First off an update regarding my Taylor Swift Moments blog from two weeks ago. My very loyal fans—Charlotte, Brian, and Hoover, who drove from Virginia to Bellingham for the signing in Bellingham—are now safely back home in Virginia. Their last day of driving was a grueling fifteen-hour one, but they managed to make it home ahead of the storm that was forecast to hit the area over the weekend.
Brian and Charlotte are a lovely couple. Prior to the signing, we shared a delightful meal at Bellingham’s Rock and Rye Oyster House. That was my first visit there, but I expect it won’t be my last.
On the way home, Charlotte kept me updated on their progress, and that made me think of October of 2001 when Bill and I made a similar roundtrip journey. Earlier that year I had agreed to attend a book festival in Memphis in October, but then 9/11 happened. When we should have been making travel arrangements for that, air travel was very much … well … up in the air. That’s when we decided to drive—from Seattle to Memphis and back.
It’s a long trip. As we went, we tuned into one radio station after another, but the content was all the same. The wreckage of the World Trade Center was still smoldering, and that’s all anyone on the news was discussing.
Earlier that year, while on tour in Boston, I was having a solo lunch in my hotel when a group consisting of a man and a woman accompanied by two girls, both of them not quite teenagers, walked into the restaurant. When I’m in those situations, I tend to watch people. In this case, it soon became apparent that the two adults were in the early stages of a romantic relationship while their two respective daughters were simply along for the ride, with the adults seated in one booth and the girls in the one next door. While the adults were busy getting acquainted, what were the girls doing? Both of them had their noses buried in individual copies of the most recent Harry Potter book.
I knew about the Harry Potter books, of course, but I had never read one When my new book happened to come out at the same time one of those was published, I could just as well have stayed home rather than going out on tour. But somewhere on Bill’s and my long drive between here and Memphis, we went into a bookstore and bought the first book in the Harry Potter series—on cassette tape, by the way. At the time eight-tracks were over and CDs didn’t exist back. Neither did streaming for that matter.
For the remainder of the trip we spent the time being caught up in J.K. Rowling’s world. When we went into restaurants, 9/11 was still the only topic of conversation, but at our table, Bill and I were discussing the rules of Quidditch and the many good-versus-evil goings on in Harry Potter’s young life. We finished listening to the last available book in the series at the time in a parking lot outside our hotel in Boise on our way home. That was my first experience with audio books, and I was amazed how listening to stories helped the miles roll by.
Now please forgive me for going off on a tangent and deviating from the story you thought I was telling because, as it turns out, something else was happening in October of 2001—the Major League Baseball playoffs. I am not a fan of baseball. At Greenway School in Bisbee, Arizona, in the fifties, every October, at the insistence of the PE teacher, all students from fourth grade up were herded into the auditorium where we were required to watch and KEEP SCORE for each game of the World Series.
The TV set on the stage was a console and probably the largest screen available at the time—21 inches, but for someone who was severely nearsighted, the action on that sickly green screen wasn’t at all accessible. I had to keep asking people what had happened so I could fill in my score sheet. The only words I remember the announcers saying during the course of those World Series punishment sessions and the ones that remain with me to this day were these: No runs, no hits, no errors, and no one left on base.
So on Bill’s and my Seattle to Memphis sojourn, while stopping for a meal at a bar/restaurant somewhere in Mississippi, we were astonished to see that not only was there a Major League Baseball game playing on the TV set over the bar, the Seattle Mariners were in it. So we stayed and watched until it was over—and the Mariners lost. And that’s the last time I watched a baseball game on TV, until this past week—some twenty-four years later.
Yes, Bill and I watched that FIFTEEN INNING marathon between the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers from beginning to end. As soon as the Mariners won, I knew there was more baseball in my immediate future. Over the weekend, we watched the first two play-off games between the Mariners and the Blue Jays, and I’m sure we’ll be watching the third one tomorrow at five PM.
So remember that old song?
Take me out to the ballgame.
Take me out to the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks
I don’t care if I never come back
Let me root, root, root for the home team.
If they don’t win it’s a shame,
‘Cause it’s one, two, three strikes your out
At the old ball game.
