Man, this was a baseball game.
We failed to put them away in the bottom of the 7th and we went into extra innings.
9th inning. They struck first. Bernie left a ball right in the middle of the plate and their hitter hit it over the fence for a homerun. 9-8. We got out of the rest of the inning and had a chance to tie it up. I would like to tell you that we came back and one this game but that would be a lie. We went down 1,2,3 in the bottom of the 9th and lost a heartbreaker.
The other team was all cheers and the Woodchucks were not only physically beat but mentally as well.

We ate our lunch and just sprawled out all over the place. I was so tired. I could only imagine what the other guys felt like. But I tried once again to get our minds right and shake off the 1st game.

"Great thing about baseball is that you have a one game right after the next."

That was our motto for the next game.

Game 2: BG vs Montigny
Time: 3:00
Weather: 78 F, sunny
Attendance: About 20

A majority of the Cadets and Softball players were there for the 2nd game. Then something great happened. Chris couldn't be there for our first game because he was needed for the reserve game in Rouen. I told him that he needs to scoot on over when he got done and bring some noise. So Chris, just right before the first pitch of the 2nd game, came screaming up the hill behind the backstop. He had Gabby and some other kids with him just screaming their hearts out with noise makers. It was just what we needed. It seemed to relax the guys and give us newly found energy. What a guy. He was our 10th man. We struck first with 2 runs right off the bat. Vincent started the second game because Marc's arm was hurting him. Vincent did just enough ladies and gents. His gravity ball seemed to keep the other team off balance for awhile. They would scorch some balls off him but not a lot of damage was done. It was 3-2 for awhile then something wild happened.

Vincent stepped up to the plate with 2 runners on.
CRACK! This ball went sailing to the deepest part of the field in left center. Now I will tell you that I heard the ball hit a tree past the fence and come back into play. I was screaming on the top of my lungs "HOMERUN!!!!" but the umpire failed to realize it at first and called one of our runners OUT at the plate. I WAS FURIOUS. Jean-Luc and I rushed towards home and explained how the ball nailed the tree. Ha, you are going to love this.

The umpire then motioned HOMERUN!!!!!

BWAHAHAHAHA, Vince came trotting home from 2nd base and we just screamed with excitement. The other coach could not believe what happened and ran up to the umpire when he realized what happened. The umpire then walked out to the outfield to inspect what happened. I could just imagine this asshole reversing his call for the third time. I went out to the field to talk with the opposing players and of course they were saying it wasn't a homerun. It was funny though. We weren't yelling at one another, in complete contrast we were joking with one another. Then finally the umpire from left center said.

"HOMERUN!"

Thank god. I will tell you that there is a piece of bark stripped off the tree were Vincent nailed the ball.

We took a comfortable 4 run lead and added 4 more by the last inning. 10-2.

OK Woodchucks.....let's close this game out. 3 more baby. There was no way I was going to take out Vincent because his puss balls were doing the trick for the time being. His pitches lost its magic the last inning. He walked the first two guys and Arthur had to go in. First guy lined a double off of him. Ok...10-4...no problem. Let's just get an out.

Arthur walked the next two guys.....Well, Goddammit.

The next guy knocked a bases clearing double. 10-7. Arthur walked the next guy.....

We finally got the first out of the inning on a ground ball to me forcing a guy out at third. Ok...one out. Next guy lined a shot to right field but Pierre got a good beat on it and made a spectacular catch. YES, 2 outs!

Next guy knocked a lined drive up the middle to put their team within two. The next guy hit a seeing eye ground ball threw the right side to load the bases. Tieing run at 2nd base. I then called time.

"Hey, relax buddy. We got this. I believe in you. Smile, baby. Let's do this."

Arthur looked at me with worried eyes and shook his head, "Ok, Tony."

First pitch. A high chopper towards me. If I fail to make this play....tie game. I fielded it cleanly and made the throw.

The ball started tailing high.....

My heart sank....

It found Vincent's mit for the last out.

We finally won.

I was so happy I hugged the runner rounding second. Everyone started laughing. I think both teams were happy with the results and the beer bottles started to open. I took some good pics with Will. I gave him a composite bat to take with him to Lithuania free of charge. He then game me a Guiness tall boy beer can from Dublin, Ireland. A fair trade if you ask me.

Will and I will hang out more next week because he will spend about 4 days in Rouen. I was incredibly happy with how we played and how we fought. Charles and I are all good. We are back to pals again. Everyone understands, hopefully, now how important practice is. I aged 5 years yesterday. Well, thanks for reading. I love and miss you guys. Au revoir.

Coaching Debut, Cultural Conficts, and "Ball, Ball, Ball!"

2008-05-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hey fellow readers. I am really diggin' the fact that you guys are appreciating my pics/writing. I feel the love people. Dad, let me start by saying that I read your email with tears in my eyes...I love you, Dad. I really needed that. I can only wish to be a dad like you to my own kids. I assure you that I will try my damndest. Karly, thanks for the comments...I laugh everytime when you comment, Tiffany, no more Cheezits :-(...Alex, thanks for laughs that I know everyone shares with your words and I will wear a hat whenever I the fuck I want to, Ian and Emily, thanks for the talks guys, Joey, I will get you a choo choo pic soon, Phyll, it was really good talking to you the other day and I can't wait to share what I have seen and experienced when you get here, and Mom, thanks for working really hard on sending my package. I know that you want things to be perfect and I know they will because it is from you. Goes without saying that I love and miss you guys everyday.

Let me start with Wednesday. I had two practices this day. The Cadet team and N1 team. Jean-Luc is gone on a umpiring tournament somewhere in France, so I have the reins this week. Paul was back from his spring break in England and I could tell he missed having a bat in his hands. He was all smiles when we started working out. I am finding it easier to portray a coaching image to everyone. Little by little, I have become somewhat an authority figure in their eyes and they now know what I expect at practices. So they warmed up and I had a drill planned for these guys.

"Fly ball communication." I yelled.

Now in the states, once this is yelled at my past practices...those words are usually followed by groans. I will explain why in the following sentences.

So I placed the kids in different positions on the field. We had 9 this practice! Alright so I started just sky rocketing flyballs from home plate. They were all just admiring the little dots in the sky (baseballs) and making few catches. I expected this at first. I then got the point across that you have to say, "Ball, Ball, Ball!" for communication reasons and avoid collisions and dropped balls. Once they caught a couple balls consecutively, I then yelled....

"10 perfect."

Back home this could last awhile. Here in France, I was prepared to do this for the next 90 minutes. So at first, they would get up to about 5 then someone would fuck up. I'm sure at this point the kids were thinking....

"Oh this is kinda fun!..."

Well after catching up to 7 without a mistake then fucking up on '8', they were starting to get pissed. Hahaha, little Paul...

"Alle, puton de mierde! (LET'S GO, Fucking Shit!)" He would scream at the guys who were fucking up.

This continued for about 30 more minutes. The kids were yelling "Ball, Ball, Ball!" on the top of they lungs and would rejoice with satifaction when they caught it. They are starting to come together. Through this frustration and communication. Ok...so we got to nine. And the kids were chuckling nervously at the possible last pop fly. Paul then yelled.

"Tony, hit me the fucking ball!"
"You got it."

I reared back and hit the highest ball I could. Paul was at SS, and the ball was tailing towards 2nd. Paul called off Sam who was at 2nd and was sitting under the ball. Everyone had the look of desperation. This ball was just cometing down to Earth....

It found his mit.

All the kids just threw their gloves in the air and thanked whatever god they worshiped. The Bp felt earned to these kids and that is what I wanted. Their practiced ended great....

Now our practice....I have not gotten this mad in a long time.

After the kids rolled out, our guys started rolling in. It started to rain quite a bit but we were going to practice regardless rain,snow,hail,or tornado. We have to work out those 9 errors from last game. Not only that, but we have Montigny this weekend. Currently first, and us 1/2 game back. This is the matchup of the season. They have skilled players and good pitching. We have to be on top of our game.
So as we were talking in the dugout as rain was pouring down, I get a call from Vincent.

"Hey, I'm not coming to practice."
"Why?"
"It's raining and I am having a couple beers at a bar."

Unfuckingbelievable.

"Well, we are practicing and you are going to miss it. Do what you want. Goodbye."

This was the just a little more fuel being added to the fire. Charles then asks me.

