Last night, the Matron was offered an exquisite moment at a Parkway Little League Board Meeting. Because she is that kind of person (not parent, person), the Matron is a Board member for her sons' Little League chapter. Even as she is the kind of person who steps up to the plate when asked, she is definitely not schooled - or comfortable-- in the world of Sport.
Scroll back to last week! Big tournament! Bases loaded, last batter, the other team at bat! Score? Tie! Can you say tension? The other team's batter whales into the ball which soars about one million miles high right above Stryker's open glove. When her child caught that ball and sent the game into extra innings (as opposed to losing!) the Matron's knee's buckled and she fell and grabbed the Board President's gruff hand and said: " I can't stand it!"
He said: "Now I can go to my grave. See what happens when you don't bring the laptop?"
Scroll back even FARTHER. The Matron has a big brain, Anti-Body reputation at Little League. Not only does she read books instead of watching games (usually), she is dressed entirely inappropriately for ball parks (she likes heels and skirts for these events). But as a Board member, last year, she wrote a $119,000 grant for that organization! Which they got! Fields redone, parking lot paved, safe driveways. So she's been a teeny tiny bit the Academic Writer We Are Happy to Have but Don't Understand.
She's not saying this to self-aggrandize. It's context. Trust her!
So last night, the Board -- a hockey-stick wielding, football-watching sort of bunch who know the name of the Viking's quarterback and the roster for the Twin's basic line-up (is line-up the right word?) -- had their monthly meeting at Parkway Little League fields, well after the players had left. The sun parted ways with the sky, a thin gray veil of night slowly descended. The fields had just been mowed, and the sweat and joy of 50 boys still hung over the fields.
Sitting at the park, the Board President cracked open a case of Michelob Light. Cans.
He tossed beers to the Board members, warning "shhh! We don't normally do this!" And when he got to the Matron, knowing the glass slipper she wears to Parkway, he said this: "Mary! I brought a 2005 Pinot Noir. Would you like some?"
On my God! She nearly fell over! Is she actually that bad?
She took the beer. It was a beautiful night.
11 comments:
Awesome wine/beer ending. And thank you that I am not the only one reading at baseball games. I do not regret that my son traded in 9 years of watching the grass grow - um I mean baseball - for rugby! Concussions are much more exciting...
I'm glad you've been able to experience the joy of sport. And beer.
That ending was priceless! Good for you getting that grant! That is a lot of money.
And seeing that moment with your boy...definitely a moment when you want to look your best - in heels and skirt.
They love you. How could they not? You lend some "tone" to their gathering.
Oh, June Cleaver, must you wear heels to the ball park? They, like their partner in torture, the bra, are not for us schlumpa dinkas. I have an excuse in the form of Sasquatch feet and a painful lump in my booby.
The wine was thoughtful; you just look too pretty for the beer.
(We with the books get the reading thing. It happens.)
That is so sweet, wine just for you! Who say's you're not a success? I'd be offered the beer, without a second thought.
Having just tapped away on my laptop during a karate class last night, I am with you. But I have no ending as rich and layered and fun as yours. I'd have taken both the beer and the wine.
I really love my football but still feel the need to have reading material and/or the laptop wherever I might get a chance to sit.
And GO YOU with the big time grant! I say the board should have offered you the whole bottle of wine...
LOL! If I'd been one of the ladies offered a beer I'd be sooo mad. I like beer, but it had better be a bottle, and none of that "pale ale" crap.
Obviously you add a ton of class to what could otherwise be a belch-and-scratch kind of group. And they must want to keep you for a very, very long time or they'd not have thought to bring the wine. They've discovered there's a reason or tow, or 119,000 to keep the lady in high heels.
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