Floods, Baseball and National Parks

I feel kind of foolish. I started this blog, and then I did not update it for two weeks. It was not that I was being neglectful on purpose. Unfortunately, floods, work, and holidays took priority.

Do NOT Mess with Mother Nature

On Wednesday, June 28, my town was evacuated due to flooding in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Area officials feared the dikes along the Susquehanna River in the Wilkes-Barre area would not hold and requested that residents leave their homes for safety reasons. The river is about one mile from my place. Since I live on the second and third floor of my apartment, I was not worried about flood damage. I did, however, fear damage to my car. So, just to be safe, I got a room at the local Red Roof Inn. I figured it was worth $50 to save my new car.

Thankfully, the dikes held in the Wilkes-Barre area. There was, however, a tremendous amount of damage caused by flooded creeks in the area. It was a surreal experience to see my town being covered by CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC as part of a national news story. I hope I never have to experience something like this again.

Marty Brennaman's Grand Slam Call

On Friday, June 30, the Cincinnati Reds rallied for nine runs in the final two innings to defeat the Cleveland Indians, 9-8. Adam Dunn hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning off of Cleveland relief pitcher Bob Wickman to give the Reds the win.

I do not get to listen to Reds' games as much as I'd like to these days, but it just so happened that I was listening to the game that night while driving in southern New York. Hall of Famer Marty Brennaman's call of Dunn's winning blast gave me chills. Brennaman is the consummate professional. His knowledge and passion for the game of baseball is contagious. Hearing Marty Brennaman say, "And this one belongs to the Reds!" is one of the sweetest sounds in all of sports.

Unfortunately, the Reds have only won one game since Dunn's thrilling blast. Hopefully, the team will get back on track following the All-Star break.

Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

On Sunday, July 2, I decided to take a road trip to visit Ellis Island and the Status of Liberty. If you have not visited these two great attractions, I highly recommend you make the trip. For me, it was a very emotional experience. I can't imagine all that these people had to go through to come to the United States. Tom Brokaw refers tot he the World War II generation as the "Greatest Generation". In my opinion, the generations of immigrants who came through Ellis Island were just as great.

Today's Five Things
1.) Family 2.) Bailey 3.) Online bill pay 4.) J.C. (aka "Jimmy Black") 5.) Craigslist.org