"What are we going to do?"
"Well..we are going to wait this out for a bit, and if it doesn't let up, then we will go into the gym for groundballs."

He quickly retorts, "No."
"I am going home and I am not going to take anymore ground balls. We don't need to."

I could piss nails.

In the most relaxed and calm voice I replied.
"Charles...If you leave. You will not play on Sunday."

"Fuck it. I don't care. I am leaving."

Some of the guys looked astonished at this response. So Charles, walked off and went home.

There are some things that I can tolerate. I can deal with cultural differences. I CAN NOT deal with a blatent insult to my work. I have poured my heart into trying to incorporate baseball in Bois Guillaume. What just happened is a direct slap in my face. Charles might as well as stuck his middle finger in my face, now I know that gesture is universal.
At this point I was just beside my self. I wanted to destroy something. I wanted to pound my fist into someones skull.

I wanted to destroy something beautiful.

Every muscle and bone in my body wanted to release furious anger.
About 15 minutes later, Chris suggested that we take ground balls on the soccer field astroturf. So we walked up to the neighboring soccer field. The guys all put their stuff away and started to get ready.
4 of the guys starting throwing a nerf football around.

"If you throw that fucking football one more time...I am going to run you until you have nothing in your stomach."

At this point, the guys saw a side of me that I don't show often at all. I lined them up and started training. I vented to them about how much disrespect I felt at that moment. I will not get into exact words but I can assure you that they could understand how crushed I felt. I don't think I have ever felt that madman's emotion before. I never want to have it again.

After they warmed up throwing the ball around, I motioned for them to come in for a talk. I first said I was incredibly grateful to have them here at every practice. I pounded my heart and said,

"This shows me you have this."

I then said,
"So put a fucking smile on your faces and let's take some fucking ground balls. HAVE SOME FUCKING FUN GODAMMIT!"

They all laughed and we took practice.
This venting needed to happen and it is done and over with.

A cultural conflict.

Thursday. Yesterday is gone. It is another day.
The French have another day off work because of some holiday. Man...they have a lot of these. So we had a rescheduled softball game today. I was to be the head coach! First time in my life that I had this kind of responsibility. I woke up and got ready for the day. I got to the field today at 9am and starting working on getting it game-ready. I was just getting ready to walk back to the dugout to start the lineup when I heard shouts of arguement. One of the father's of two guys ont he team, who never come to practice and he is a board member, states that he is going to be the coach and that he has a line up already written.

Ok, Tony. Deep breath. Destin. Cinque Terre. Children's Laughter......

Now....What?

The girls were almost in tears because everyone knew that I was going to be the coach and Jean-Luc specifically said that I had the reins all week.
"Tony, Tony, Tony, you have to coach us!"...."I don't want to play like this!"
Aww...this was really sweet. So I calmly said to the father.
I brought Laura over to translate every word I was going to say.
"Jean-Luc said I was going to be coach. If you have a problem, you can call him. If not, I want a clean lineup card."

"Ok, Ok, Ok, no problem."
The girls rejoiced with satisfaction and starting getting ready.

The other team showed up. Louvier. I was shocked as soon as I saw our competion. 10 grown men and 1 girl. These guys started warming up in left field. Maybe one or two of the players on their team was 15-20 years of age but the vast majority were in their mid 30's. Great. This is softball people. I really don't see the satisfaction of beating up on teenage girls.
There was no way I was going to alter my 7 girl starting lineup. I had to prove a point. We had to prove a point.
We took infield and looked pretty salty. Then they took infield....
A maniacal grim bloomed on my face....

We are going to murder these guys.

They struck in the first innings. One run off one hit and followed by enormous cheers. Are you fucking serious? Unbelievable.
We started off slow and found ourselves down 3-0 after the first two innings of a 7 inning game. I then huddled up the team.
"Guys...relax. Look at their pitcher right now."
He lobs a puss pitch.
"We are going to crush them. Just relax. We are going to score 20 runs this game."
They all smiled and we had another Woodchucks breakdown.

Then we put it to the old assholes.

Their is a six run limit per inning. Let me just say we used that rule for the rest of the game. Now I will tell you something even more unbelievable that happened in the 4th inning.
The score was about 14-3 at this point in favor of us. The other team's players had run to each other on three different fly balls. I then brought everyone together after the 6 run mercy took effect.
With a grin on my face.

"Now do you see why you say Ball, Ball, Ball?"

Then exploded with laughter. Now let me mentioned something that happened in the 4th inning. Virginie, our pitcher, was just mowing down these guys. Their head coach, 40 yrs of age lead-off hitter SS, calls time and heads to the mound. I then was summoned by the umpire. The girls were yelling with detest and I know that this wasn't going to be good.

"Wi." I breathed.
The other coach replied in broken English, "You have to change pitchers, no pitcher throw more than 4 innings."
Are you fist fucking me.
I then turned to Virginie.
"How old are you Virginie?"
"19."
"And how old are you?" To the coach.
He was baffled and insulted, as he should have been.
"It's the rules. Sorry. Change pitchers."

Virginie slammed the ball into my hands and took third base. Cami was to take the mound. This was the funniest thing that happened all day. Cami is a national French ball player who throws absolute gas. She threw her first warm up pitch.
It wizzed into Arthur's mit.
HAHAHAHAHA, I would just to have loved to know what the other team was thinking now. She continued to strike out the next 7 hitters in a row.
I was going to hold off stealing to show respect but not now. Green light all day. We won 27-3. I have to say that a little bit of today's and yesterday's emotions were morphined in today's win. It pleased me even more that every one of my players got on the field and atleast one at bat.
Their coach shook my hand and it was understood that their isn't any bad blood. So everyone and everything was tranquilo.

I love you guys and I will talk to you soon. Show me the comments. Au revoir.

Picture Post

2008-04-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-04-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

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'.

2008-04-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-04-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

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'

2008-04-15T16:22:00.001-07:00

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.

2008-04-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-11T03:35:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-04-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

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.

"Un ticket, si vous plait."

2008-04-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

Pic: Bus ride.

Hey guys! Yes, I know I have internet now, but that doesn't mean I am going to blog three pages about my trip to the bathroom the other day. I want to be able to sit down and write about some beefy stuff. Thanks for the comments and I want to tell you guys that I miss and love you guys very much.

So on Thursday the only thing that I had to do was conduct practice for the Mixed Softball team. I have keys to the whole complex now and it is pretty much understood that I will be the one running the whole sha-bang from now on. But before I would go to practice, I was going to get in a really good run.
The forrest park next to my place starts on a pretty steep hill. I stupidly didn't pace myself to well and starting sprinting up it like a maniac. I was like, "Shit...I'm already tired." HAHA, that reminds me of the Gaffigan routine with the "Getting up Early."
"Jim, you gotta get up on 530Am on Tuesday."
"AWWW FUCK."
"You wanna go see a movie?"
"No, I gotta get up on Tuesday. I should go to bed now."
But I would not let my mistake keep me from having a long run. So I had an adrenaline push with a good song and darted through the forest. I took a different path with intentions of not running into Harry the Homeless Guy. So I was running down a path and just turned off my music...
I just listened to how silent and peacefull everything was. It is hard to get completely out of life and just be surrounded by the fresh sound of nature. But there I was, no music, no noise, and the sound that was heard was the light sound of my feet joggin on the path. It was extremely therapeutic. I noticed that there were little obstacles on the different cross roads. They are exactly the same kind of obstacle exercises that used to be on the Phelps Grove park. The pullups made of just wood, walking along a skinny wooden plank, crunches on an oddly shape tree stump, as well as other interesting exercises. I did everyone of them. I gotta admit...I felt like a hard ass. So I came to the end of the path into the forest and started manuevering back. I was taking different paths back to change scenery then I noticed that Harry's house was on my close right. I quickly backtraced to another path and continued home. It was a great run. I will take the 8 bus to one of France's national forest's for my upcoming runs and can't wait.

I know Mom is freaking out right now about bears or ManBearPig's but I assure you that I am really carefull.

I was drained when I got back to my house and made my signature Egg Baskets and took a nap before I would tackle the bus for the first time.
So I mapped it out. I was going to take the 8 bus to La Verene and get off and wait for the 40 to take me into Bois-Guillaume. And if the 40 didn't show I was going to hop back onto the 8 to hit the 7 further down if the 40 was taking too much time. Some buses run more frequently than others and I understood that the 40 isn't a major route. So I was well prepared. Now, the biggest obstacle was facing me.

