Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox' dreadlocked, baggy-pants left-fielding malcontent, has gotten his wish and been banished, er, traded, to the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Note: Not the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles, just the Los Angeles Dodgers. Period. See how that works, Arte Moreno?) The Red Sox may miss his powerful bat, but the man had worn out his welcome with his erratic defensive play, lackadaisical approach to running, criticism of management, and the frequent self-diagnosed ailments that would keep him from playing in important games.
He was an instrumental part of the 2004 and 2007 World Championship teams, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2004 World Series. It was the 2004 team in whose honor Tessie was named, so Manny's departure, though inevitable and probably the best thing for all concerned, brings a touch of sadness.
The sadness is compounded by the fact that Manny was Tessie's favorite player. She never expressed that sentiment as such, but it was obvious when watching games. The happy-go-lucky outfielder with the baggy pants and wild hair was immediately recognizable (although Tessie occasionally thought that similarly coiffed and complected Angels right fielder Vladimir Guerrero was also Manny), and Tessie would refer to all Red Sox players as "Manny" until she recognized them for themselves. Her first four-word sentence may actually have been "Manny hit home run!" The last time we watched the Red Sox, Manny did in fact hit a home run, much to Tessie's delight. She'll miss seeing him in a Red Sox uniform, I'm sure.
The good news is that he's joined our local team, and we'll be seeing him in his new uniform this weekend. Tessie is already looking forward to it.
31 July 2008
29 July 2008
Patriots on Parade
Unbeknowst to us, the Undisclosed Location to which we have moved does the Fourth of July in a big way, with events in town beginning on the Third and including free concerts, activities for the kids, a beer garden for adults who can tolerate Budweiser, and vintage aircraft flyovers. Even better, Travels with Tessie World Headquarters is located a scant 50 yards from the parade route. Better still, that portion of the parade route is in the designated "Splash Zone," meaning water balloons, super soakers and all manner of other water-flinging apparati are fair game. And to top it all off, the guy who lives two houses up from us is a local Fire Chief. That guy has access to serious water pressure. Trust me.
July Fourth is also, by a freakishly awful coincidence, the birthday of one George Steinbrenner. Tessie dressed appropriately:
July Fourth is also, by a freakishly awful coincidence, the birthday of one George Steinbrenner. Tessie dressed appropriately:
The parade draws people from miles around. Here in the bluest of Blue States it's a bit surprising to see so much unabashed patriotism. 
Even the cars are patriotic:
Vintage military vehicles were popular: 
As was good ol' American fiberglass:
That's a local city Council Member in a 1953 Corvette:
And what parade would be complete without these guys?:
And bringing up the rear, The Unknown Band:
Tessie had a great time watching all the participants, and none of us got too badly soaked. Next year, we'll be better prepared!
Earthquake #2!
Just what we needed to get me out of my procrastinating malaise and start posting again!
And by the way, we're all fine.
Tessie's second earthquake (the first was back in September) was a 5.4, centered approximately 20 miles southeast of the Undisclosed Location. Tessie is at her day care, probably delighted by the rocking and rolling but otherwise heedless of the nature of the event.
Travels with Tessie World Headquarters is also fine, despite that fact that yours truly has yet to actually fasten the furniture to the walls. (And now that this earthquake is over, and it will likely be years before the next one [knock wood], I may not get to it for a while. [Just kidding.])
UPDATE: Tessie did indeed make it through the quake unscathed, as did her entire daycare facility. Staff there informed us that all of the kids Tessie's age were completely oblivious to the shaking, but some of the older kids got scared. In any case, everyone was evacuated and they held nap time outside while the facility was inspected for damage. So Tessie got an afternoon al fresco snooze out of the whole thing. Not bad.
And by the way, we're all fine.
Tessie's second earthquake (the first was back in September) was a 5.4, centered approximately 20 miles southeast of the Undisclosed Location. Tessie is at her day care, probably delighted by the rocking and rolling but otherwise heedless of the nature of the event.
