I Remember Whitney Houston

I just heard that Whitney Houston has died. I remember the time I met her.

My husband owned a baseball team . We went to all the home games but didn't sit together. He loved the fans but wanted to concentrate on the game so he watched from an enclosed box. I chose to sit down with the fans in a box that was reserved for visiting celebs, etc.

Whitney Houston had just sung the National Anthem and was ushered to the seat beside me. The game had started but we chit-chatted a little and settled into watching the ball game.

I remember 2 things about her. One was her obvious beauty. Sitting that close to her, I could drink it all in and absorb her perfume.

Number two was the ring she wore on her right hand. It was the most unusual ring, a huge diamond that was shaped in an oblong to the left and also covered much of her middle finger. As her hands rested in her lap, I couldn't get interested in the game, as my attention kept drifting back to her ring.

She got up during the 7th inning stretch, said good bye, gave a radiant smile and left. I can't recall the exact year but I'm sure it was before she reached the pinnacle of her career. I hadn't thought about that ball game in years but this evening when I heard the news of her passing, it all came back. I could feel the warm Minnesota evening air, hear the crack of the bat and "whaamp" when the ball smacked the catcher's glove. I could hear the vendors, smell the hot dogs and pop corn and Whitney's perfume.

My sympathy to Whitney's daughter and her family.

It's Got to be Nearly Time to be Thinking Spring

Anybody thinking spring? I am. Getting to be that time when fans start thinking BASEBAll. I was only a fan by association because my husband owned a baseball team, the Minnesota Twins. I'd been to only one game in my life until I met him. Calvin lived baseball. He breathed it, digested it, slept and dreamed it. When I married him, I married baseball.

Minneapolis' new baseball park, Target Field, sports a life size bronze statue of Calvin. I've never seen it because I've never been back to Minneapolis. Last summer, son, Zonnie was there and took these pictures. I tried to post them before but being a clumsy tech, it was a no-go.

The likeness of Calvin by sculptor Bill Mack, is amazing. Calvin would be immensely thrilled to see his beloved team play out in the open air again, where baseball was meant to be played. Calvin was a walking baseball encyclopedia. Oh how I miss his baseball stories of times past. He was bat boy for his Father's team, the Washington Senators and told fabulous stories of "The Babe ," Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner, and Christy Mathewson. After Calvin inherited the team he took it to Minnesota and changed the name to the "Minnesota Twins," because Saint Paul and Minneapolis are known as the "Twin Cities."

Although Calvin will never visit this ball park in person, he will keep vigil over it always. Hey, Dear Husband, I got two words, "Play Ball."

P.S. I love you