Asking for a damn ticket.

So I stood at the bus stop with other kids that were just let out of school next to my apt. I waited...waited...and waited. The 8. There she is. Alright. Here we go.
The bus stopped and the kids quickly piled on but as I was about 2 feet from the door step the door closed the bus was taking off! WHAT THE FUCK!? So like a freaking idiot I was running alongside of the bus with my American arms flailing in the air. The kids noticed that I needed to get on the bus so they pushed the button to open the door for me.
Well dammit.
I just sat down, completely dejected, and didn't purchase a ticket from the asshole behind the wheel. Charles told me that he used to never buy a ticket but he does now because at random times a ticket checker comes onto the bus at random stops and checks people's tickets and if they don't have a ticket, it is an automatic 50 Euro fine. I didn't want to draw anymore attention to myself by getting up and walking to the front of the bus so I just cursed to myself in my seat hoping that a uniformed Ticket Checker wasn't going to hope on the next stops.

But what do you think happened on the third stop?

You betcha. A fucking uniformed Ticket Checker stepped onto the bus. I was nervous. My stop to connect to the 40 was coming up on the next stop and I hope that that would be short enough time to quickly make my exit off the bus. The Checker was making his way towards the middle of the bus, me at the back. The bus finally stopped as sweat was forming on my forehead. I quickly got off and released a big breath of air.

So I was thinking that I would wait awhile for the 40 but it was right on the tail of the 8 I was on and I quickly got on the bus avoiding the mistake that I commited earlier. I bought my ticket.

"Un ticket, si vous plait."

So I made it to practice with time to spare and we had a great workout. I am learning so much about coaching and just being around a different culture. I can not tell you the thrill of seeing improvement in swings. I actually am starting to come through to these guys. Paul is just drastically improved and he notices it. I make it a point not to give praise until it is due. I learned that you do not constantly give positive comments constantly because after a while it just falls on deaf ears. So when I actually give these kids a positive praise, a grin spreads from ear to ear. The feeling is amazing.

I love you guys and I will post again soon. I had horse for dinner tonight. A story in of itself. Au revior.

You guys gotta check this out.

2008-04-03T03:29:00.001-07:00

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/05/07/a_fling_with_french_baseball/

Getting New Bearings.

2008-04-02T14:31:00.001-07:00

Pics: 1st - Art School, next pics, Scenery from today's post, 4th - Joan of Arc Cathedral, Last Pic - Badass.

Hey guys! I just got done having two egg in the breads, four sausages and had a strawberry mousse ice cream for dessert. I am so beat from running everyone to death at practice but I will get to that later. First though, EMILY, thank you for being the only one who appreciate the pics, Ian, just get used to Alex posting first...cause he really loves me more actually, Mom and Dad, take that thing that resembles a computer in your house and throw it in the Ankarlo's ditch...jk, I'm just glad that we can atleast talk, Critter, just starting Acacia...that's right baby...I have it.

I ran through the forrest to begin the day. There is a little dew on the ground, cool breeze, and fresh air going through my hair. I gotta tell you that I am always on the defense for anything. So I started taking different trails, still haveing a general sense where home is. Haha, lemme tell you this. You remember the key to the Lost Woods in the first Zelda game? Down, down, right, left, down. That's is what is going on through my head. The woods are very pretty but I then I was encountered by something going in pretty deep...
I hit a clearing through the wood. I saw in the distance a little shack. Hmm...kinda weird. This might be the Lady of Wood or Harry of the Wood. It was Harry. I heard from a distance some fumbling in the shack and I darted back like a doe in head lights. I was running so fast, kinda out of frightness but more out of adrenaline and kinda a fun feeling of fleeing from a foe. But I took a wrong turn. DAMN YOU LINK! But all is good and I found the main drag of Mt. St. Agnion and walked back home.

K...be weary of Harry. Got it. The rest of today, I made breakfast and learn some songs on the guitar. Olivear always laughs at me because I told him that I used to mostly play sad songs when I was at my first apt. Like "Last Kiss," and other gloomy country songs...but now its my genre is more happy and hoppy! Chris picked before he had to drop of Gabby, his son, at baseball practice. Listen to this, the entire French Elementary System doesn't have school on Wednesday's but do on Saturday's! So Emmanuel, Chris and I went around the town. We saw an old Art School where back in the day, the people of Rouen buried victims of the Black Plague. Chris laughed when I said it was like a morbid "Hogwarts."
After that, Chris felt adventurous. So we just started driving into the hilly mountainside. We pretty much just got ourselves lost in woods. It was awesome. We saw so many neat houses and terrain. I kept on telling him, I would love to retire in an area like this. No noise, nice company, and good tilled earth. Chris said that there are signs everywhere so there was no problem finding our way back. Wheww. Jk, I wasn't worried for a second.

Tonight was N1 practice. So we got to the gym and we met with the team members that are able to come. I have to tell you that at every practice you will not have your whole team. The two Canadians, Marc and Bernie, Romain, Pierre usually do not come because they live far away and can only come during the weekends. So I dealt with what we had and we got to work. This was mainly a fundamental practice. I have found out with experience even teams at the NCAA level need to incorporate fundamentals in every practice. I am trying to express to the guys that everyone does the things we do. Well good teams atleast. I don't want them to feel like we are doing elementary work. So we had our practice. It was full of ground balls, flips, and hitting. I then turned to Chris,

"You got a stopwatch?"

He quickly replied, "Yes....oh shit, I probably should have said, 'No' huh?"

Haha....eggselent.

I set up the cones like I did with the other conditioning workout we did the other day and I was IMMEDIATLY hearing groans. I gotta truthfully say I got kinda of a sick pleasure out of hearing the groans. I explained every drill. Crunches, Spider-Man Pushups, Wall-Sits, and Cone-Jumps were to be had by all! So we started.
It was a 15 minute hell. It felt great. Then just like last time, they all looked bushed. I was tired to be honest. Then they got out a soccer ball and we played a full out game. I could barely move. I'm running them through the workout twice next week.

Welp, that is all for now. I will post about the next days soon. Love you guys and talk to you soon. Au revoir.

Bois-Guillaume Club goes undefeated in first weekend.

2008-03-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family! I am typing from my new apartment in Mt. Saint Agnion, it is a little town just a little further out of Rouen. I gotta tell you guys it is good to have free phone and internet. I live about 2 blocks away from Chris, The American, also....Let's just call him Chris. I live next to a forest part that has trails up a huge forrested hill, and right next to a bus stop. I live with an older women who has a 23 year old son going to school in Paris and that is where my rent money is going. I also live with Bibette 2. This Bibette talks to me and is a 20 year old law student in town. All of us try and communicate to each other. It is quite a scene. One in French, the other in Enlench, and the other in Spanglish. Sounds like a sitcom. Critter, I still laugh at your comment,oddly enough, that movie is really accurate with the shit that goes on here, Melissa, I am glad that you are still reading, Joey, I am still only your Uncle, Mom and Dad, get familiar with electronics for fucks sake, still love you though.

Let me begin with Saturday. The Bois-Guillaume Softball team has their first match against Caen. So I woke up early, got a run in, and had my usual eggs and ham breakfast. Jean-Luc picked me up in an extended van with the other players in the car and we were heading north. You wouldn't believe me if I told you...it wasn't raining. The sun was even out. Everyone was so so excited because this would be the first time that we would do anything outside. I just hope that our practices would be enough prep for our game.
Softball in France is Co-ed for the most part due to lack of players. So Romain, the Spanish speaker, and Arther, Jean-Luc's son, played with the girls. So we got to Caen and started our warm-up. I run them through the same drills that I did when I was at Drury and it is nice to still have that connection with a team. Then the game started. I am going to just say that they killed the other team. The final score was like 24-7. A lot of hits and errors. Just a messy game but a win none the less. We celebrated by going to McDonalds. I can say that I have had a Royal with Cheese now.

