Weekend Past

Well, this past weekend was quite a trip! First off my birthday was Friday and the goal for Friday was to be in Wichita, KS. watching a play at the Crown Uptown Theatre which my son Billy was performing. Shelley and I had decided to both take the day off so we could get an early start for KS. and have some time to spend with Billy before he had to be at the theatre. Well, we left at 0930 hrs, so much for early. I'm one of those guys that likes to get on the road between 4 and 6 in the morning, (thanks mom). Mom used to like to do that as well, of course she would also want to drive until dark. There was one trip we made driving straight through from Electra to Phoenix AZ.. The trip was being funded by an Uncle of mine and she didn't want to use his credit card for anything but gas, Uncle Mel was very upset, anyway I digress. The trip took us about 7 hours with the rain and storms that we had to pass through, but we made it. Billy decided that he would just meet us at the motel and visit with us until he had to leave for the theatre. On this trip we also did something that we have never done before and that was bring our family pet, which meant staying at a pet friendly motel, our selection was Motel 6. We had a pretty good visit before it was time to go and off we went to the show.



The show was the same show that he performed in Branson and he was in the same role that he played in Branson, the only difference were the actors around him. Well, that made a BIG difference in the quality of the show. You could tell by the way the show went that this was a group of professionals that truly enjoyed working with each other. All of the cast members played a musical instrument and most of them played three or more instruments including Billy who played the stand up base, mandolin and guitar. Oh BTW the leading actress was played by Ms Kim Dugan, former Ms KS. and she was brilliant! Anyway, after the shows each evening the cast set around and visited with each other and we were invited to join them Friday night which made my birthday a long long day but a very memorable one. You know that no matter how old your children get you still worry about them and want them to have positive experiences in life. After this visit we can rest assured that this is going to be a good experience for Billy. Finally, Shelley and I got back to the motel around midnight and settled in for a good snooze. Now this is where things turned sour.

At about 0230 hrs our phone rang, I picked it up worried that is was Billy with bad news but instead it was Cindy who said she thought she was calling Stacy! Not too bad right? Well Cindy decided to start getting friendly over the phone with me. What's you name? What are you doing? Do you have to work tomorrow? What do you do for a living? I played along for a bit and then I advised my new best friend that I was not interested and that I was going back to bed with my wife! She sounded hurt and was trying to say something else when I hung the phone up. Then back to sleep I fell until around 0430 hrs. when the party outside in the court yard arrived and that went on for about 30 minutes until someone from the motel staff finally arrived on the scene and broke the party up. Motel 6, they kept the light on all night and have friendly folks calling your room in case you get lonely being so far from home!

Saturday went much better, we had a brunch with Billy and then off to the Wichita Zoo we went! It was a pretty nice zoo and showed evidence of expanding and making things even better. The weather cooperated and besides the wind it was a good day for all. We went to the show again and headed for home around noon on Sunday. Anyway, if you are around Wichita between now and June 7th, stop by the Crown Uptown in Wichita, KS and see "Smoke on the Mountain" , I guarantee that it will be a positive experience for you too and as far as Motel 6 is concerned, we just unplugged our phone and had a good night sleep on Saturday night!

Now What Do We Do?

Well, I have a dilemma, we are on our way to see our youngest son perform in Wichita, KS. and we want to take Scooter with us. I'm retired military so we were hoping to be able to stay in lodging on McConnell AFB but there are no pet rooms available at this time. We are now in a search for pet friendly motels but the ones we have call so far want to charge a pretty pricey pet deposit. We could just leave Scooter with his brother and my son's family but my youngest wants to meet Scooter. Anyway, a decision has to be made soon; if anyone has any suggestions please let me know! We want so much to take him we just don't know if this is a good time or not.

My next rant is; what has happened to youth baseball? My oldest grandson Dallas starts t-ball this spring. My son, who is going to coach his team informed me that this league provides shirts only! I can understand not providing baseball pants but what about the hats? This league says that the hats have to be provided by the player. When I entered LL Baseball I was provided a t-shirt and ball cap and in case my mom couldn't afford a glove, the team equipment bag had several gloves in it to be used by the team. I was fortunate that I always had my own glove but there were kids on my team that if there weren't gloves in that bag they wouldn't have been able to play. Some folks may argue that the cost has gotten to be too much, we had sponsors and their cost went up if need be and they knew they were expected to buy t-shirts and caps. As far as the cost for field up-keep, we had work days and parents got out there before the season started and numerous times during the season to insure that the kids had a safe place to play, they were called "volunteers"! Now every facility thinks they need to hire someone to do the maintenance for the fields. People have just gotten lazy and don't even want to go through the effort to organize work days and things of such. We even had volunteers to mow the fields and when it was time to mow it, was time to repair the field. Oh well, I guess things aren't what they used to be! Thanks for listening! Oh BTW you will be receiving Dallas "the Slugger" Rowland t-ball reports as the season progresses because you know PaPaw will be right there helping out where he can!

