... i began my morning by missing it, sleeping in until almost noon ... sounds a lot worse than it really was, since my wakeup was only about eight hours after i'd fallen asleep in the wee hours of the morn reading ... after c.j. treated me to a great lunch i took a ride over to microcenter to purchase a 6" usb cable ... odd, how there was a time i could spend hours roaming the aisles in the computer "superstore," while now i only stopped there because i know the shelf prices are even better than amazon ... in the parking lot i was fascinated by these shapes along the railroad tracks ...
... this evening jane and carl took me to see a cincinnati reds baseball game ... the park is huge ... our seats were three rows off the field, just below where the yellow-shirt vender is holding up a tray of cotton candy ...
... jane and c.j. ... a long, long time ago i served in the military with c.j. ... they have always provided me a second home in ohio ...
... after a few innings i decided to go on a little exploration of the ballpark ...
... atop the southwestern heights of the stadium i found an excellent vantage point from which to view john roebling's famous bridge ... when it opened in 1866 it was the longest suspension bridge in the world ... i hope the two young ladies were emailing pictures of the magnificent structure to their friends, i hate to think they were just playing angry birds ... can you imagine going back in time and trying to explain what's happening in this scene to roebling ...
... just recently opened, a new insurance company skyscraper now dominates the cincinnati skyline ... i can remember not all that long ago when the downtown was in a decline and there were some who thought it would be decades, or perhaps even longer, before the city would begin to recover ...
... tucked away beneath the stadium seats i found a little alcove in which there were fans who seemed to have settled in to the perfect combination of the noise of the crowd, creature comforts, and a great view of the game ... going to the ballpark to watch a live game on tv ... interesting, very, very interesting ...
... if nothing else, perhaps just an exercise in the application of the "zone system" to the geometric sublime ... there are times, i think, that me and my little camera belong back in the 1930s ...
... i bought a giant waffle cone filled with delicious united farmer's ice cream for jane and c.j. ... i got lost returning to my seat, so it was dripping a bit by the time i handed it to them ... this, of course, would be the "polite and neat" snapshot of them enjoying it ... (i'll hold onto the other picture until the time is right) ...
... after the game we were treated to the friday night fireworks show ...
... we all had a great time watching the pyrotechnics, but, as i'm sure is how it's supposed to be, the kids seemed to enjoy it most ...
... on and off during the entire evening in addition to the ballgame i enjoyed watching this mother cuddle, toss, tickle, raspberry and otherwise entertain her little boy ... brave little fellow, that's a chicago cubs hat he's wearing ...
... it was a wonderful evening ...