We Love Baseball

Sorry if you already know this story and are clicking old “WLL” because it’s a vital part of your day, but I have to write this for posterity. I’m getting old and might not remember the details.

September 13th, 2011. We buy plane tickets for St. Louis. Jen and I are going back to the “Lou” to scout out some possible places to live. That’s a whole other story. I think the Cardinals are about 5 games back in the Wild card race. As soon as I got confirmation of the flight I decided, on a whim, to see what baseball game was being played on that date. Game 6 of the World Series. Wouldn’t that be fun? I text my brother to get some tickets as a joke.

The next couple of weeks roll by and the Cardinals are rolling too. I could drag it out little by little, but I found myself in bed, hunched over the computer with Jen, pricing World Series tickets sometime early in the NLCS. We found them for $350’ish a piece. Too much. I told her to let it go and if it was meant to be then God would take care of it.

Game 1 of the World Series came and went and this was starting to become interesting. Jen was watching me get more and more antsy through Game 1 and once it wrapped up she turned her computer screen to me. 1 ticket for $150.00 – face value from the Cardinals web site. What? Really? She said “I’m buying it.” A couple of clicks and I had one lonely ticket. What kind of fun is that? 15 minutes later she said to me…”What was the Section/Row of that ticket we bought?” “Oh…here’s the one right next to it on StubHub.” Ok God…very funny. Trying to sneak into my world by using baseball as a backdoor. Of course at this point we are in for the “weirdly coincidental where the hell did that come from ticket”.

Back on planet earth we arrive in St. Louis as planned, but just as Larry was loading up his rain coat, winter coat and mittens, Game 6 gets postponed. Turns out the next day will be perfect weather, who knew?

I don’t have to tell you about the game. Click here if you really don’t know. Are you kidding me?

I got to spend an evening at one of the best World Series games ever….with my Dad. We high fived our way out of that stadium until I thought Larry’s arm would fall off. There. It is written.

Sorry Larry. I love you, but I love Jen for looking for tickets. I love Mom for taking the sting off of the “weirdly coincidental where the hell did that come from” ticket. I love baseball. God – whoever you are? Thanks for providing the once in a lifetime day with Larry.

Orion update

It occurs to me that some people might check this blog still clinging to the hope that they might find out some info. about my father, the “Larry” in We Love Larry. I guess that’s fair. We almost called it “We Love Tacos”.

Larry and Wilma are in Alaska. No you read that right. This isn’t some new reality TV show. At some point I think my message was received. That’s right I take full credit for them going on an Alaskan cruise. I didn’t pay for it or anything, so my credit doesn’t really mean much. I’ve been kind of living a life of “Oh well, might as well do that” and I think it caught on just a little bit. I just got off the phone with Mom last night calling me from Skagway, Alaska while she was waiting to find out if she could find a spot on the dogsled. I’m not kidding. They are spending 10 days cruising and sledding around Alaska and I hope they have a blast. I’m pretty sure my Mom has wanted to do this for quite a while. I’m also pretty sure my Dad hasn’t, but he’s healthier and always been a good sport.

There’s the Orion update. They aren’t in Orion.

Seriously? 2 years?

I’m not sure how I happened to look at this on exactly the correct date, but today is the 2 year anniversary of the We Love Larry blog. Crazy. I would have given you everything I had if you would have told me I was still posting my silliness here 2 years ago. That would have meant that I still had my dad. I still do have my dad and I’m thankful for that every time I write here and I’m reminded of what started this weirdly ever changing blog. I’m also reminded that I’m lucky to have so many other people in my life. I hope at some point in the last two years I might have nudged a person here and there to think about or pass along the same sentiments to someone they love. If you are reading this and haven’t done that yet, do it now. Life is short and you might have 2 years more to tell funny stories or travel around like a fool, but you might not. “Get busy living”. The second part of the quote sucks, just do the first part and you’ll be fine.

I love all of you…that ought to cover it.

Jon

I was born in a small town…

Had  a recent and quick visit to Orion Sam and I took a couple of days to head out and see the sights of the Quad Cities. Most important to Sam was that he got to play battleship. Kids are weird. Here are some photos.

We visited the Andover park after breakfast. Larry couldn’t resist.

A visit to the Quad Cities isn’t complete without a trip to the John Deere Pavilion. A trip to the John Deere pavilion isn’t complete without the obligatory picture of “People in a tractor bucket”

Sam wasn’t sure what to think about the ducks that attacked our Channel Cat taxi on the Mississippi.

  

This picture has an interesting story. The playground equipment Sam is riding on I rode on as a kid. I repaired it as an adult working for the Village of Orion, and now Sam is playing on it. How many kids have been flung off this thing over the years?

