Five long years had come and gone, and nary a baseball trip had been taken by the boys. A junket in 2019 had been proposed but, for various reasons, did not come to fruition. In 2020 the dreaded Covid struck, wiping out their next three years. They were long overdue.
Their sextet had sadly shrunk to a quartet. Paddy was not up to travelling anymore, and Mort – well, he was dead.
One fine day in the depths of winter, Ronnie spoke to Charlie: “I’m desperate for baseball. We have to go on a Balls Trip.”
“I’ll take care of it!”
Days later Charlie spoke to Donnie: “Crack of the ball – heat of the dog – cool of the beer. Can you feel it?”
“I’ll take care of it!”
Donnie, being the organizer, was true to his word. E-mails flew back and forth. The foursome were fully committed. A schedule was drawn up that would take them back to all their favourite haunts. But who would drive? And even better, what would they drive? Not only had Mort been their chauffeur, but he also had volunteered his car.
“No problem,” volunteered Ronnie. “My son works at Enterprise, and he’ll get us a good deal on a rental SUV.”
The plan was set, but time moved oh so slow. Finally, July arrived. The fearless foursome loaded themselves into their sparkly new rental and headed for the nearest border crossing in Prescott.
The Border Guard dutifully scanned their passports into the computer and then cheerfully inquired: “Where you boys from?”
“Ottawa.” They responded.
“Where are you off to?”
“Syracuse and Rochester and Buffalo for some Triple-A baseball.”
“No team in Ottawa?”
“Nah! We lost our Lynx years ago.”
“Have a good time.”
They crossed into America – bound for the Watertown Price Chopper – and cold Yankee beer. The miles flew past. Price Chopper loomed before them. First stop: the facilities. After all, they were of that age. Thereafter, it was off to the beer cooler. Alas, there was no beer cooler. Well, that was certainly a shock.
“Not to worry.” Donnie assured them. “We’ll pick some up in Syracuse.”
Soon they were rolling into NBT Bank Stadium to pick up their tickets in advance of the game. Donnie hopped out of the car and headed for the Box Office. He returned in a moment.
“I have good news and bad news. I have great tickets, but the entire park is cashless. That will make the kitty a little more complicated, but I’ll figure it out.”
Their normal lodgings at the Maplewood Inn were no longer available, so Donny had booked them into the Candlewood Suites because they advertised a courtesy van. En route, they loaded up with cold beer and scouted out Julie’s Diner as being the perfect place to break their fast the following morning.
