Kevin's Ramblings…

As I’ve written, I’m getting a new vehicle in August. I’m slated to pick it up on August 14. It’s a factory order, Ford is building it on June 8. When you factory order a vehicle, from Ford anyway, you get a birth certificate. Sorta cool.

Anyway, I’m getting it August 14. On August 17, I’m heading to Edmonton to have dinner with family. My brother, sister in law, two nieces and their families. It’s my one nieces birthday, I think she’ll be 40.

I’m heading out on my epic road trip on August 21, a Friday. I’m off to Twin Falls Idaho and picking up a friend then we are off to Denver Colorado and we are going to catch a Colorado Rockies baseball game.

From there, I head to Houston Texas and I’ll be catching a Houston Astros baseball game.

Next stop will be New Orleans for a day. Then to Florida and eventually Key West. I’m stopping to pick up a friend in Florida as well.

I then head north to Nashville Tennessee and will spend a couple of days there with two friends.

Next stop is Detroit Michigan and a Tigers game with a former coworker. I’ll then hit up the Niagara Region and the GTA. I’m hoping that I can see a Buffalo Bills game if they are in town for a pre season game. I’ll spend 5 days or so in Niagara and the GTA.

I’ll then be off to Ottawa then south to the US crossing at 1000 Islands and then heading east to New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia.  I’ll be seeing friends in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and PEI is just to say I’ve been.

I’ll then head back to Calgary via the northern states.

All in all, it’ll be an epic 25-30 day trip. I’m looking forward to it.

Hopefully I’ll see you on the way.

Yesterday morning, Apollo puked a couple of times. This isn’t unusual, if you’ve ever had dogs. They either get into something they shouldn’t or whatever, and they occasionally puke.

Now, come to think of it, I didn’t think Twix has ever puked. Not once, Blondie was my puking dog, Labs tend to put everything and anything in their mouths.

Most dogs, perhaps all dogs, other than Apollo puke in a dramatic fashion as well. There is the hacking sound that’ll wake you up faster than anything else. Then they puke in a little pile and you clean it up.

Not Apollo. Nope.

He pukes with absolutely no warning at all. I’ve second he’s fine and the next, puke. Yesterday, he projectile vomited as well.

The first shot was all over the duvet cover and bedroom wall. Nice. Then he jumped off the bed and did it again, all over the small carpet I have beside the bed.

The rest of the apartment is all vinyl plank flooring which makes cleaning puke very easy. The duvet cover, well, that has to go in the laundry. So does the small carpet. What fun.

Anyway, hopefully the description of him puking didn’t turn you off of your breakfast. He’s good today, no puking. I hope you don’t puke either.

I went out for lunch on Tuesday with a friend, we went to Montana’s.

Initially had issues deciding what to have. I was thinking a steak since I currently do not have a BBQ. I sold my trusty Weber as it was propane and I need a natural gas BBQ here at the apartment. I haven’t had a steak in months now.

Montana’s also has some of the best ribs going. Had it been Wednesday, I would have had those as it’s a) u can eat ribs day, but, alas, it was Tuesday.

The last consideration was a medley of kapow popcorn shrimp, chicken strips and a buttermilk battered chicken breast with fries. It normally comes with cornbread, but the cornbread is drier than the Sahara Desert.

I settled on the medley of kapow popcorn shrimp, chicken strips and chicken breast and swapped out the cornbread for coleslaw, that was a great choice.

The shrimp was excellent, the chicken strips were tasty and the battered chicken breast was amazing. The coleslaw was very tasty.

I opted for the pan cookie for dessert to round out a great meal. The best part, my buddy covered it and picked up the tab. Thanks.

Great job Montana’s. Your food is always great and you get a ton of it for your buck.

I’m really getting tired of this waking at 1am bullshit… I went to bed around 930pm, that’s awfully early, but sleeping 4ish hours is bullshit.

So, I woke up, had to pee like a race horse. Took care of that and tried to go back to sleep, it wasn’t meant to be.

So, got up and of course, Apollo joined me in the land of the awake and he’s not happy unless he also gets Twix out of bed to join us.

Let them out to pee and then we decided to finish watching The Roast of Tom Brady. If you haven’t seen it and have access to Netflix, watch it, ensure you watch it, it’s excellent.

Now it’s almost 3am and I’m watching er from back in the day. Great medical drama for sure.

I’ll probably have a nap later today, otherwise I’ll stop functioning.

I’m going for lunch with a friend at Noon. Montana’s is the destination. Their food is pretty decent.

Anyway, have a great Tuesday.

So, Saturday ended my ex-friend T’s trip to Calgary to visit me.

Let me start by saying, I didn’t actually invite her and wasn’t crazy about her visiting, however.

She came out in concern for my health and I do thank her for that.

We fought like cats and dogs, or an old married couple. T, unfortunately is pretty judgemental and overly critical. She also seems to think she has some sort of medical degree, offering unsolicited advice on my health, and actually the health of my dogs as well.

She had met Twix when she, her husband and probably autistic son were here 2 years ago. She does like Twix, that’s for sure. However, she was openly hostile to Apollo. Obviously, she doesn’t have any experience with overly energetic puppies.

It came down to Saturday afternoon, just before we headed to dinner with a friend of mine. We had just left, less than 5 minutes from the house but we were running behind. She said I think I left my prescription sunglasses on the couch. Well, that’s a great place to have left them. She wanted to return to find them but, as I said, we were running behind and I didn’t want to miss our reservation and she dropped, or appeared to drop the issue.

We had a great dinner in a busy Indian restaurant in the North East of Calgary. Excellent food and good company.