Larry update

I just realized that I haven’t done a Larry update in quite a while, but I guess that’s a good thing. My mom doesn’t list me off a bunch of appointments or test results, so I don’t ask. I talked to him on the phone a bit ago and he seems quite Larry’ish. We talked baseball and pianos, which brings me to the subject of pianos. My mom and dad bought a piano about a thousand years ago when I was forced into excruciating lessons that forced my fingers into ungodly and un-musical positions. I quit taking piano lessons about 30 years ago, yet they still have this piano. The funny part is that my dads favorite joke is that he is sending me this piano. Do me a favor…can someone buy this thing off of them? They don’t actually know that I’m offering some of their “stuff” for sale, but make me an offer.

Since I’m posting a Larry update I might as well attach a picture.

A visit to Kansas City last month. Must have been a sale on Yankee hats.

Father’s day 2010

You know what I’m really lousy with? Greeting cards. At some point today, when the mail gets to Orion, my Dad is going to realize this also. Ask my mom. I get all proud and excited when I can get a card to coincide with the event that it is for. I don’t know why this is. Sorry dad.

I AM lucky that I have established this blog over time now and it can convey my Father’s day message better than a card. First? Last years message still stands.

Father's Day 2009 post

As I walked my 5,000 steps this morning I was trying to think what I could write today, that my mom would read to Larry, and have it take the place of a well written, witty, or sappy Hallmark card. I figured it out…nothing. I’m lucky in so many ways, but one of the luckiest things is that I’ve had almost 44 years of being with my dad. We have played softball together, water skied together, fished, done crosswords, mowed the lawn, built Pinewood derby cars, the list goes on. There are plenty of people in the world that would give everything they had to have more time to spend with their dad. I’m lucky. I may not get to hang out with Larry today or tomorrow, but I WILL get to talk to him, wish him happy Father’s day, and tell him I love him. Thanks for being a great Dad. Sorry about the card. August 16th is right around the corner isn’t it?

Will you still need me?, will you still feed me?...

Today is Sam’s birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Carroll are here. The weather is great. I think Sam picked a perfect day to join us 6 years ago. This is also the 1 year anniversary of my dad finishing his chemotherapy. It’s already been “one of those weeks”, but as I type this I know that things are ok.

 

 

Stay tuned because one of Sam’s wishes for his birthday is that everyone is to jump in the pool with their clothes on. I’m not kidding. I think this is best served by video.

Rainy days and Fridays

I’ve been reminded that I kind of promised to post, like, every day, so here ya go.

Jen is doing better. Her heart “issue” and “tissue” is 50% regenerated. She’s a bit disappointed not to hear that she is 100% back to normal. I think the rest of us would be surprised to hear that she was ever 100% normal. Keep thinking good luck thoughts and hopefully she can put this behind her soon.

Dad seems to be doing fine back in Orion. There is some rumblings of shoulder pain and a cold, but heck, those almost sound like normal issues.

I wrote this whole long thing about it being rainy and not liking the rain today, but it kept getting goofier and goofier as I typed. In general I find rain the more annoying of the weather conditions.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I like the idea of being congratulated on my arrival. I think this is one of the few “holidays” that makes sense to me.

In preparation for the celebration of my birthday I am going to the library. Rumor has it that I may be receiving the gift of reading time tomorrow. Good thing I read fast. Wish me luck.

Larry update - #653

While I’m doing health updates let’s take a spin by Larry shall we?

Dad is doing….ok. He’s tired and blood counts are hanging in there. Each doctor seems to have a little different opinion, but none of them are more than we’ve heard before really. None of us really expect him to suddenly start playing softball again or running marathons, but another long stint of “Florida 2009” would be good. He never complains when I talk to him, but I expect he doesn’t want anyone to worry about him. For all of you that visit or check in with him, keep it coming. I suspect the Quad City Times and the NFL are only keeping him from being bored part of the day.

Larry update – home again.

Larry is back home in the warm confines of 1101 13th ave. He went home yesterday and seemed to be doing much better, or as much of that as I can determine on the phone. My mom tells me it’s hard to get out of him how he’s feeling, but she isn’t very good at deciphering either. Actually…she’s pretty good at it when it counts. I think I’ll put Mom down for another save by getting him to the hospital. Thanks Mom.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming…whatever that is.

Larry update – I’ve lost count

Dad is still in the hospital today waiting to see if he is healed enough to get home maybe tomorrow. I don’t know why he would be in too terrible of a hurry to get home. It’s cold there. Tim is visiting him today and keeping him company. That’s code for they are both going to sit around and watch football all day. Thanks for all the good wishes and to those who have visited. I think that it’s tougher on him in the hospital when he doesn’t feel too bad. It’s easier to be somewhat bored. More soon.

Larry update - #4

My dad had some minor surgery this morning to seal the leak in his lung that wasn’t healing by itself. He is back in his room and theoretically he could be at home as early as tomorrow. I think, and hope, they can put it off until Monday or so. I know this is a crappy update, but I wanted to put something up here in case anyone was looking. I’ve talked to him after his surgery and he is doing fine. He sounded a little tired, but hey, who wouldn’t be.

