had the lucky opportunity

to play

on navin field

where there is

so much history

on the corner

of

michigan and trumbull

former home of the detroit tigers

with friends of all ages

some new

some old

and after our pre-game

breakfast

of

angel food cake and spray whipped cream

my team

‘the winners’

(with our littles m.i.a.)

took to the field

and there was plenty of action

yep

that’s a triple

he’s talking about

and lots of equipment

and a power bench

with plenty

of big names

and

even a little rain

didn’t stop us

we just refueled

and

 a loyal member

of the grounds crew

made sure

we took

care of

this sacred ground

 even though

‘the winners’ lost

and we had some blood

and lots of mud

and wonderful unique ways of playing

we all had such a great day

and we held

our post-game celebration

at nemo’s

another detroit tradition

with a classic easy to order menu of

burgers, cheeseburgers, fries, beer, pop and water

and i saw

my family crest

on the wall

and it was like going all the way home.

—

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/keepers-of-the-corner-the-navin-field-grounds-crew-20140917

Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.

when i was little

my neighbor

went with his family

to visit

the painted desert

far away

in

the exotic land of

arizona

i was so excited for him

and a little bit jealous

and

i ran to his car

when i saw them

return home

as they

pulled in the driveway

he jumped out

yelling

‘i have the best souvenir in the world!!!’

it was

beyond my expectations

a miniature version

of this stunning desert

all under glass

 in one place

i had

never seen

anything like it

there must have been

at least

a bijillion

or more

grains of sand

of all colors

and i was in awe

of its beauty

it felt like

i had gone there too

kind of

and then

we had an idea

it was brilliant

‘let’s shake it up all together and see how pretty it is

and then we can sort it out again,

into all of the layers and colors.’

 the first part of that idea worked

 the second part

the part where we sorted it all back out

didn’t go quite as well

and we looked at it

and each other

 wondering

what happened

 amazed

how the sand

could shift

so quickly

never to be

the same again.

—

experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. – oscar wilde

—

image credits: googleimages, nationalparkservice