It's a Blur

I ended up taking the rest of the week “off” last week, which I needed more than I knew, and feel much better because of it. Sometimes fate works that way and you are forced to do something you need to, even though you’re trying not to.

Friday night we went to see Marc Broussard at the HOB on Sunset. After I got the tickets, I got an email from ticketmaster saying that Josh Kelley was going to be at the Coach House. As a venue, I much prefer the Coach House, and until Friday night, I thought I would rather see Josh Kelley. However, I couldn’t possibly justify going out two nights in a row, so I stuck with the HOB show.

Janel and I were sitting in the restaurant waiting for Doug and CJ to arrive, and on the tv monitors in front of us we noticed it said, “Josh Kelley and Marc Broussard.” Sure enough, Josh Kelley opened for Marc Broussard.

Marc’s show was really amazing. He has an incredibly high energy level, phenomenal charisma and simply some great music. I wasn’t as impressed with Josh Kelley’s performance, could be it was an off-night, or I didn’t know much of the music he performed, who knows? But I was excited to see them both. I had a little more vino than I intended, but surprisingly, I didn’t feel quite as bad Saturday as I thought I might.

Saturday’s a blur, although I do remember go-cart racing with Frank, and going on some ride that involved a big boat that spun around in circles as it went up and down. Not recommended the day after too much vino.

Sunday was all-baseball. It was closing day for the season, which meant trophies and barbeques, followed by our team picnic. Sadly, the coach we adore and his family are moving to the bay area and he won't be Frank’s coach next year. Doug has been the assistant coach for the past two years, and the experience has been great for both Doug and Frank. It was Frank’s first “team sport” experience, and Coach David along with Doug made it really special for him. David’s wife put together a little book with notes and photos from each of the players, and I included this:

Our timid little boy didn’t want to play baseball last year. Someone told him that coaches were mean. You took his hand that very first day, and told him how glad you were that he was on your team. His face broke into a smile and after that, we never had a problem getting him to go to practice or a game.

When he started, he didn’t know how to throw a baseball, or cover a base, or hit off a pitch, or be part of a team.

He didn’t know what it feels like to get the game ball, or walk the field at Angel Stadium, or come to respect a man who will forever define the word Coach for him. Because you were his first, and from you he learned that coaches are nice. He learned that coaches are fair, generous with praise, patient, kind and loving.

And from you, he learned to love and respect baseball.

Which about sums it up. Coach David and his wife Leslie are two of the nicest people you’ll meet. We will miss them, and their kids, Daniel and Andrea, and hope we are able to stay in touch with them in the coming years.