Travels with Tessie World Headquarters is also fine, despite that fact that yours truly has yet to actually fasten the furniture to the walls. (And now that this earthquake is over, and it will likely be years before the next one [knock wood], I may not get to it for a while. [Just kidding.])
UPDATE: Tessie did indeed make it through the quake unscathed, as did her entire daycare facility. Staff there informed us that all of the kids Tessie's age were completely oblivious to the shaking, but some of the older kids got scared. In any case, everyone was evacuated and they held nap time outside while the facility was inspected for damage. So Tessie got an afternoon al fresco snooze out of the whole thing. Not bad.
22 July 2008
Reality Tessie
Tessie doesn't show a lot of interest in television, and I have to say we like it that way. She still has a favorite show, however. She asks for it almost every time she enters the media room, even though she is well outside of the show's target demographic. We've even got an episode recorded on the DVR in the event she asks for it and it's not on. This isn't a habit she picked up from her parents, either; we don't watch the show. I think she spotted it once while we were channel surfing, and she's been hooked since.
It's Deadliest Catch, or, as Tessie calls it, "Crabby Show," on the Discovery Channel. Really. This particular entry in the reality genre is about the crab harvest in Alaska and follows the captains and crews of several fishing boats as they try to outdo each other and bring home the most bacon, er, crustacean. She seems to enjoy watching the boats and the waves, but from Tessie's point of view the real stars are the crabs themselves, as they spill out of the pots and skitter across the decks of the boats before being confined in holds below. Squeals of delight accompany images of "crabbies" dashing this way and that, or when a crewman gets conked on the head by a flying crab pot, or when big waves make everyone slip and slide around the deck.
Fortunately, Tessie shows no conflict at the thought of eating crab. Or fish, or pig, or chicken, or any of the other animals she sees in her picture books and on her plates. Her day care has enormous fish tanks for the amusement of the kiddies, and she gleefully watches them swim and dart around, but she just as gleefully asks for seconds when we have fish for dinner. She's a good, well-rounded carnivore, just like her parents. Wonder how long that will last.
It's Deadliest Catch, or, as Tessie calls it, "Crabby Show," on the Discovery Channel. Really. This particular entry in the reality genre is about the crab harvest in Alaska and follows the captains and crews of several fishing boats as they try to outdo each other and bring home the most bacon, er, crustacean. She seems to enjoy watching the boats and the waves, but from Tessie's point of view the real stars are the crabs themselves, as they spill out of the pots and skitter across the decks of the boats before being confined in holds below. Squeals of delight accompany images of "crabbies" dashing this way and that, or when a crewman gets conked on the head by a flying crab pot, or when big waves make everyone slip and slide around the deck.
Fortunately, Tessie shows no conflict at the thought of eating crab. Or fish, or pig, or chicken, or any of the other animals she sees in her picture books and on her plates. Her day care has enormous fish tanks for the amusement of the kiddies, and she gleefully watches them swim and dart around, but she just as gleefully asks for seconds when we have fish for dinner. She's a good, well-rounded carnivore, just like her parents. Wonder how long that will last.
10 July 2008
Will return soon...
The move to Travels With Tessie World Headquarters has been dragging on a bit, hasn't it? Just yesterday, we (finally) got a new desk delivered and (mostly) set up the computer, so blogging activities will resume shortly.
When they do, we'll have plenty of material to post, as the last month and a half have been exceptionally busy. For now, though, I present the above photograph, taken after the Dodgers' 1-0 victory over the Angels on June 29th, in which the Dodgers prevailed despite the combined no-hitter hurled by Anaheim's (or is that Los Angeles of Anaheim's?) Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo.
So Tessie gets all the breaks: on her very short baseball fan resume, she's already got a Red Sox World Series Championship and a live, in-person no-hitter. I hope she appreciates that her father took much longer to witness the same feats.
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