Once an OSU SB Fan, Always an OSU SB Fan

The last three hours of my day were quite interesting!

First, my class tonight was about marketing and branding - my teacher totally destroyed my ability to ever walk through stores randomly again. I will forever look at a product and ask myself what I am admitting to before I buy it...ok, maybe not forever, but I am definitely a brand girl in some respects and will always be (Coke, Ann Taylor, Honda) I guess there could be worse vices.

After my class, I headed over to the last OSU home game of the season - and in all actuality, the last game of the season. I felt for the seniors, because their career ended at home against OU, the same way mine did - and I have to admit, a little nostalgia was felt. Anyway, I headed over to the game to meet up with my parents and the Longeway's, friends of the family. I grew up playing softball with Cheryl (the daughter) and we went to the same high school and played 2 yrs together. I replaced her as Kennedy's pitcher. So Ward and Lee are in town, and my parents took them up to the game. As I was walking up the stands, I was shocked to look up and see Marla Pickard's parents. Marla was a senior when I was a freshman at OSU, from Orange County as well (I think she went to Ocean View HS - but don't hold me to that) Anyway, Marla still lives in Columbus, and I guess Mr. and Mrs. Pickard have a condo near her in Westerville, where they spend 6 mos a year to be near Marla. I can certainly tell you the Pickards and the Longeways were shocked to see each other at an OSU softball game in Columbus, Ohio!!! I guess they had a nice visit - I did not get there until the bottom of the 6th inning, and the score was 0-0. HOWEVER, just as I got there, this is what happened:

1st batter - Tory Haddad, over the left field fence
2nd batter - Rachel Shephard, same place as Tory
3rd batter - Whitney Cooper, into the trees in center field

Now, there was no question they were all out of the park, but Whitney just crushed this ball. No joke, this girl is about 6 ft tall and the pitch was freakin' fat - belt high over the middle of the plate and she just crushed it straight over the 220 sign in center field. I bet she hit that ball 250 feet if she hit it 10. It cleared the fence and then some. They won both games, and won the second game 3-0. I personally think it was me getting there, but I am sure that had very little to do with it!

Another funny note to seeing the Pickards was where they now live in So Cal - they downsized from their house in Huntington Beach to a condo in Mission Viejo. Their condo is right in the heart of So Cal softball in MV - yep, you guessed it, right above Alicia Park!!! This should bring back memories for all my So Cal girls - 8AM games in where the grass was soaking wet and it was freezing (relatively speaking of course, for all my Ohio girls!) 8PM games where it was foggy and freezing, parking on the hill, having to leave your house at 6AM to be at the park to warm up at 7AM for an 8AM game - then having the 8PM game followed by an 8AM game the next morning..and the traffic, oh lord, the traffic. It was bad 15 years ago, I can only imagine what it is like now!! Seeing the Longeways and the Pickards brought back a lot of memories...certainly not what I expected on a Wednesday night.

As Bill, Mags, Ward and Leona left, I was joking about a car full of senior citizens and laughing at them - and reflecting on how all of their kids have grown up, graduated from college and moved on to their own lives. I really had a nice time visiting with them and wished I had an opportunity to spend more time with them. Life has a way of bringing the unexpected, and I certainly was not expecting what I got tonight...but was very grateful for it.

On top of it all, Mother Nature seems to be back on track, as we did not freeze our you know whats off tonight...thankfully.

Hope everyone is well!