By the way, does anybody still eat Cracker Jacks and, if so, does each box still have a prize in it?
Yes there are still cracker jacks – not very many peanuts in them and the prize is lame!!
Another great Friday blog. I go to bed on Thursday night wondering what delight awaits me in my inbox when I wake up. Like you, I was never a baseball fan, unlike you, I still am not.
Blessing to you and Bill.
I love today’s blog, especially how you ended it. Baseball. It is something to me that was “handed down” from my Dad. He took me to my first Major League game. The Dodgers were playing their first games in California at the LA Coliseum. He was an avid fan. He’d sit with a transistor radio (remember them) in his pocket with an earphone while the TV was on for the family TV time. I now watch the Dodger games while I read YOUR BOOKS! Of course, during the post-season, I watch the other games, including your Mariners and Blue Jays. I hope it is the Dodgers/Mariners in the World Series – and then you and I can root for “our teams.”
Thank you again for another memory provoking blog, as always.
I don’t know, but I will be checking the next time I go to the grocery store and I’ll let you know. I grew up playing softball and watching baseball actually listening to it before we watched it and we used to listen to the Yankees and the Giants in the World Series on the radio it was thrilling. I like a good game my family lives near the Giants stadium in San Francisco and so we’re always enjoying the fireworks that go off at the end of the game and the orange shirts that fill the town on game day.
I haven’t seen Cracker Jacks in stores for years, and for violin teachers, they’re missed, because a ruler used to be fastened onto a cracker jack box and then toddlers would learn to carry them around between jaw and collarbone in preparation for holding a pint-sized violin. But regarding baseball, I have no idea whether it has ended for the season or not, because I don’t have television, but if I did, I’d have to root for the Blue Jays, because that’s the only team I’ve ever watched while sitting in the actual stadium instead of in front of a TV. A bunch of us NITs (Nuns in Training) from Alberta were in London, Ontario, for some sort of long-forgotten course, and someone kindly provided us with a trip to the game in Toronto. The Blue Jays lost to the Cincinnati Reds that night, but it was still exciting to be there in person.
I haven’t seen cracker jacks in the stores for years, which is a loss to violin teachers, who would fasten a ruler to a cracker jack box for a toddler to carry around between jaw and collarbone in preparation for holding an actual pint-sized violin.
But about the baseball–I have no idea whether or not it’s over for the season, because I don’t have television, but I’m afraid I’d have to root for the Blue Jays, because that’s the only team whose game I’ve actually attended live. A bunch of us NIT’s (nuns in training) were in London, Ontario, for some long-forgotten course, and a kind soul provided us with a trip to Toronto to see the game. The Blue Jays lost to the Cincinnati Reds, but it was still exciting to actually be present in the stadium for a real, live game.
Funny you should ask about that. The parent company Frito -Lay just announced that they would be replacing the actual surprise in the box with a “virtual” one the kids can access with their smart phones.
Happy, happy belated birthday!
A longtime fan and admirer of you and your writing,
Penny
P.S. Will you be doing another visit to Joyner Green Valley Library any time soon?
My husband talks about listening to World Series on the radio at school in Buckeye, AZ.
I really love listening to books on CD as I drive to and from my house cleaning jobs. I get so engrossed in the stories that when I get home if I’m in a very exciting part of the story I stay parked in the driveway and listen to that part of it. I love your books. Always have. I own everything that you’ve written so far. And appreciate your talent for more than you could ever know.
Love the original version of Take me out to the Ballgame, it written about a woman who preferred going to a game rather than going to the movies, Katie Casey. You can hear it on YouTube with Carly Simon.
Truly enjoy your work and Friday musings.
Susan
great
Wonderful memory blog…thanks!
I still eat CrackerJacks on occasion. They are now come in a bag and the prizes are terrible. Usually a press on tattoo. They are still pretty good!
Yes, Cracker Jack is still available and contain prizes but not the fun ones we had as kids because of the chocking hazard (pouring the contents directly in the mouth). Now they have something kids can’t swallow by accident, which I don’t understand because as a kid, the first thing we did was look for the prize.