Our games vs Dunkirk the next day were supposed to me postponed but the teams decided to meet at another site, Campeign, to play our games. Campeign was playing away so we had use of their field. Campeign is about 2 hours north of Bois-Guillaume and is a hell of a lot better than going all the way to the most northern end of France to Dunkirk to play them.
We got to Campeign and there was just a light drizzle. A lot better than the continuous rain that we have been getting. So we started taking batting practice on the field. Everyone was so pumped to be outside and we were just running all over the place. Laughing, yelling, and hitting. During my bp, I was just smacking the hell out of the ball. We were ready to play.
The other team looked really young. There were probably some 15 yr olds mixed in with the team. Our team has quite a range of players. Arther, the youngest at 15, and Bernie, the oldest at 40. Marc was going to be the starting pitcher. I played
3rd base this game.
The first two innings were pretty slow. No score. I drew two walks in my first two at bats. There were no hits on either side for awhile. Then we errupted. We scored 5 runs on 2 hits and 3 errors by the other team. Bernie had a clutch 2 RBI hit to conclude the inning. We never looked back after that. In my 3rd at bat, I had a line drive shot that almost found the throat of the 2nd baseman. It was a good game. We run ruled the other team 10-0.
So the rain was really starting to come down with no signs of letting up. In the States, this would easily be considered a rainout but both teams were getting ready to play a 2nd game.

Unbelievable.

There were small lakes forming all over the field but everyone was getting warmed up to play. I slowly walked out of the dugout after a yogurt filled lunch and didn't feel like moving. There was no way we could play...but we did. So we starting the bottom of the first in torrential downpour. We scored 3 runs off of a couple of errors and another RBI hit by yours truly. Yeah, no big deal...I rule. BUT the game was quickly called after the opposing pitcher was bitching about the mound...I would have to if I were him because this game was looking out to be another blowout. So both coaches met with the umpires and they said it was a rainout. So our runs and hits meant nothing and we would make up the game at another date. This was alright with me because I was cold as shit and wanted to get somewhere warm. So we got showered, had victory beers, and headed for the French Cuisine that Americans refer to as McDonald's.

This is where some the guys decided to fuck with me.

I had decided that I was going to order for myself and not let Romain do the talking for me. So I was talking with Olivear, a really good guy, because I know he would tell me the correct thing to say to the clerk. I have to tell you the guys get a kick out of telling me to say dirty things in French. It is expected but I really didn't want to say anything vulgar to this McD's worker.
So I had my sentence all lined up. But at the last moment, Romain asked me what I was going to say and I repeated it to him. He said what Olivear had told me to say was inaccurate and that I needed to say something else. So I memorized another French sentence to say to the worker and was nervous enough as it was. Well it turns out that Romain told me something completely vulgar and inappropriate.

I asked the lady, english translation, "Will you go out with me and do you want my white sauce."

I got a quick. "Excuse mwa?!"

The whole team errupted with laughter including Jean-Luc. GODDAMN YOU ROMAIN.
It was funny though. So I got my Le Big Mac and quickly headed to where our team was sitting and was greeted by laughter.

I am so happy where I am now in my new apt. and I am glad that I was able to talk to you guys the other night. I walked around all day today getting my bearings on the new neighborhood. The park is beautiful and there is a fresh bakery real close. Love you guys and talk to you soon. Au revior.

Castle and Cathedrals

2008-03-28T12:56:00.000-07:00

Hey pics to follow guys. Here is the post for now.

Bonsoir All. Sorry I haven’t blogged in a bit but it goes without saying that finding times to get this on here is limited BUT (and a big BUT it is) I MIGHT BE MOVING INTO MY OWN APARTMENT!!! Free internet, phone, my own kitchen, bathroom, NO OLD FUCKIN PEOPLE!!! I am looking at different apartments tomorrow, Friday 28th, with Chris. He has been a savior for me. Jean Luc said it would be possible to find another living arrangement if the prices met. So hopefully soon I will be able to keep in touch with you guys more. I’m crossing my fingers. A lot has happened this week. Rain, snow, sun, and a couple of field trips. Thanks for all the compliments. I especially liked the *Illegal Immigrant Alert* one. If you guys are going to be anonymous on the page, at least tag your name on it so I know who it is. I bet that one was Alex though….conservative asshole.
Easter Sunday. Our games were cancelled due to rain and I was going to spend Easter with Chris’s family. I wasn’t expecting any candy at all but Anne, Chris’s wife, got me a huge orange chocolate egg with candy on the inside. It was so nice. Anne really has gone out of her way to see that I am ok. She researched all these apartments for me and has tagged a couple that we are going to look at. I am so grateful that I have her to look out for me. The lunch was wonderful. We had a salad, beans, and lamb. I still think I amaze every one in France about how much I can eat. Still being polite on my portions.

Boy’s gotta eat ladies and gents.

The next day I was supposed to go to the Normandy Beach but snow prevented that trip. Yeah, fucking snow. So Chris picked me up around noon when the snow had melted and we were off to see Chateau Gilliard (Castle Gilliard). It was a holiday on Monday due to Easter. Kinda weird but hey, what’s the point of a holiday if you don’t miss work? It is a medieval castle in a town about 2 hours to the south of Rouen. Emily, you would have just loved it. When you enter this town, it sits in a Seine River valley that is overlooked by this castle. You have to trek up winding roads to get to the top of this hill amidst a huge forest area. It was amazing. Rolling, green, French plains were visible from the top. I took a lot of pictures of the area, trying to be the best Ansel Adams that I could. So the Harrison family and I enjoyed the day at the castle. It was really weird walking through the courtyard of a castle. Again there are not any adjectives to describe some things. Chris, Gabriel, his son, and I walked around mostly because little Emmanuel, his daughter, fell down and scuffed her little hands up. The kids are really starting to warm up to me and I feel like their Uncle Tony. It was a good day.

The next day Chris wanted to take me into Rouen to show me the sites in the downtown area. He keeps on assuring me that there is no problem with him toting me around. Rouen actually isn’t a huge town, it is just the surrounding suburbs that make it big. So we hit the popular part of the town. I have to apologize about one the posted pics. The first cathedral pic that you see is not Joan of Arc’s cathedral, it is just another cathedral in town. Joan of Arc’s Cathedral is a rather unorthodox looking one. The cathedral’s main building represents a ship, with the other structures representing huge waves crashing onto the ship. It was really impressive. We saw the main cathedral as well. It is still hard to believe that people go throughout their normal routine of life living in a town with these massive, intricate, beautiful structures. The main cathedral is impressive. It is the tallest building in the town and it is only when you are inside of the cathedral that you really get a perspective on how big it is. Massive halls, intricate stained glass paintings, huge alter, and huge stone carvings. Is carvings the word? Whatever. I took a lot of pictures. Emmanuel even let me take a pic with her with a beautiful smile. She is starting to think my face is a familiar one now. Gabriel climbs all over me like a big brother and he actually took me down when we were at the castle. I really appreciate how his family has taken me in. The day ended with Chris and I taking the kids into a huge candy shop. Think Mr. Bulky’s on steroids. This place is just full of color. I grabbed a little plastic bag and carried Emmanuel around the shop to pick out what candy she wanted.

Chris took me home after that because I had to plan that nights practice for the guys. I was going to have fun this practice. Jean Luc said, “Uhhh Tonee, I vant the guys to feel….how do you say….tired, at the end of practice.”

“No problem, Captain Bicard.”

I didn’t say that. But was thinking it.

I went through bunt coverage’s with the guys and some hitting drills. I have started kinda of a neat handshake with some of the guys. I have a special one for each one of them. Kinda of a tag we have with each other. For instance, Charles and I have a handshake with quick hand movements and at the end we point an imaginary gun gangster style and click twice. After about an hour and a half of practice, I had a good conditioning sequence for the guys. I broke down my “300 Spartan” workout into a nightmare of running exercises. I showed all the guys the different exercises that we would complete in a series of 1 minute intervals. I was noticing that they were muttering to each other when I would show them each drill. It was probably something along the lines of,

“What the fuck…”

They didn’t particularly like the “Spiderman pushups.” That is where you get in pushup position but your feet are on top of a bench. When you go down, one of your legs comes off the bench to touch your knees to the ground, then visa-versa.
Haha. So we did all the exercises in the time I had allotted. Everyone, including myself was hurtin. I was screaming at the top of my lungs at the guys. “C’MON OLIVEAR…..LET’S GO PIERRE!” I still really don’t know how the guys feel about a little American yelling at them.

