In the puzzle yesterday, the clue for DOGTOY was: “Bone that squeaks, e.g.” That’s exactly what I complained about to my orthopedist recently.
A teensy bit of baseball history was made yesterday and we were there at Camden Yards to see it. The O’s did a pretty good job of beating up the Rangers. There were two outs in the ninth and what remained of the sparse crowd was on its feet cheering for the final out. Suarez threw, and the pitch came in and was called a ball. The O’s catcher, Basallo, signaled for a challenge. So we all watched the scoreboard for the ball to appear. Hey, it clipped the zone! Wow, what? Strike three! Game over! First MLB game to end on a pitch appeal.
Basallo, btw, was the same player who I noticed was listed at 6’4″, 180, on the scoreboard, though he looked beefier, as befits a catcher. Yikes, I said to Linda. That guy is six inches taller than me and weighs 35 pounds less. Clearly, I am way too short.
It was a day game and school was out, so even though the crowd was sparse it was full of kids. There was a little red-headed 8-year-old in front of us who was cheering more actively than her parents. “Look at that head of orange hair,” I said to Linda. “A born Orioles fan!” And there was a little girl behind us who was at her first game. Baseball critics are quick to point out how little action there is in the game most of the time. So I had to chuckle in the top of the first. The count was two and one on the Texas leadoff batter, Nimmo, when I heard the little girl ask: “When is it starting, Mommy?”
When we arrived in the area yesterday, we took a wonderful walk/hike in Ellicott City after stopping at The Breadery along the path to see if they had any half-price day-olds for us. They did! We scored a loaf of rye (new to them, I think) and Grains Galore, for a total of $8. Yum.
After checking in at our dump, I mean motel, in Catonsville, we shot back to EC for the outstanding burgers at the White Oak Tavern. Highly recommended! This was our fourth visit, and, God willing, there will be many more. Since the draft beer list was extensive and most of it new to me, I picked two and asked the waitress for small samples to taste: The Pennsylvania Lager (from Hershey, PA, Troegs), and Fitz’s Irish Red (local from Baltimore, Monument Brewing). She came back with them pretty quickly and I dispatched them both just as quickly. When she returned, she asked me which one I wanted and I reported that neither one grabbed me, so I would have the ale I had the last time we were in: Morning Dew, by New Trail Brewery in Williamsport, PA. Now here’s where things got a little dicey.
I thought she said “OK, I’ll bring you a sample,” but she might have said something else. I wasn’t sure. Instead of asking her to repeat what she said, I responded to what I thought she said. So I said, “Don’t bother — you can just bring me a pint.” I meant, don’t bother with the sample. Then she said “Of course!” But she said it in a way that led me to believe that that was what she was planning to do, which meant she didn’t say she would bring me a sample before. That also meant that when I said: “Don’t bother, just bring me a pint,” it made no sense. Obviously, I had to clear that up. So when she returned with the pint, I said “I thought you said you were bringing me a sample.” My intent was to explain why I said “Don’t bother.” But, in fact, she had said she would bring me a sample before!! So she thought I was (unfairly) upbraiding her now for not bringing it!! So she replied, a touch sternly: “And you said, ‘Don’t bother, just bring a pint.” And I replied “Exactly. Thank you.” And she said “I just want to make sure we’re both on the same page.” We are, I assured her, and that put an end to it. It was delicious, and when the burgers arrived they were brilliant.
By now you are aware that Trump took great pains to assure the nation last night that he would continue to f*ck up our (and the world’s) economy with his idiotic war rather than declaring victory and pulling the hell out as the stock market thought he would when it soared by 1,000 points. Sure enough, it’s down by a cool 600 as a result of his speech. The best take on the speech was by Paul Krugman who noted: Trump doesn’t even have the courage to run away.
Also of note yesterday: Trump’s “historic” attendance at the Supreme Court hearing. He thought he could intimidate “his” Justices by being there, like when Michael Corleone brought a witness’s aging dad to the courtroom from Sicily. Kavanaugh probably spent the whole time drooling over Bondi, but it apparently had no other effect on the Nine.
We had a long walk back to our parking garage after the game since I refused to pay $25 to park closer (paying only $8.50). It was a brilliant move because we lucked out and the walk was through a neat neighborhood: Federal Hill. We passed by a house with this in the window. Ouch.
Then we drove to Little Italy for a Fresconi pizza at Angeli’s: Garlic herb sauce, mozzarella cheese, fresh spinach, marinated artichokes, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and caramelized onions.
Out of this f*cking world. Phenomenal crust and a combination of tastes that was as original as it was delicious. This was our second visit to Angeli’s, but our first Fresconi. This photo does not do it justice. Mwah.
Can’t top that. See you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 