Meet Scooter Rowland!

One of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life was having to put our family dog Dusty down. I was heart broken and I swore that I would never own another pet especially a dog. Well, this past weekend I saw why you should never say never. Please allow me to introduce to my readers the latest addition to the Rowland Family......Mr. Scooter Rowland!

He's a charmer and brother to my grandson's puppy Rowdy! I don't know why I waited 5 years to get another dog. Welcome to the family Scooter!!

You Never Know

This week has been one tough week. On Friday the 10th I received a text message that a very dear friend of mine had lost his 26 year old daughter. I was heart broken and called my friend immediately. Well as you can imagine I wasn't able to speak to Charles until Saturday morning and he and his Sharon were devastated. He tried to explain to me what had happened as he understood it to be and then Sharon completed the call. Charles has been like a brother to me and this was like losing a niece. Shelley and I spent Easter morning on the road to Big Spring, TX.. It was a long drive but Shelley and I felt like we needed to be there for Charles and Sharon. Once we arrived in Big Spring Charles shared with me his final moments with his daughter. He told me that the last words spoken between the two of them were "I love you". This child entered into eternity knowing without a doubt that she was loved by her father and mother.

Anytime I speak with my sons it often ends with an "I love you". There have been time when I wondered if I say it too much and it comes across as just another comment, but when I think of how fragile our lives are I realize how important it is to let those you love know how you feel about them. I didn't have a father at home but every time I spoke to him he told me how much he loved me and I believed it, and as dysfunctional as our family was I knew I was loved because none of us were afraid to say "I love you".

Your assignment today is tell someone that is special to you, how much they mean to you, tell them that you love them!

I love you Jeremy, Jason, and Billy aka William!

It Happened!

Well I was worried that when I started this blog that something like this would happen and it did. I am sorry to the friend that were reading my blog and I hope I can get this thing cranked back up again.

There has been so much to happen since I last wrote that I don't know where to start, so I'll just keep it simple.

My youngest, William, who was in Branson is now in Wichita, KS.. He was hired by the Crown Uptown Theatre and will be playing the exact same role that he played in Branson, only this time it has been a more positive experience.

Jeremy and Stephanie are expecting their third child so their lives have been full of trying to figure out things like a name and where to put her or him when she or he gets here.

Jason and Lindsey have had their hands full with their two boys between birthday parties, soccer, and soon t-ball.

Shelley and I are in the market for a new or very good used SUV crossover. We have been driving them all and think we are about to settle on the Saturn Outlook. If anyone has any warnings or suggestions please speak now!!

I can't believe the price of these SUV's how in the sam hill could they be broke! But that's another subject for another day!

I will try to get on here and do some more sharing about the things I love! Hey it's baseball season I should have plenty to say!!

"This is the Day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Why Baseball! (Rant)

There are few sports where a young boy growing up can legitimately dreaming of playing on a professional level, baseball is one of those sports. At 6 years old I began playing baseball with visions of playing some day in Yankee Stadium. In my dreams I was the all-star short-stop, pitcher or catcher that single handily won the world series. I watched the major league player and tried to emulate every move they made. The first moves I learned was at bat, I would pick-up some dirt in my hands and rub it in to my hands and into the wooden bat I was about to swing, then just before I would step into the batters box I would spit some juice from my double-bubble gum on the ground. Next I would take the bat and knock the dirt off of my tennis shoes, which later became metal spikes. When I would pitch, the catcher and I would come up with 3 signs (1 was the fastball, 2 the curve-ball and 3 the slider), just so I could shake them off for the only pitch I really knew how to throw, fastball down the middle. Well to me it was a fastball! I will say that pitching was not my strongest position, I was much better on the other side of the batter. I was small with quick hands and when I got to SR League ball, right on top of the bag at second base was the extent of my arm strength therefore, anyone trying to steal on me had very little chance if the ball came to me in a timely manner. I loved the game, it was one of few places where I felt like I was loved back. I loved it so much that when I finished playing, which in my home town was about 17, I started umpiring and coaching and did so from 1974 until 1998. Well, anyway I told you that to tell you this, I am crushed at what baseball has become today. There are very few player in the sport today that do it, for the love of the game. Greed, as with everything else has infected my sport to the point of destruction. The championships have been bought and sold for a price. The Yankee's whom I grew up loving, are a disgrace to the greats that played there before them. Oh I'm not saying that the Yankees of old were saints by any stretch but they loved the game and it wasn't all about the money for them. Today's players will change teams in a heartbeat if the price is right, just ask A-Rod. The good thing about what is happening now is that the players that truly love the game stick out above the rest, Derek Jeter and Micheal Young, just to name two. I was fortunate to grow up with baseball in the time that I did. Who do the youngster have to emulate today? Lord, before I got out of coaching that first thing I would have to do was break habits that the youngsters had learned by watching the players today. It was difficult to bat everybody through batting practise on that first practise because the kid would take a swing and want to back out of the batters box and adjust, EVERYTHING! When they realized that Coach Dale didn't stop throwing just because they needed to adjust, they would stay in the box and work on their hitting skills.