Today I had the softball team to coach and I did the same type of thing to them. It was great. Not so Uncle Tony anymore though. Kinda like, “fuck you Uncle Tony” now. But a good “fuck you”, if there is such a thing. I have put quite a big dent into The Hobbit. Ian, you’re right, it is like seeing old friends again. I didn’t pick it up the first time, but Gandalf is kinda an asshole to Bilbo. Well, it looks like our games for Sunday in Dunkirk are cancelled….Give you two guesses….So we are going to practice once again on Sunday. That is fine with me because Dunkirk is in the most northern part of France and “Latino boys don’t play so well in cold weather, now do we precious.” I love and miss you guys a ton and will talk to you soon. Au revior.

Off Topic.

2008-03-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

In response to 1984

I have just completed 1984, a novel by George Orwell. It has taken me 3 times to finally complete the whole book. I have always touted this book as one of my favorites even though I have never finished the novel before until this very moment. To be honest, I have never felt anything like I feel right now. I don’t know how to describe the feeling that I have this instant. I have great respect for such a piece of literature that has the power to move me like this novel has. I don’t know if I love it or hate it. Haha, it is almost the principle of doublethink. It is impressive that Orwell can captivate your mind and put you into the shoes of complete sanity knowing that 2+2=4 but then understanding why Winston has changed his thoughts at the end of the novel knowing why he thinks 2+2=5. The book is magnificent and just incredibly depressing. In my heart and soul, I wanted Winston to hold strong. That part in my body wanted the last lines of the book to be “Down with Big Brother,” but in complete opposition, the book ends with “I Love Big Brother.” This brought the question at hand in my mind. Would I have the strength to resist complete submission of my mind so stop torture? I would love to say that I have the strength. What makes me human says that I have the strength, but in extreme circumstances that Winston was under, any mind would break…..or would it? A complete “hero” in a novel or in life would stay strong and resist betraying everyone that is close to them. The undeniable force of Love was the key message I got from out of this novel. But even Love fails in this novel. Love is the key to life. Utter and complete Love in life is what keeps me living day in and day out. Love for and from family, friends, and one day my eventual wife. What George Orwell does in this novel is question one’s sanity and beliefs. I now have a complete different outlook on life. I am so privileged to have been raised by loving parents and positive energy all around me. I can not help to think that this type of society is being applied to our current time. What makes me sane is that the fact that I can see right and wrong. An interesting point was brought up by the book but wasn’t directly addressed. When you hear that people have confessed to crimes, treason, atrocities against government, or other things of that nature, can you really believe that they actually confessed? What I want the people who I call friends and intellectuals is that you can not really know the truth in some cases. Maybe they were being tortured into incriminating themselves. What scares me even more is the whole “water-boarding” torture that has been used by our government. What is next? Being sent to Room 101 in the Ministry of Love? It seems absurd now but we are closer to that than we think. What makes me even more pissed off at society is the fact that people believe that it is ok to torture another human being. What pisses me off is that people, today, have the same beliefs that would push this nation into 1984. It is not the Bush Administration that I believe people should be leery of but in regimes in general. What people have to do is ask themselves the same question that Winston is constantly asking other characters in the novel. Is your life better now than it was 10 years ago? Before you rashly answer that question, really ask yourself that question. What any drone would say is “yes” immediately. That same person would say that “We are winning the war.” What war, people? War on terrorism? Al-Quieda? Saddam Hussein? Osama Bin Laden? A number of his masterminds? Drugs? Profanity? JUST WHO THE FUCK IS THIS WAR WAGED AGAINST? The answer that the current administration wants you to say is all of them. It is fear where they derive their power. Guns and ammo are mere child’s play when it comes to the power of putting fear into your mind. And THAT is why so many people are on the fence on what they believe. Of course you are against these different battles, what person wouldn’t be? But the reality of the thing is that this type of war is complete imaginary. So the point of this message or whatever the hell you want to call it is that people need to control their mind. It is the only thing that makes us human.

Love CAN endure in this society. And fuck anyone who wishes to tell me otherwise.

A Weekly Routine.

2008-03-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Pic Descriptions: 1st Pic = Image from my window. 2nd = Charles and I. 3rd = Field in Paris, 4th = Team photo (From left: Pierre, Romain (can in mouth), Sam, Olivear, Charles, Jean Luc, and Marc (kneeling), 5th = Joan of Arc Cathedral

Bonjour friends and family! It goes without saying that I think about you guys everyday and I miss you guys a lot. Emily, there isn’t going to be anymore references to Mauricio or my sexuality…assholes, Alex, answer your damn phone you prick, and I will throw whatever the hell I want when I am on the mound…nobody can touch this speed baby, Ian, thanks for all the email information you have sent me and FOR ANSWERING MY CALLS, Mom and Dad, thanks for talking to me this past week and seeing how I was, it kept my head on straight, Phyll, glad to finally talk to you the other day. To others who are reading, I appreciate the feedback and thoughts so keep’em comin.
Alrighty, let’s see…hmm. Since last Sunday’s games I am trying to find a routine to get mind off the fact that I am in France so far away from home. Not going to lie, I hit a low point during the week really missing home but things are looking a lot brighter. At the beginning of the week, I was running as usual just trying to pin down everything there is to do Bois-Guillaume. My surroundings are beautiful. The weather….not so much. I would just love the see the extended forecast on a news channel for the Normandy area. I can just picture a French Tom Dye,
“Well, we got a lots of wind and rain, clouds, chilly weather for about…..hmm let’s see…Well shit…I can’t see a sunny day in sight. Well if you are going to commit suicide, you are living in the right weather folks.”
Haha, the weather is really depressing right now. The sights and weather go perfectly with any Radiohead song. Dreary and poetic. I have been taking really good pictures; messing around with a lot of the cool features on the camera Mom and Dad bought me. Thanks Momma ☺. AND I WILL POST PICS WHENEVER I CAN, SO I DON’T WANT TO HEAR SHIT ABOUT IT. I’M WORKING ON IT. Same goes for internet access. Believe me, the more I can talk and share things with you guys, I will. Well, it seems that everyone that I meet in France DO know where Springfield is. It is apparently the birthplace of the Simpsons. Damn that fucking show because I can’t tell you how many times somebody asks me,
“Is Homer your dad?” or “How is Ned Flanders”
Yeah, fuck you.
So it is Sacre Bleu and the Simpsons Theme song for now.
After practice on Wednesday with my team, Chris, the American, drove me home because, yes, it was raining out. He is just the nicest guy. For a house warming gift, he had bought me some of the Normandy Cider. It is like an apple champagne. Just a really nice gesture. The next day, Chris picked me up to go to his house to use his phone and internet and to meet his family. He has two kids, a boy and a girl. Just the cutest things. The little boy reminds me of JoJo and the little girl is adorable. The boy just smiles at me and the girl is kinda scared of me at first. So I talked with Chris for awhile as well as messin around with his kids. I finally got the his little girl to laugh at me and give me a little high five before he took me home. I think Chris and I will be really close all season because he knows the adverse situation I am in. Our game this Sunday is cancelled due to, yes, rain. So I will help Chris make a big Easter Lunch for his family and others. He is Catholic and is having a big meal to celebrate.
The other weeks activities included coaching the other teams. I really love coaching these kids. Every baseball exercise is just so new to them so they are really excited to do the different drills I have them do. Haha, I did a type of conditioning drill with them with lots of running and quick movements. I hated the drill because it made me tired as hell but they just loved it. I think they are just really tired of all the same boring ground balls and any type of fast movement interests them. I have to tell you before every practice I coach, there is twenty minutes of either soccer or other French game. I am always Paul’s first pick, and we just have a ball. I am just yelling at kids in English like
“WHAT THE FUCK PAUL, PASS ME THE BALL!” and “OHHHHH, IN YOUR FACE STEPHANIE!!!”
They just get a kick out of it. But when practice starts, I am not so play full. I kinda put on a serious face and I make sure they are not goofing around. It is usually Paul talking with his friends and I have to snap at him. But I love coaching and things on that front are going really well.
This Monday, The Paturel’s are taking me to the Normandy D-Day beach. I am really looking forward to it. I am going to take my signature picture with my feet in the center of the shot with hopefully the beach in the background. I am thinking of making a huge collage with that pic from the different places I have been. Another, “Ha, look where I have been and where you are probably never going to be.” Yeah, I rule. Love ya and talk to you guys soon. Au revoir.

Bois Guillaume 2-0!

