Yesterday was a lot of fun for John and I and not at all for Lucy. Here is how the day went. At 10 AM we had an appointment for Cat Calls (vet who makes home visits from her van) to come to our home to clean Lucy's teeth. Since this involves anesthesia we could not let her eat anything after midnight the night before. Lucy looked perplexed when her food bowl was missing. Then she tried everything to communicate she was hungry, including pawing at the pantry door where the food is kept and being extra nice and then being bad. When the vet arrived at 10 the real trauma began. John carried her to the van and I took pictures. It was heartbreaking when she buried her head in his stomach. Since we got the tickets to the lunch with the Reds after this dental appt the vet took Lucy back to her house to do the cleaning and would return her @ 2PM. We thought the lunch was from noon - 1PM so we thought the timing would work well. Thank goodness we drove to the stadium, usually we walk. 
Anyhow, we were a few minutes late arriving which is kinda embarassing. Ironically one of my new tenants (moving in in June) who works for the Reds was one of the first people I saw when we got to the luncheon. The Reds Membership director was already speaking when we arrived. Also ironic we were seated at Table #1 which was front and center to the podium. The lunch was buffet style so we grabbed some food and got seated. Then the players started coming around to each table along with Reds photographers. I took very few pictures but will buy some online. I may even buy one on a mug for John for his birthday. The players and management at this lunch:
- Micah Ownings Pitcher
- Laynce Nix Outfielder (center field)
- Ramon Hernandez Catcher
- Dusty Baker Coach
- Tommy Helms Former Reds player & mgr (replaced Pete Rose as mgr in '88)
- Phil Castelinni COO
- George Grande ESPN broadcaster and emcee for the lunch
So by the time the players, Dusty Baker and George Grande made it to every table it was 1PM. George Grande (who was fantastic) did a 15 minute intro and then opened it up for a 30 minute Q&A. At this point I was getting anxious and thought I should leave to call Dr Lawrence (Cat Call doctor) but John didn't think we would be late so I did not call. Well the Q&A did go a little long but (again embarassing) we left before it ended.
My impressions: Dusty Baker is well spoken, interesting and friendly. The players were very kind and surprisingly all soft spoken. But George Grande really carried the event in my opinion. When someone would ask a boring question George would follow up with something more to get the players to talk. He really impressed me with his knowledge. Arthur Rhodes said one of the more amusing things. He said he thought the umps on their recent San Diego road trip really screwed the Reds. I think it surprised Dusty to hear the candor but he also seemed to agree with Rhodes. The players refer to Dusty as "Bake" and appear to be very dedicated to him.
So we got home about 5 minutes before Lucy was delivered. She was hyperventilating (but she is somewhat of a drama queen) and very wobbly on her feet. She was vocally very sad too. Lucy slept most of the afternoon while John worked. And she wanted nothing to do with us until later that evening. Today she is back to herself. I thought it was sweet that Dr. Lawrence called to check on her condition today.
So after Lucy was settled I went to Tropical Foliage to buy plant material for the conservatory gift shop. We should sell more than ususal as it is Memorial Day weekend. By the time I got the plants to the conservatory it was 5PM which was perfect as I could check in and re-stock when no one was around. Except as I was stocking a wedding dress rehearsal arrived and they were using the lobby (where I was working). I asked the bride and my boss if they wanted me to wait until they were finished. Thankfully neither cared if I finished. Just struck me as a wierd way to end my day. 
No comments:
Post a Comment