Charge Me Some Peanuts & Cracker Jack

Last Wednesday was a beautiful day, I had vacation time and the Guardians were playing an afternoon game. Let's go to the ballpark!

Mr. Ginley was pleased, since he hadn't been to a baseball game in a few years, and we can't get the Guardians on our local channel.  

So, we took out a second mortgage on the house, hopped on the Rapid downtown and headed over to what I still refer to as Jacobs Field.

The first challenge had been the tickets. Texts between Mr. Ginley and son gave me the name of the app I needed to download to purchase them. After jumping through a few hoops, the tickets showed up on my phone. Mr. was a little nervous until we got there and they actually worked at the gate. 

We had been warned that the ballpark takes mostly credit, so that was the way we had to play it, although Mr. is not thrilled with charging everything. Given the prices, it was probably just as well I didn't have to carry that much cash. Mr. got a cheeseburger and I got a burrito (classic ballpark fare). Neither one of us wanted to fork over $5 for a box of Cracker Jack, especially since I'd just bought three boxes for like a buck at the grocery store the week before. 

Meanwhile, back at the ballpark...

We found our seats and wedged in between several noisy neighbors and settled in. Obviously, the seats belonged to a season ticket holder, because the people to the right of us were talking about getting their tickets from a friend. They only stayed an hour. On the one hand, we were thinking, "Why did you bother?" and on the other, we were like "Good riddance." (I think our tolerance for John Q. Public has run out.)

The game itself was fun for the first three innings. In the fourth, the pitcher lost his mojo and quickly gave up four runs. There was no heroic comeback after that.

I must say I'm very happy with the pitch clock. I like that players have a limited amount of time to get down to business. One of the most onerous parts of the game for me was watching the batter step out of the box, rewrap his wrists, swing his bat and adjust his balls after every stinking pitch. The game went by at a pleasant pace, and soon we were singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. 

Afterward, we walked up East 4th Street and had a slice of pizza at Geraci's before heading home. All in all, it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

And no, in case you're wondering, I'm not one of those Tribe fans who thinks the team should still be called the Indians. I'm totally cool with the Guardians. I've always been fond of the Art Deco Guardians of Traffic statues on the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge. 

I am a diehard about that name. I'll never call it the Hope Memorial Bridge. 

Oh the Things I've Learned on the Internets

photo attribution below

Who says spending hours on the internet is a waste of time?

I've learned so many valuable things, simply by scrolling through my Facebook page. Those oh-so-thoughtful folks are always suggesting stories I might like, based on things I've clicked on in the past.

Just to confirm that I've been paying attention, here are some of the important bits of info I've picked up simply by devoting countless hours to social media.

Flushable Wipes Aren't Flushable.
Say it ain't so! Flushable wipes – the staple of babies and the incontinent – cannot be sent on their way through your plumbing, lest you plug up your pipes or damage your city's sewer system. I know this because I saw a video of sanitary workers dredging tons of flushable wipes that blocked the sewer system. Those things are like cockroaches, apparently. They'll be here long after we are. So, lesson learned: toss used wipes in a garbage bag – they may not degrade there, either, but at least they won't screw up the pipes.

Putting Your Cat's Litter Box Outside Won't Bring Fluffy Home.

If Fluffy makes a run for it, you can put up flyers to enlist the help of others, look for her around the bushes near your home or set out a piece of your clothing to help her recognize your scent. But putting out her litter box will simply provide other cats in the neighborhood with a public toilet, thereby defeating the purpose.  There has been a lot of back-and-forth on this topic, so I know of what I speak.

Don't Give Away a Family Pet to a Stranger

I've seen this a bunch of times, where someone's parent passed away and they had to get rid of a beloved dog or cat. The writer wants to unload the animal but only to a good home, and for free. At which point, several folks chime in and warn them they need to charge at least a nominal fee because there are bad people out there who will use Fido for nefarious purposes. Just to note, I'm not sure charging someone $10 is going to deter the buyer from being an asshat. I think the message here is to be careful and research the person who wants to adopt the pet. 

Fabric Softener Is Bad for Your Washer...Sort Of

You need to go easy on the fabric softener. Avoid using it on every load and don't use more than what's called for. The chemicals that make your clothes soft and cozy can mess with your washer and encourage mold growth.

Turn Faucets to a Trickle to Keep Them From Freezing

I sort of already knew this one, but it was a good reminder. If you lose power in the icy cold of winter, turn on your faucets to a running trickle. Open any cabinets under kitchen or bathroom sinks to promote airflow and reduce the risk of freezing pipes. Plumber's advice: If you're remodeling your kitchen and thinking about having the pipes installed on an outside wall, don't do it. They will freeze, and you'll be left with an expensive mess. You can disregard this if you live in a climate that's above freezing all year.

