Play ball!

I took Jamie to a Rice baseball game the other night which was great. Though he was visibly excited when he saw the pitcher throw the first pitch I think he saw virtually none of the rest of the game, but had a blast anyway.

In the first place he liked that one cheers at the game meaning that he could, for once, yell at the top of his lungs in a fully sanctioned way. He got a good laugh when the umpire failed to punch an opposing batter out on an apparent strike three. Prompted, of course, Jamie waited until the boos subsided and let loose with a ringing "C'mon that was a STRIKE". He was applauded.

He also met a charming 6-year-old named Margaret, who came bearing a wondrous new thing: peanuts in the shell. The two of them worked their way through a whole bag of them. This was great for Jamie because it is a) a snack, the preferred form of food intake b) the shells can be discarded on the ground, so one can be messy and c) he got to bang the shell on the chair, my head, the ground, any hard surface at all. Good times.

They also chatted amiably about important things. Jamie informed Margaret (he had a bear of a time with that name) that he was a VERY good baseball player, and she said she believed him. Then dinosaurs came up and Jamie asked what Margaret's favorite dinosaur was. She answered with something made up I think, and Jamie said T-Rex was his fave. Alas, by the 6th inning it was time to go, but when we left Jamie and Margaret hugged like old friends.