2008-03-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

It is Monday morning here in Bois-Guillaume and I have yet to find a good way to get onto the internet but I think I have found a solution. I am working on the field today with Jean-Luc and afterwards I am going to ask him to use his Wi-Fi and if that doesn’t work , I am storing all of this information on a flash drive and converting it to a internet café computer. ALRIGHT….Love and miss you guys. I am sorry once again for the lack of phone calls/emails. Trust me…I’m working on it. ALSO, if you want to email me, I can’t get into my Drury email account, so send emails to my other account at TonyLew003@yahoo.com.
I will begin with Saturday’s activities before I talk about our double header sweep on Sunday. I learned that not all of the players live in the Rouen area and that they have to come into town to stay with Jean-Luc on the weekends. So on Saturday I was to meet a few more players and a little more on Sunday. Well, I gotta be honest, I was feeling pretty down on Saturday. I was missing the constant communication with people. But one thing that the Paturel family is doing is making sure I don’t feel homesick. Just when I thought I was going to spend the whole day alone, Charles was at my door. He wanted to go lift with me at the gym. Their word for lifting is Musculation. Sounds exactly the way it is spelled. So we headed up to the gym where we would meet another weekend player. So we got to the gym and I started my 300 workout. I explained what exercises I was going to do and Charles said, “I’ll pass.” After about 30 minutes of lifting the other player we were waiting on came in. His name is Romain (Row-mahn). I didn’t say anything to him at first and just listened to him talk with Charles in French. Charles told me that Romain thought I was shy. He said “Socre Bleu is anything but shy.” Romain is a 19 year old catcher that has loved baseball since he was a little kid. He was wearing a St. Louis Cardinal had with an Atlanta Brave warm-up. He had told me he has read all about me on the Drury website and that he was very excited to meet me.
After we got done lifting, all three of us had to attend the Cadet practice to help coach the little kids. So we got into the gym where practice was going to be and we started off playing the sport that is absolutely loved by Europeans. Charles told me that every practice begins with 20 minutes of playing soccer. There are two goals at each end of the court with lines on the court marking a mini-soccer field. Most of these kids are on the other secondary teams that I have already seen and everyone of them are so nice to me. Charles explained that they really respect me and will listen to what I have to say because whenever Charles tries to tell them something, they really just kinda horse around and not pay attention. But when ever I am yelling instructions at them in English they really try to understand me. Lemme tell you when I get back home, I will be a master at charades. But before the baseball lesson we would begin, we would play a mock soccer game. Two of the kids were captains. One of the captains was a little kid named Paul. So far he is my favorite. A little dark haired boy who loves to mimic what I do as well as my speech, haha…he tries to say my English words to his friends and all of them start laughing. It is understood that he is the leader of the bunch even though he is about 4 years younger than all of them. He reminds me of myself when I was his age and I constantly laugh and joke with him. His first pick was me for his team.
So we played, I scored a goal, we celebrated, had our baseball practice, and we said our goodbyes. It was during the game that Romain and I became really good friends. I heard him yelling in Spanish during the game and I quickly asked him “Hablas en Espanol?”
“Si, vivo con un amigo de Venezuela por tres anos. Aprendo espanol durante este tiempo.”
We speak in spanish to one another and it feels great to have this connection with him.
That night we would have a French dinner at Jean Luc’s house. Let me tell you that is was phenomenal. I can’t remember the word for it but everyone sits around the table and has their own little tray. You place a piece of cheese onto the tray and everyone places it into a grill that sits in the middle of the table. You get mashed potatoes, an abundance of meats, and wait for your cheese to melt. Once it does, you pour the cheese over your plate. Oh, my, god. It was so good. Benedict helped me with everything and everyone at the table started to give me shit. I said “Thanks Momma,” and everyone started laughing. I think she really likes to help me out with everything because she understands what position I am in. I really like Benedict. After our meal, I was so fucking tired from the whole day of running, lifting, soccer, and baseball activities that I just went directly to sleep when I got home to prepare for Sunday’s games. Let me tell you now that I had a great two games.
Sunday, 930am.
We departed for Paris to play at an Astroturf field. The weather was beautiful. We would meet two other Canadians at McDonalds before we would leave. I got a 5 dollar McMuffin and coffee that morning. Not your dollar menu shit. After I said my hello’s to Marc and Sebastian, the Canadians, we headed off. We got to the field and their were the two teams we were going to play playing their game ahead of us. I just watched them play for awhile. In my mind, I was looking at their pitching and thinking, “Oh..yeeeahh baby.”
So we warmed up and I gotta say I was nervous because I really wanted to do perform well in front of the other guys.
Bois Guillaume Woodchucks vs Paris Expos. Attendance: 20.
“Ven Caballo!” said Romain. My nickname to him is ‘horse.’ And mine to him is “Gringo de France.” Simply, ‘gringo’. We really have a good rapport with one another.
The game started. We were visiting and I was batting 3rd. The two guys ahead of me, Marc and Pierre, struck out. The pitcher was throwing about 75 miles per hour. So this was my first at bat in France. So I did my same ritual before I strode up to the plate and stepped in.
First pitch. I swung so hard I almost pulled my shoulder out of my socket and completely wiffed. I am going to have to get used to French pitching.
I worked a full count and the 3rd pitch was on the way. I would like to tell you I knocked it out of the park but that would be a lie. The ball was about a good 2 feet high at my head level. I threw my bat back to the dugout and started walking towards first. Then I heard a bunch of screaming from my bench in detest.
“Strike Three. YOU’RE OUT!”
OH FUCKING BULLSHIT. Everyone was laughing at my reaction and everyone told me that the zone in France could be absolutely horrible and that if it is close at all on full count I have to swing. I told them I will never swing at a Ball. So my first at bat…backwards K.
I got my glove and ran out to SS cussing the umpire out the whole way. I can get away with it because he has no clue what I was saying as I was eyeing him down the whole time.
“Tony….I know you are upset…just try to keep the ‘Fucks’ and ‘bullshits’ to a lower level.” Jean-Luc said as he was laughing.
So the game went on. I made some really good plays at short-stop the whole game. I would field an easy ground ball and just air it out to 1b. We losing 5-1 going into the top of the third.
Next at bat. Jean-Luc told me before I went up to the plate that if there is a pitch I can hit, I better swing at it because it would probably be the best one I would get. Ok..Jean.
First pitch. I waited back and swung. CRACK! The ball went sailing towards the power alley in right center. Off the top of the wall! I went into 3rd with a diving triple. All the guys were yelling from the bench and I will never forget that moment. My first French hit.
With that hit and a couple other hits from the guys we regained the lead at 8-5. We eventually went on the win the first game. It was great.
We took about a 30 minute break before the start of the second game. Jean-Luc told me he wanted me to play 1st this game because I was going to close (pitch the final innings) this next game. I was happy with this because I wanted to have my full arm strength this next game.
Bois Guillaume vs Montequille Cougars.
Marc, one the Canadians, was the starting pitcher. He throws lower 80’s with just a sick slider. Dad, he could definitely pitch at our level. I was impressed with the way he through. 3 up 3 down for about 4 innings. My first at bat that game was another triple to the opposite field. Hitting is going to fun all summer.
It started to rain and with some errors commited my us, we found ourselves down 3-2 in the 5 inning. We came back up to bat at the bottom of the 5th and we retook the lead 4-3 with the help of a double hit by Marc, his 3rd of the afternoon. He is an athlete.
“Tony, close this game out,” Jean –Luc said.
So I started warming up down the line. I was feeling really good. My knuck was working and my fastball had surprising pop. Dad, maybe I am over exaggerating but I was pumping Mid-Upper 80’s. To these guys it looked like 95.
Top of the 6th. First batter I faced. I threw an inside fastball and the fucker laid a great bunt down the 3rd base line. I yelled “BALL”, bare handed it, and threw a laser into the 1st baseman’s glove, Olivear. “YOU’RE OUT!” yelled the umpire. A roar of applause came from the team. Wheww. I absolutely blew the next batters away for swinging K’s. Dad, I know what you are thinking…’Throw your damn knuckle ball’….I did and almost plunked one to the hitters in the head. I couldn’t get a good grip on it because it was raining.
We went down in order the next inning and I had one more inning to record the save. 4-3. I got the first batter to K. Next batter hit a little bloop over my left shoulder and Charles made the play of the day. A diving catch for the 2nd out. I gave him a hug for the out and strode back up to the mound.
First pitch. Swinging strike. Next pitch. Looking strike two. The next pitch was going to be gas. I knew it, the batter knew it, my team knew it.
I hiked up my leg, and grunted loud as I released the ball. Romain’s, my catcher’s, glove made a snapping sound and the umpire yelled, “STRIKE THREE. YOU ARE OUT!”
Bois-Guillaume to start off the season. 2-0. A great day. High fives, Socre Bleu’s, and laughing was had by all. I took pictures of the field as well as my team. I slept on the car ride home and went directly to sleep when I got back to my house.
I love you guys and miss you guys very much. I will contact you guys soon. Love you, au revoir.

