Pop a la Mode

Still a little strange though. I wonder how that many people connected to all those hands fit in that small space.

I was watching Sunday Night Baseball tonight and it was announced that Skip Caray died in his sleep this afternoon at his home. He had been the Braves play-by-play announcer for over 30 years.

Losing Skip feels like losing a member of the family. His voice always reminded me of summertime in Virginia. If it was April through September, my family was watching the Braves. Even when they were horrible, we watched. And Skip was right there through it all. The one constant through player trades, less than stellar seasons and come from behind wins.

I thought it was so awesome that his dad was Harry Caray because my second favorite team was the Cubs. I always wondered if he had any choice about going in to broadcasting or if he and his dad ever worked together and how fun his childhood must have been. He grew up at Wrigley Field. How cool.

But mostly I loved the way Skip called a game. He was a Braves fan through and through. You could hear the frustration in his voice when they lost and the triumph when they won. I can still remember in the early 90s the childlike excitement in his voice when he called “Braves Win! Braves Win!” when after more than two decades of losing, they were headed to the World Series.

To this day I hate watching the Braves on any station that isn’t SportSouth or Fox Sports because I want my play-by-play announcers to be rooting for my team.

My best Skip memory is from a game at least four or five years ago. It was the bottom of the ninth, Braves were losing and on the last out, a man sitting behind home plate pulled down his pants and mooned the camera. On national television. I remember sitting in bed and thinking, is he really doing what I think he’s doing? The game ends and goes to commercial but when the post-game show came back, the next thing I hear is Skip saying, “Well, a full moon shone on the Bravos tonight.”

I died laughing because I knew it was his way of acknowledging the act without saying one word about it. And if you hadn’t seen the act, you would just think he was commenting about the evening. I loved his humor and I loved being in on his jokes.

So here’s to Skip and the many hours of enjoyment he brought me and my family. He will be missed.

I was reading something earlier this week about all the people that go on Sesame Street even though the demographic (preschoolers) has no idea who they are. They go for the adults and because it’s awesome! If I was asked to be on Sesame Street, I would totally do it.

So I was tooling around YouTube and found this clip of Elmo and Andrea Bocelli at bedtime.

It made me think of my dad because the original version was dad’s favorite song for about five years. He had the CD and would turn it up to the loudest setting, lay on the couch with his eyes closed and cross his arms over his chest. He actually looked a little dead. But I guess he was just soaking it all in.

Here’s the original version in case you’ve never heard it. I can’t blame Dad - it’s gorgeous.

Mom and Dad came through and stayed at my place last night after visiting Mississippi. That’s what I have become - a stopover on the way to Mississippi. Very sad.

But when they came in the door, at that point, I wasn’t in a very good mood and this is the conversation that followed:

Mom: So how was your day?

Me: Really bad. It was horrible.

Mom: [GASP] Did you have a wreck?

Me: No!

Mom: Well then, it wasn’t so bad after all was it?

What does it say about my day when the best part of my day was getting a cavity filled? The most relaxed moment I had was laying back in that chair with a drill going 90 to nothing in my mouth. So sad.

And I’m pretty sure the dentist used too much novocaine. Because the whole right side of my lip is numb as well as my right nostril. Strangest feeling ever.

Dentistry has come a long way from when I was a kid. My dentist growing up was awesome. All his machinery was at least 30 years old and the sofa in his waiting area was totally from the 1960s. It was naugahyde and bright orange so you didn’t really sit in it. You sort of slid into it. And I remember it dipped really low in the back of the seat so that you had a hard time getting up. And the dentist office was the only place I ever got to look at People magazine. I had to wait six whole months to find out why Bobby Ewing came back from the dead.

Dr. Wynn was a confirmed bachelor (still is I guess) and a friend of my grandparents so he always had a lot to talk about. He would ask me questions and all I could do was grunt because he was working and it’s not like I could answer him. I also remember he ate Pizza Hut for lunch a lot. I couldn’t understand why the dentist wouldn’t brush his teeth after lunch.

Nanny and Papa I’m talking to you now - don’t you print this out and show it to him or even tell him about it. He would be mortified.

I’m rambling - maybe some of that novocaine leaked into my head.

You’ll notice in the right sidebar that I’ve made a few upgrades to Pop a la Mode. I’ve added two sections: Currently Reading and Currently Listening To. I’m reading much more lately and I want to be able to share my library with all of you. And my music is always a bit eclectic so I’m throwing that in also.

If you click on the title of something you’re interested in, you’ll be taken to either a site that sells it for more information or the web site of that person. Warning: if it’s music, it may have sound.

I’m not promising I’ll update it all the time but as I read something new or find a new artist, I will share.