Well, in light of everything that is coming out now with the cheating of the game through performance enhancing drugs, and lying about your use until you get caught, you would think I would be through with the sport. The answer is NO, I loved this game from the first time I played catch with my brother to the last time I walked across the infield to congratulate the other team for a game well played. I love the smell of the leather glove on my had and the sound of the wooden bat cracking a leather baseball to deep center field. I will continue to love it to the day I play catcher for Saint Peter's Gatekeepers. There's a line in the movie "The Rookie" where Jim Morris comes up to another rookie and says, "Hey, Brooks, you know what we get to do today? .....we get to play baseball!" or another movie when Kevin Costner realized he wasn't what he used to be, he resigned from the game with a baseball to the GM that simply said "For the Love of the Game". That's what baseball used to be about. Oh yeah, my oldest grandson Dallas, starts Tee-Ball this year and guess what, I'm back in coaching, right along side my son! One because he is my grandson, and two because I want him to learn how great this game can be with hard work and determination. Baseball is special to me and I want it to be special for my grandchildren! Here's a poem my son wrote about his love of the game enjoy!


“A Day at the Ballpark”
By Jason E. Rowland

As Dad and I walked to the booth “tickets for sale”,
Programs! Programs! The man out front yelled.

As we walked through the gate my eyes opened wide,
I couldn’t wait to see inside.

We walked up the ramp and I was amazed,
When I saw the green grass and the batting cage.

I’ll never forget the sound as we sat,
It was Pudge Rodriguez and the crack of his bat.

Dad said, “here he comes the one we came for”,
The pitcher wore the number 34.

I was speechless and didn’t utter a sound,
As Nolan Ryan took the mound.

He pitched so fast the batters couldn’t see,
And they returned to the bench after strike 3.

He broke a record that hot summer day,
He had thrown 10 or more strikeouts in a consecutive game.

A new hero that day I found,
As Nolan Ryan left the mound.

My dad said, “ a hero what’s his name?”
I replied “ You dad thanks for the game”.

What a week!

It seems like a month since I posted anything on the blog! This has been one of those weeks where I spend all day on the computer and phone at work and the last thing I want to do is get back on the computer. Anyway, my thoughts for tonight goes back a few days to Groundhog Day and College Football Signing Day!


Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murry? Well in case you haven't it's a movie where Bill gets wrapped up in some sort of time freeze where he lives Groundhog Day over and over and over again. Well, that leads me to this thought how would you like to be able to live a day over and over again until you got it perfect? At first I thought man it would be great to be able to go back and correct bad decisions. Then I thought well I would also have to remember all of the good decisions I had made thoughout that day. When I really look at it I realize that I'm not the one in control anyway and I would more then likely end up smack dap in the middle of the same place I'm at. Why bother going back.

Next, how about college football signing day! This was the first time in a long time that I paid much attention to signing day for college football. I am as you know an Arkansas Razorback fan and when it comes to recruiting we have desperately lacked in signing top recruits. With a new coaching staff on board I was excited to see how well he would do in recruiting top talent. Well the day came and went and according to the local sports talk radio this was the best recruiting class in the schools history. For me that is exciting because in 1964 we did have a National Championship under Frank Broils. I know 1964, hey we gotta start somewhere. According to Rivals.com, Arkansas was ranked 14th in the nation in recruiting. The scary thing is that in the conference, SEC, there were 10 schools in the top 25 schools, and topping the list was another favorite school of mine Alabama. At number 2 just below Bama was LSU. The problem with playing in the SEC is we beat up on each other. The good thing is we play in the SEC where National Championships are won!

Buck said a few days ago: "I don’t watch football on Sundays as a general rule, believing as I do that football, the sport, is played on Saturdays… and Friday nights. Football, the bid’niz, happens on Sundays… and Monday nights and even Thursday nights, occasionally." Exile in Portales

I have to agree with you Buck, I love Friday night lights and Saturday's excitement!

You know Lou, I too have had a brain dump the only difference is I wasn't smart enough just to let it go. Oh well, I hope there is at least something in my ramblings that you like!