Child Stars Die Too Soon

Ron Howard, Jackie Cooper and a few others excluded, child stars don't fare well when they hit their teenage years. This is a particularly popular topic for clickbait, and I'm ashamed to say that I've taken that bait more than once – only to head down the rabbit hole reading about some poor unfortunate kid who was fleeced by parents and/or managers, picked up a drug/alcohol problem and overdosed/committed suicide well before their time. Just to note, Mr. Ginley: Online rumors to the contrary, Jody from Family Affair was NOT fragged in 'Nam.

Deer Come Out at Dawn and Dusk

Sure, Bambi will hang out at other times of the day, but dawn and dusk are a deer's favorite time to roam. If you're cruising through the park (or in neighborhoods near the park – deer don't have GPS), take it very slow. Keep a lookout for running deer – and don't forget, they tend to travel in pairs or packs. The same treatment applies if you pass a rider on a horse.* Go very slow and give them a wide berth. And for crying out loud, don't honk your horn. (Are you really going to miss that 30 seconds you spend going slow if you get to your destination safely?)

Well, I believe I've imparted enough FB wisdom for the day. Please feel free to chime in with any tidbits of information you've picked up along the way. 

By the way, if something sounds fishy, you can always run it by Snopes.com. They research a lot of weird claims to see if they're true or not.

They even looked into the incident this week about Harry and Megan's alleged car chase.

Here I go back down the rabbit hole...

*Props to Vicki, who shared this from her friend's post.

Photo attribution: Jason Howie, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Not That Zelda

 When I opened my email this morning, the title on my New York Times Newsletter read, "The Mysteries of Zelda." 

The original Zelda

I was intrigued. Years ago, I read a biography of Zelda Fitzgerald, a trouble, tragic flapper and wife of F. Scott. Perhaps there was a new book out about her?

Opening the email, I read further. It was about The Legend of Zelda. A video game.

Why is it these days that I feel like Rip Van Winkle? When did I lose touch with modern references?

All this would be a little depressing, except this week I understood a somewhat obscure reference on Facebook. The meme showed a cardboard coffee cup with the number "867" written on it. The gag was, "They called my number, and I called back '5309'." 

One reader apparently had no idea what the meme meant and requested an explanation. I said, "Ask Jenny." 

Hey, if you're too lazy to spend five seconds asking the Google, I have no respect for you. (Hopefully, my readers are savvy enough to get it. If you didn't get it, please don't tell me. Tommy Tutone and I will be too disappointed.)

Anyhow, the point is, while I'm the master of the old and obscure, somewhere along the line, I lost track of modern references. I'm not familiar with much of the music recorded after the 1980s, I haven't seen a new movie release in forever and I never got into video games.

But throw an oddball, antiquated reference at me, and I'm there, baby.

I try, I really do. In my chat group at work, when they talk about different bands, I will occasionally go on YouTube and give them a listen, just to get an idea of what's trending. And I listen to the soundtracks under the shows I watch. It's not that I don't like what I hear. It's more like I've been listening to classic rock radio stations for so long, I simply don't know what's going on in the music world. 

Of course, now that the weather is warming up (finally), people oh so generously share their music at full volume, so I get exposed to some music that way. Alas, I don't believe I'll ever get into rap or hip hop. No surprises there.

So, like I said, Rip Van Winkle.

Just to prove I'm not a total Luddite, I googled The Legend of Zelda (the video game) and discovered it was named for Zelda Fitzgerald.

Maybe there's hope for me yet.

Photo attribution: public domain

35 & 5

It's a millstone milestone anniversary for Mr. Ginley and me. Thirty-five years of wedded blisters bliss. How about that?

The actual day is tomorrow, but my groom of 3 1/2 decades has already started to ask how we will celebrate.

"Well, we can go to that steak place," I said. "But they're not open on Sundays."

Mr. Ginley, who was a fan of Anthony Bourdain, has done some reading about restaurants and the best/worst day to eat in one.

"I don't want to go the day before because Saturdays are too busy. I think Monday is the worst day to go. Maybe Tuesday?"

Once we got that settled, we discussed what to eat on the anniversary day. 

"We could get a party tray like we did for our wedding. And you could bake a cake," said a hopeful, if delusional, Mr. Ginley.

I'm thinking I'll cook out some steaks instead and I'll get a couple pieces of cake from the store. If I bake a whole cake, our weight will balloon up, and no one wants that.

"But wait, there's another anniversary this year," said Mr. Ginley.

Do tell.

"It's been five years since the Caps beat those flightless bastards," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Yes, that's correct, on our anniversary day five years ago, the Washington Capitals defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins to win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The good guys would go on to win the whole thing on June 7th. It was a very good year.

"So, since we have two things to celebrate, maybe we need two cakes," said Mr. Ginley. 

"Um, no. One slice of cake will suffice," was my disappointing reply.

It looks like we're going to make up for the sad lack of cake by spreading out the celebrations. Someone is lobbying for a week-long anniversary celebration.

Meanwhile, I had a question to answer.

"I'd marry you all over again, how about you?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied. "But I'd skip the part where I got snockered and poured champagne on the rug."