Larry update - #3

I’ve talked to my dad a few times over the last day or two and he is doing fine. He is resting restlessly (can you do that?) at Trinity West in Rock Island. He sounds like his usual self and there hasn’t been any drama for 48 hours. He wants me to pass along a message. “If they say they are going to put a chest tube in you…get ready because it’s gonna hurt like hell” Good advice…I guess. I probably would have rather been surprised, but oh well. It’s likely that he will be home in a day or two. If I was a betting man I think maybe Wednesday.

Larry update #2

Dad is sitting in surgical ICU waiting for a room to open up on the 7th floor at Trinity West. They changed the chest tube he had in earlier and is doing better still. I haven’t talked to him yet, but I will update you again once I do. It seems like the majority of the drama has passed and he is already looking forward to leaving the hospital.

Larry update

One of the problems with hijacking this blog for my own stuff is that the people who turn to this spot for news on my dad don’t find it here very often. Now this is also a good thing when there is nothing to tell, but this morning there is some news to tell.

Yesterday my dad began to have some trouble breathing and eventually this led to an ambulance ride to Trinity West. He was eventually diagnosed with a collapsed lung and had a chest tube inserted to get it fixed. Assuming that people with collapsed lungs get some pretty good relief from the insertion of a chest tube I’m hoping he is doing much better this morning. I have yet to talk to my Mom and will update here when I know more.

For those of you that stop by here and didn’t know why I call this blog “We Love Larry”, now you do. He had a long, arduous trip through a series of medical issues in 2009 and I use this blog to update my family and his friends about how things are going.

365 degrees

Well…here it is. The one year anniversary of this blog.

What started as a platform for getting the word out on my dad’s health and status, turned into the Carroll version of the Northern Europe Rand McNally, and is now basically a place for me to goof on the less fortunate. I hope everyone has gotten use out of one of the many versions of this blog, and I’m glad that the health status of my dad didn’t take up the entire year.

You might be interested to know that “We Love Larry” has been visited by approx. 1,000 unique people from over 56 countries on every continent but Antarctica. Hey dad…..better find someone you know in Antarctica. I only really tell you this as an aside since the only real ideal of the blog is the one it had from the beginning. A place to check in on and cheer on my dad. The rest of it is just space filler.

Love you dad.

Jon

Island Time

Larry and Wilma have headed further south for a much needed break from grandchildren and living in a house full of the “other” Carrolls.

My in-laws have graciously given them shelter in their condo on Pine Island and I hope they can take some time to enjoy the sun, read a book or two and get away from everything. I’m not sure they have much of a choice because Pine Island isn’t exactly a hopping place unless you’re a fisherman or botanist. Either way I’m sure they will enjoy it.

Veterans Day

I think this is the longest I’ve gone without posting. Sorry.

Happy Veterans Day to my Dad and others.

It’s been nice having Mom and Dad here in Florida. The kids are enjoying their company. Sam and dad have some ongoing banter about bananas. I think it is a conspiracy to rid the world of bananas. Sam like bananas until Larry arrived. Larry is a bad influence. Strange to write that in a blog titled “We love Larry”. I love him but my kid better keep eating fruits and vegetables when he leaves.

We haven’t really done a lot except hang around and be together. I’ll take it.

Pictures later.

Dutch treat

It has been one of those weeks. I can’t specifically blame any one thing. Ever have one of those weeks?

Highlights might include:

• Jen got a new bike. Remember that “Buy me a Dutch bike” crusade she entered into on Homeroamers.com? Well I got together with the usual suspects and we all chipped in and bought her a bike. Here is a picture of it.

Larry and Wilma will be here tomorrow night as we are all looking forward to it. This will be the longest bit of travelling they have done since Dad got sick. I hope everything goes well so they feel secure to do things like this again. They will be here through the month of November. Hey Mike! – Stop over and water the plants will ya?

All in all it has been a quiet and uninspiring week. Look above. Only one highlight. Crazy.

The redcoats are coming!

I guess technically Orion’s colors are scarlet and black, but it doesn’t sound as cool when you say “The scarlet coats are coming!”

Larry and Wilma will be visiting sunny Florida in a couple of weeks. They are going to be in the area for almost a month and give us all a chance to celebrate together for many occasions…including Tim’s birthday, even though he won’t be here to help. He doesn’t know if but we celebrate his birthday every year, it’s just more fun when he isn’t here for it. We all buy each other gifts in his honor and have red velvet cake. (Just kidding Tim!)

We don’t have a lot of details yet, but we hope that this visit will allow them to enjoy the weather here and relax a bit away from home. I’m sure it’s a bit scary to travel after all that has happened over the past year, but it’s time. The plan is to get rid of the cooking, cleaning, doctor visit routine and replace it with more interesting things. Kayaking, swimming, maybe a little hang gliding.

Sunny is looking forward to seeing them again and Sam says that grandpa owes him a quarter. I don’t know what that’s about, but bring your quarters Larry.