My First French Run

2008-03-17T06:34:00.001-07:00

Bonsoir everyone! (bon-swa = good evening) It is Friday night and I am absolutely exhausted. I just got back from a night run. Oh, and I am sorry Mom and Ian if I sounded pissed off on the phone; it took me fucking forever to figure out this damn phone card. I seriously was cussing the phone booth out and it could have easily been a spot on France’s Funniest Home Videos. Again, I am sorry and I will try and call you soon again. Regarding the internet posts, it was so easy for me to log onto the internet in Italy because I had a school to go to with unlimited internet access and I have yet to figure out what is going to be the easiest way for me to post from Bois-Guillaume. Until then, cool it with the remarks when I talk to you guys….dammit.
This morning I had to get up at 830am to go the a doctor for a physical. Jean-Luc said that I have to do this in order to be covered by BG if I get hurt at the games/practices. So he pulls up in his little car and we are off. We are headed to an opposite suburb of Rouen where this doctor is. Jean-Luc is a friend of this doctor and said we should be in and out.
So we arrive and we have waited for a good hour. I finally go into a little room where the doctor is. He first checks my blood pressure and conducts normal procedures that I have had to do back in the states. He then tells me the same turn and cough procedure…you know what I am talking about. And then I had to do perform the same procedure on him……….JUST KIDDING. Haha, that reminds me of the Friends episode where Joey sends Chandler to his tailor and Chandler gets molested. “Yeah…that’s how they do it…IN PRISON!” Haha, well everything checked out and we headed back into town.
Jean-Luc then informed me that I would be on my own today because he had to go to his work. He works with the train transportation department in Rouen. So he gave me a map of the Rouen area and told me I could go lift at the gym and walk around if I wanted to. I was kinda like, “Shit”, but going out on my own is the only way I am going to familiarize myself with the place. So I went and I lifted and I stumbled onto something very unique.
On my walk to the gym , I passed a little children’s school, Ecoile. I saw a ton of kids in a fenced playground on recess. The kids that were hovering by the fence were yelling, “Bonjour” to me and other French remarks as well as waving at me. I smiled and yell Bonjour to them in return. So I finally got into the gym and I had it to myself. This is a very basic gym. Just raw equipment. But I really like it, this raw feeling is just what I want. So I start hitting it pretty hard. Soon enough a French man walks into the gym. He is a patrol officer of the complex and was asking what I was doing there. After a clusterfuck of hand gestures I finally get across that I am a baseball player and that I have permission. But to my surprise he didn’t leave. He just sat there at first and watched me workout. Flags started going up but I realize that he is just admiring the exercises that I am doing because after I was done with one machine, he would put the weight down and mimic the workout I was doing. We were both laughing at each other because I am sure none of us have had this type of experience. So then we try to communicate to each other. It felt like it was straight out of a movie. I would say something in English, he would mimic, and give me the word in French. We had to have talked and laughed for about an hour and a half. It was a really good experience. I think I have got the complete numerical French system down. He was laughing at my pronunciations and me at his. His name was Nadie. Alright, go ahead and start with the Mauricio comments because I know they are coming you fucking assholes. Let me ask you if you have ever lifted in a French weight room……..that’s what I thought. Fuck you.
After lifting I decided to go for a run. I was planning on running into Rouen to Jean-Luc’s house because he said it was only about 2 K. Kilometers are shorter than miles, noobs. So I was like “piece of cake” but do you think it was 2K? No. It fucking wasn’t. It might as well have been 5 miles.
“Ok Tony, run to Ozark.”
Dick.
Well I started out, people staring, exchanging bonjours, and listening to my music. At first, everything was good. It felt perfect. Taking in landscape, running past cathedrals, seeing vast green pastures. It was about 500pm when I started out and I was thinking that a combined 4k run wouldn’t be bad and I would get back to BG before dark. It was about 545pm when I started hitting the outskirts of Rouen. What the FUCK Jean-Luc! I had taken a long route. So I finally made it to his house and I was so fucking tired and it was starting to get dark. I was thinking, there better be someone home and I hope they would give me a ride back. Well there was someone home. It was Benedict. She greeted me and told me to come inside for water. So I sat down and watched a French game show with her and was just waiting for her to say,
“Need a ride back?”
Do you think it came? No.
After realizing that I was going to have run back I said my goodbye and walked dejectedly out of the house. Dammit…this was going to suck. It was dark as piss and I had to go back. So I started walking up a huge hill that I had ran down and was just reversing my route pretty much. I saw a different Bois-Guilloume sign shortly after my walk up and I realized I had to make a decision. Either to walk my original 5 mile route back or to take a chance with this hopeful shortcut. So I decided to take a chance with this shortcut and I couldn’t be happier that I did. THIS was the route Jean-Luc was telling me about. It drastically cut my time down and I arrived at my house in BG at about 800pm. BG is such a nice town that I had no worries of encountering trouble on my way back. Jean-Luc informs me everyday that everywhere in Normandy is really safe and that I have nothing to worry about.
I got back, peeled a huge orange that I bought, made some cheese ravioli, ate a piece of bread, and now I am writing you guys. I am going to put in Lord of the Rings and crash now. I love you guys and miss you so much. Au revoir for now and I will talk to you soon. Socre Bleu Lewis…out.

