A Long July.

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 :(

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)"

Fishing the English Channel.

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.

*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.

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.

*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.