Day 9 -- Saturday, May 9

Will the clouds never roll away? Still chilly, still overcast, this Appalachian Anti-Spring is growing tiresome. I left the mountains and rolled in to Winston-Salem, spending last night with my gracious hosts, Mr. and Mrs. George Betton Whitaker III. Then, today it was onto Durham, home of the Bulls. Here, I was to meet up with an old college friend, David Blakely, and his lovely wife, Sally. We attended a double-header in which the Bulls faced the Winston-Salem Spirits. We were accompanied by the younger Blakelys, Jessi and Amy. Jessi, who is seven years of age, is showing excellent potential in writing of the cursive sort; her sister, Amy, is, at the age of four, already fluent in Spanish counting, from one to 20. Quite a talented and lovely pair!

What a joy it was to attend this twin bill. I had never witnessed anything below triple-A ball before, and this single-A setting was delightful. The Bulls play in a great old park and draw a nice mix of families and young couples. The games, while not flawlessly played, were entertaining and the crowd's enthusiasm was catching. I knew, of course, that an evening at the ballpark here in Durham would be a less expensive proposition than taking in a game at Shea or Yankee Stadiums but it was even cheaper than I'd imagined. Three dollars bought an adult's general admission ticket. Popcorn, peanuts, and caramel corn were only 50 cents, hotdogs a dollar. We placed an order at the concession stand and when the server quoted a price of $2.50 for a rather large order, I thought, "This poor guy's having a bad night. I'd better total this up for him and make sure he doesn't get in trouble for under-charging us." To my surprise, his addition had been flawless!

The Bulls came from behind in the ninth to win the nightcap, thereby sweeping the double-header. It was evening of baseball as it used to be and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.


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