Perhaps this phase in my journey could be called the twilight zone. I say that for a couple of reasons. From the perspective of age, it is certainly the twilight of my life. From another perspective, it seems that this time is more akin to the twilight zone of the TV show variety. Life just seems strange some times. Some days I awaken and wonder just where I am and who I am. I spent most of my life getting everything in order; training to be equipped to deal with life and circumstances effectively and efficiently. Now I find that I have little use for the many of the skills and talents that I worked hard on. It occurred to me that what I am experiencing might well be captured from a scene in the the movie “The Godfather”. At the end of the movie, Don Corleone played by Marlon Brando was an old man. He was working in his garden and playing with his young grandchild, running and laughing. He collapsed and died there. What was striking about the scene was the juxtaposition of his simple, uncomplicated play against the complex, powerful and destructive experiences as a Mafia godfather. I’m still trying to sort all this out. Perhaps, rather than trying to hold on, reclaim or restore, I should go play in the garden.
The Rangers (our team) played the A’s this evening. It was a really close and exciting game. The Crockett crew had a great game. We were behind 9-6 going into the final inning. Jerod was the third hitter and there was one man on base. He hit a line drive down on the line in right field for a home run … 9-8. We managed to get one more run across to tie the game. With two out and a runner on first, Blake was up to bat. The runner stole second but Blake had two strikes. It was drama time again. Blake hit the ball solid to the left side and beat out the throw for a hit and the runner scored from second to make it a walk off hit for Blake … Rangers win 10-9!!!! Crocketts had three RBI’s in the last inning. Game ball to Jerod and Blake.
Today we had lunch at The Flying Fish restaurant in Memphis. For those of you who are lucky enough to have one of those very entertaining Big Mouth Billy Basses, you know, the ones that sing and wiggle; you will be thrilled to know the Flying Fish maintains an adoption center for Big Mouth Billy Basses. You even get a free lunch for bringing in your Billy. There is just no end to the opportunities for care and compassion.
We are visiting with Scott and Alison in Atoka, TN. Yesterday we went to Reelfoot Lake to fish. We spent the day on a pontoon boat. There were only a few fish caught but it was an enjoyable experience. Today, Scott and I fished at the lake in his neighborhood. It is a really nice lake and we caught numerous fish… bass, catfish and bluegill. The highlight of the morning was Scott catching a great largemouth bass. It measured 20″ and I estimated it to weigh 5-6 lbs. It is a personal record for him. It was an exciting catch. He fought the bass for several minutes and finally got him to the bank, at which point he broke the line. Scott leaped on him before he could slip away. Unfortunately, Scott pulled his groin doing so. Despite his smile in the picture he was in great pain. He seems to have recovered this afternoon. He is definitely a “fishing man”.
This evening the Crocketts came over and enjoyed our hot tub.
