Afterglow 2006

Kevin hits Dale by this pitch, and Dale was allowed to take first base, but he refused. You see, Dale is a man, and men don't take a free base when they are hit by a cushioned plastic core baseball. He instead shook it off and continued this at bat.

A few of the lucky fans in attendance got a chance to fulfill their childhood dreams by becoming an Afterglow minor league baseball player. My Mom Kris took every advantage of that chance by belting a line drive past Kevin for a solid base hit.

Dale could read Kevin's delivery like a how-to book. What followed was a text-booked swing followed by a strong base hit to the opposite field. Dale dominated his youngest son, and once again showed him that sons are not able to upstage their dads.

We had a small crowd at hand on the minor league Afterglow baseball field, but every one of them got their money's worth. Seeing as how they didn't pay any money to attend this baseball game, I would have to venture that this was one heck of a deal.

Then it started to rain and our outdoor plans were totally scrapped. At least that's the excuse we gave to our Mom when we told her that we were going to the casino. She doesn't like us going there during our vacation, but it is the one time a year that Timmy can go because the legal gambling age in Upper Michigan is only 18. She knew that we were full of it because it was only drizzling lightly and we didn't have any outdoor afternoon plans. We stuck to our story and proceeded to head out to the casino in Watersmeet in Tim's car. Now that we had his ride, we didn't have to beg to borrow the car keys. That meant that we could do whatever we wanted to do. If we wanted to drive 20 minutes in the rain to go and loose some money to the Indians, then we could do it. Free will is one of the sweetest things in the world to have at your disposal.

When we returned, we continued right where we left off yesterday. We all mixed ourselves a large drink in our drinking mugs and headed on down to the local hot tub. I think that I hang out with my brothers and sister more often than most people do, but it was still a rarity that all 4 of us were occupying the same space at the same time. We laughed and joked about the past, discussed present activities, and took a look into the future of how our family would be in 2007. When we get together without our parents around, we talk about stuff that is bothering us and what we can do about it. We have a very special bond and we look out for each other at all times. Afterglow is the time of the year when we all hang out together for an extended period of time with no interruptions from outside friends, jobs, life, etc. so it is a very important time for my siblings and I.