The Bois Guillaume Club

2008-03-17T06:32:00.000-07:00

Bonjour! It is early Friday morning and I can’t sleep. It is about 2:30am……Whatever. OH…for the next two weeks I am only 5 hours ahead of time because the Europe doesn’t recognize daylight savings until another 3 weeks. Stupid Americans.
Alrighty then…hmm where was I….Oh, practice. Jean-Luc picked me up after I took about a three hour nap before we would go to practice at 730 pm. This time his eldest son, Charles, was in the car waiting for me. Charles is 21 years old and was very nice as soon as I sat in the car. So we drove about 2 blocks to the gym. There has been a light rain everyday so far. Nothing bad, but just a cool spit. So practice was to be held inside with the rest of the Woodchucks. When I walked in, there was about 8 other guys in there tossing around baseballs. I got the “There’s the American” look from every one of them as I stepped onto the gym floor. Everyone of them came up to me and shook my hand and introduced themselves. There is Josh (Quebec), Rafeal (Venezuela), Olivear (BG), Brolsh (BG), Ryan (BG, but speaks perfect English because he was born in Northern California), and a couple of other guys that I do not remember their names. I started warming up with Brolsh, 3B. So I started my warm up routine with some light arm exercises and soon noticed that the other team was mimicking me. Haha, it was pretty cool. Then we got into some long toss. I hummed several throws right into Brolsh’s chest and he was laughing with admiration because they were pretty damn hard. I am not afraid to say that I aired some out to send a message. When we got closer to cool down, I brought out the knuckle ball. Let’s just say I don’t think they have seen any pitch like it. Brolsh told everyone in French to watch me throw it. They all laughed with delight. Then Jean-Luc said he wanted to catch it and when he did, I got the same wail of laughter.
So after we warmed up, we set up a half-ass infield and took ground balls. I set up at SS and lined some throws into the 1B’s chest. Arther was not there because he is in Italy at an Amateur European Baseball camp.
Wouldn’t you know it….I already have my nickname for the next 7 months.
Socre Bleu Lewis. I whipped out the saying during practice and everyone was laughing almost to tears. Apparently, that phrase hasn’t been used in a good 35 years in France. Ryan, was laughing but confirmed the phrase because he remembers hearing that saying in American cartoons. Jean-Luc just gets a kick out of it and often exclaims SOCRE BLEU in my presence. So practice ended and everyone headed home. That night, I would have dinner at the Paturel’s house.
So on our way to Jean-Luc’s house, I mentioned that I wanted to buy a guitar. Charles and Jean-Luc were glad that I mentioned it because both of them have played drums for years. Wouldn’t you know it…they have an old acoustic guitar that they don’t use and they are going to lend it to me. It seems for the time being that things are falling nicely in place because it is pretty overwhelming being thrown into a completely different culture. When we arrived at their house, I gave Charles and Jean-Luc the hats and the stuff that I had brought for them. They were very grateful for the gifts and said they couldn’t be happier that I came. Jean-Luc even bought a bottle of wine for the occasion because he said he loves to have a glass of wine when he has a good day. Hell, maybe everyday is a good day to him, but the gesture spoke a thousand words. So we had a good turkey dinner and later Jean-Luc drove me home. I was to be ready at 200pm the next day because Jean-Luc wanted to show me Rouen.
The next day started with some hard knocks on my door. It was 215 and I was still in bed. I couldn’t believe that I had slept that long. My body must have needed the sleep though. Jean-Luc couldn’t believe it either, but he was not angry at all. So we headed down into town. The sights are unbelievable. Absolutely beautiful. I’m sure that these people don’t think anything of the beauty of the town because they seen it everyday but to a boy from Springfield, it is amazing. Well…wait a minute! We got Bass Pro, Pecker’s Beach, and the Hammons Tower…HA, Rouen is tiddly winks compared to that. So Jean-Luc first took me to his music studio. It was nice to see that we have music in common. I just hope that when he hears me play he won’t laugh and actually pull out the 35 year old phrase Socre Bleu on me.
After the studio, we went into the heart of downtown. We stopped in front of one of the cathedrals and walked around. Renaissance architecture was all around. We walked to the Joan of Arc cathedral, I really got learn the name, and I was blown away. Very, very beautiful. After we had a Kabob for lunch we headed back into Bois-Guillaume (BG) for Cadet/Softball practice.
BG has four levels of baseball related teams. N1, the best and my team, N2, a younger team, Softball team, a girls team, and a Cadet team, younger kids wanting to learn the game of baseball. I was informed that I would be the assistant coach to all teams with more responsibility with the three other teams besides N1. So this was a younger kid and softball practice that we were headed to. So Jean-Luc and I headed to the same gym that the practice was a night before. I was greeted with the same foreign stares and an abundance of greeting kisses from the female softball players. I am just glad there is only about 7 softball players at this practice because it seems greeting a larger number females with kisses could take a good thirty minutes. We started with throwing and other basic baseball exercises to begin. After that, we had a simulated scrimmage at the corner of the gym. It was a lot of fun. Laughs, Socre Bleu’s, and other jokes were shared by all.
After practice Jean-Luc drove me to a supermarket where I could get some basic items for the time being because Jean-Luc informed me that I would be paid in two days because he needed the city of BG to confirm my staying there as a baseball player/ coach. Apparently, BG helps him with the payments to me. So I got some ham, eggs, milk, a jug of fresh strawberry orange juice, and a fresh loaf of French bread. The food is just excellent here. Everything is so fresh. So I concluded my evening with making ham and eggs with a big piece of bread. The heel is even good. Dad, you would just love the bread. I love you guys and I will keep in touch as much as I can. Love you guys, au revoir.

The Arrival

2008-03-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

Bonjour de Bois-Guillaume!!! (bwa- gwoo-yon)
I feels good to be writing again. I already miss you guys so so much. I will start off from the moment I got on the plane in Philly.
If I didn’t talk to you before I got on the plane, lemme tell you that I was feeling anxiety. I stepped onto this massive plane and headed back to Row 26B. The plane was full of high school girls taking their spring break in Paris. Very nice. But I was not to be seated next to one of these girls, my seat was next to the girl from The Christmas Story. The girl who says, “I like the Wizard of Oz….” could have easily been her twin sister. But soon into the flight, I started talking with this girl and she couldn’t have been any nicer. She is a citizen of a southern French town and she was telling me all about France. What to expect, weather, customs, common courtesy, etc. She was just the nicest girl. We watched Rush Hour 3 on the plane and I got a good start on 1984 (Ian, she studies English Literature, and that book you gave me is a first edition and she informed me that it was worth at least 2,000 dollars.) Well it’s mine now. I finally managed to fall asleep for a couple of hours and before I knew it we were flying over French soil. I had told this girl that I was supposed to meet Jean-Luc (my coach) at the airport and he was going to drive me north to Rouen (Rwo-uh). She was saying that I might have to wait in customs for a bit but since she is a citizen she was going to inform him that I had arrived to to still wait for me if she could spot him out holding a sign for me. Let me just tell you that I might as well been a French citizen because when I went through customs, the officer barely looked at my passport, no stamp, and told me to go ahead. So I went ahead to the luggage claim and was frantically looking for my bags. Thank god all of my bags were quickly spotted and I nabbed all of them. So I am toting all of this luggage through the terminal and was about to head out to the arrival area. Now to find Jean-Luc Paturel.
Sure enough, there was a little bald French man holding up a sign that read, “Mr. Lewis.” Haha, I was just as shocked as he was when I went up to him. I guess we had different images of each other in our heads.
In a heavy French accent, “You look like an 18 year old!”
“Well Jean-Luc, not many 18 year olds can send a baseball 450ft over the fence.”
“Hahaha, that’s what I like to hear! Let’s go!”
So we piled all of my luggage into his small 4 banger car and headed north to Rouen. The landscape in France is beautiful. Lush green plains stretch across the countryside. I learned that driving in Europe is kind of a cluster fuck last summer and nothing has really changed.
I was thinking, “Jesus Christ, Jean-Luc! This isn’t the fucking Enterprise! (Star-Trek) Slow the fuck down!” He was weaving in and out of traffic through the rain like nothing was a problem. So after about an hour of driving and talking we were coming up on Rouen. Rouen is known as the city with a hundred cathedrals that sits in a valley. Sure enough, we came out of a tunnel to see a beautiful sight. The entire city was sitting below us. Cathedrals, the Seine River (Suh), and winding city streets are laid below us. The main Cathedral, where Joan of Arc was burned, towers above everything. When we got closer into the city we eventually drove by it. Absolutely beautiful. It is so immense with intricate design, it made me think, “Wow, this is going to be my home for 7 months…” Absolutely breath taking. After maneuvering through some narrow streets, Jean Luc informed me that we would have lunch at his home with his family. I was absolutely famished.
The architecture in Rouen reminds me exactly of Firenze, (ha, see what I did there). Benedict, his wife, was the first one to greet me with two little pecks on each cheek.
“Tony, you have to know that you greet every women in France with two kisses.” I quickly took my outstretched handshake back and gave her two little kisses. They all laughed, as I was blushing. The next family member I met was Arther, (Our-tour) his 16 year old son who was our 1st baseman. “Ello Tonee. So nice to meet oo” Then I met his daughter ,Sarah, (Sa-Ra). She is 18 and very pretty. She is our statistician. After we said our hello’s, we all sat down at their dining table for lunch. The first dish was a mixture of corn and fresh tomatoes, followed by small round steaks and then a healthy proportion of fresh pasta. Not your double-cheeseburger shit, I couldn’t be happier. My first authentic French meal. After we sat and talked for a while, well….it was them doing all the talking and me just sitting their acting like I knew what the hell was going on.
Benedict, “Tonee, you have to learn French you know...!”
Yeah. I’m workin’ on it.
Jean-Luc then drove me to our field. I wasn’t expecting too much but I was pleasantly surprised by it though. I was expecting Central High School but got equivalent to Meador Park. Not great, but not bad by any means. No stands haha, but green grass and a short right porch. After we walked around the Bois-Guillaume complex we headed to my house. I have to tell you that Bois-Guillaume is a suburb that sits on the opposite hill of Rouen. It is a really nice suburb that overlooks the city. My house is very, very nice. An cute little old French lady greeted us at the door and we walked in with my bags. Her and her husband live in the downstairs of the house and I would share the two bedroom loft with another female roommate who I have yet met. My roommates’ and my schedule are completely opposite. She works as a waitress at night and sleeps during the day. I work with the baseball team during the day and night and come back pretty late so we rarely are going to run into each other. So, no Bibette for now.
After I got settled in, Jean-Luc drove me to our first team practice inside of the gym of the complex. The complex is a two block walk for me. Very close. There is a post office, supermarket, and little shops that line the street as I am going to walk to the field everyday. I will tell you about my practice, the team, the softball/younger team that I coach, and the following day’s events in another post. I love you all and for now, I have no problems where I am at all. Love you guys, bye.