We have been Mariners fans since they started in ’77. That 15 inning game, almost did us in! I’m sitting by our R.V., in the sun ? Monument Valley. What a beautiful R.V. Resort! These Monuments are too beautiful!
As a Pittsburgh, PA, native, Pirates baseball and Bob Prince the announcer were usually on in our home. My dad used to love singing “Take me out to the ballgame.”
Cracker Jacks was a treat I begged for a lot when shopping with mom, but our finances rarely permitted the extra expense; I sure looked forward to those surprises when we splurged. As an adult I would buy it for our kids, and eat some, but noticed how they skimped on the caramel and peanuts in the later years. (Animal Crackers were also desired, but maybe you can tell a story about those sometime later?)
Now, JA, thanks to you I’m reveling in those sweet memories. (I’m 77.)
Audiobooks are great. I am reading The Girl from Indian Lake with my ears when driving. Audiobooks allow me to create a mental picture of the action. James Patterson is another favorite author, but his books don’t translate to audio very well. I grew up in central Missouri, and the KC Royals and the StL Cardinals are my teams. I remember listening to Harry Cary call the games before he was exiled to Chicago.
Hi!
Cracker Jack still has prizes but they are not the fun ones we had as kids because of possible choking hazard. They replaced them with something larger that can’t be swallowed when eating the Cracker Jack from the box. I don’t understand this because we always looked for the prize before eating the CJ. There were pop corn and peanuts all over the place.
There is still Cracker Jack but there is now a Jill also…..shocking, eh??!! The prize has dwindled to a tattoo in most cases….I switched to peanuts!!!!
Boy do I remember Cracker Jacks and the prizes…….. have not seen one in a while, but I certainly have seen a few ball games. When we lived in Michigan many many years ago I was first introduced to baseball when our sixth grade class was taken to see the Detroit Tigers play. We met Al Kaline who had just been recruited by the Tigers. I wont tell the whole tale but Al and I became pen-pals and kept in touch for years……….
Still love it . . . .however our homemade caramel is better!
Nope, not the prizes of yore.
Still love it – however our home made version is better!
Nope prizes are not what they were long ago.
Yes and yes°
Everyone calls them Cracker Jacks, but the are correctly called Cracker Jack.
The Sounder train, mainly a comuter, had an extra trip south scheduled for 45 minutes after the last out! I wondered if they’d had to change crews. Friends who were at that game told us about the 14th inning stretch!
Welcome to Baseball, JAJ!!
Hubs and I share a box of Cracker Jacks once during the MLB season, just because of the famous song. (Prize enclosed, but it is no prize.) However, we’ve migrated to Crunch n’ Munch (Butter Toffee) and regardless of no prize, it’s tastier.
Joe Garagiola, of MLB Fame, was married 66 years. When asked what the secret of a long, happy marriage was, he, without hesitation replied, “Road Trips.”
Sending our best to you and yours from Yuma. AND… thank you for the special autographed book. It was a great read and is classified as another Jance Treasure.
Welcome back to baseball. Being from Chicago we are die hard Cubs fans and watch every game we are able to get in our area of Florida. We do not pay for the high priced MBL package. Other games we can listen to through our Echo Dot/Sirius radio app. I’m a big fan of listening to games also and since the announcers have been around so long they are like old friends. The Cubs won their first World Series in over 100 years in 2016. They didn’t make it past the playoffs this year but as us Cubbie fans say “wait till next year!” We have switched our hopes to Seattle because we know how it feels to always be waiting for that magic and because my sister lives there. The games have been exciting and a little heartbreaking. Just like watching the Cubs so we feel right at home. Go Mariners!!
Haven’t had Cracker Jacks in a long time–will have to buy them next time I’m at the store. I think you have to buy a 3-pack. My sister never watched baseball until this series started–you’d think she was an expert at it now–crazy. We (my sister, Sandy Haug, and I) won’t be at Third Place Books on the 29th. Two reasons–my husband just passed away on 10/19, and we three decided it was just too dark for three old(er) women to be out then. But we have The Girl From Devils Lake and will bring it to be signed at your next appearance in the area.
So sorry to hear of your husband’s death…I’m still mourning the death of my husband in February. You are in my prayers.