We got back to the apartment and discovered T’s sunglasses on the floor with a chew mark on the frame, not a big issue. I also discovered that Apollo had chewed the end off, leaving a rather sharp metal end. T was, to use a word, livid. She yelled and kicked at Apollo and he was cowering in the corner.

I was unimpressed to say the least and told her to get out. So, she left and apparently spent Saturday night at a hotel somewhere in Calgary and, presumably, is back in Welland by now.

You know what, good riddance you fucked up fuck. I hope the rest of your life goes well. Leave me, and Apollo, the fuck alone.

Yesterday started off rough. I didn’t actually end up going to bed at all on Thursday night. It was dawn almost before I knew it. I wasn’t in a good mind set, at all.

I called a friend to try to arrange a last minute get-together, but unfortunately she wasn’t free yesterday at all and we didn’t end up seeing one another.

The drive down was great. The tunes were rocking.

On the way down to the Pass, we stopped at the Burmis Tree, it’s ironwood, I think. It’s been vandalized over the years but, in all the time I lived in the Pass (5 years), I never stopped at it and never took a picture.

There is is. It’s old. I don’t know how old but it’s old. Look it up if you want more info, I write a blog, not Wikipedia articles. LOL.

We ontinued along, West bound on Highway 3 towards Coleman Alberta. We were going to stop at the Bellevue coal mine, but they are not open until the May long weekend. That sucks. Another time. The mountain views were gorgeous anyway.

We took the back road in Frank Alberta which guess directly though the middle of the Frank Slide. Back in the early 1900s (perhaps 1903, again, not Wikipedia), the side of Turtle Mountain came crashing down on the sleeping town of Frank, absolute destruction.

The pictures cannot do it justice at all, the size and scope are amazing. We did not stop at the Frank Slide visitor center as I we didn’t want to leave the dogs in the car, even with the AC running, it was a very warm (by Alberta standards anyway) day.

I had forgotten the dogs collapsible water dish but the hardware store in downtown Blairmore had a large one at a reasonable price. Next stop the iga for a case of water and some sandwiches for lunch. The dogs drank with vigor.

After that, I had a mini panic as I couldn’t find my wallet, I tore the car apart, nothing, the grocery store didn’t have it, it wasn’t dropped on the ground. I had a feeling that I had left it at home and when we got back around 6pm, low and behold, it was exactly where it is when I’m here. Sigh.

We stopped at my former next door neighbours place in Sentinel Alberta, just west of Coleman and had a great visit with Adele, you know, the singer from Great Britain. Her dog, Maple, played with Twix and Apollo and all three were tied out. It was great to see Adele and it’s definitely been too long.

We took a walk down to the lake (Crowsnest Lake) and the dogs went for a little dip and a drink.

It was almost 3 so we decided to head for home in Calgary. We had a great drive back. I discovered that a small McDonald’s fries is over $3 (insane) and the fries are the absolute worst fast food fries going. Yuck. Never again.

The rest of the return trip was uneventful as a return trip should be. The dogs were zonked.

We unloaded and had a charcuterie board for dinner. It was great. Havarti cheese, sausage of some sort and sourdough bread. Classy. Also had some wine.

I finally got into bed at about 920pm (pretty late for a Friday night huh?) and instantly feel asleep and slept until after 5am so almost 8 hours. I feel almost refreshed this morning.

Today is a low key day I think. I am having Indian for dinner with one of my former workers and now a friend who reappeared after being back in India (without telling me he was leaving) for 5+ months. We are looking forward to the great food.

I’m enjoying living life to the fullest day by day. I hope you have a great day as well.

This is taken from an email I just sent, so please ignore references to email or, replace with blog…

Good morning Baseball Friends,

I wish I didn’t need to send this email, but I must. 

I have found myself in a position where I am unable to continue as an umpire. 

Most of you aren’t aware, but I was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer on April 13, the cancer has also already spread to my brain. 

I was hoping that I’d be able to have one last summer of standing behind the plate and calling balls, strikes, safes and outs.

It’s unfortunately not to be. 

I was greatly looking forward to ejecting a certain partner in the middle of each inning, and in turn being ejected as well. Those were some of the best times. 

I’ll miss rushing though traffic to be at the park with time to spare to get dressed. I’ll miss joking with the coaches at ground rules. I’ll greatly miss the players, some I’ve watched progress from 12u all the way up, and I’ll miss having fun on the field.

For those who knew me, they knew I fully enjoyed handling the game from behind the dish as opposed to working the bases. I found it more exciting.

I want to thank those I worked with, those I learned from and those I taught something to. 

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 

Take care and remember, it’s only a game. Have fun out there and, play ball !!!

If you’d like to send this to someone who knows me through the world of baseball, please do. I don’t have all the email addresses I wish I did. Thanks for spreading the word.

See you at home.

Kevin D’Arcy
kdarcy21@gmail.com
+1 825-454-9315
http://kevindarcy.ca

Sent from my Google Pixel 10 XL Pro

I umpired on Wednesday evening, Babe Ruth AA. It was at Optimist Park in Calgary, an absolutely gorgeous evening, probably around 25C at first pitch.

The game started right on time and I felt very comfortable. I was wondering if the one catcher could or would block anything as almost every warm up pitch ended up being a passed ball. He settled in though which is great. The other catcher was a kid I’ve known for a few years, he’s pretty unique when it comes to catchers, he’s left-handed.

Now, for those familiar with baseball, almost 100% of catchers are right-handed. In 30 years of umpiring, I’ve only seen two catchers who are left-handed. It’s not that he’s not a good catcher, he is, it’s just odd to see. I have no idea what his name is, I just know he’s the left-handed catcher.  I digress, this isn’t about him, although I wish him well.

As I said, I felt very comfortable and that feeling lasted until about the 4th inning. The game was moving along, I thought I was doing a good job.

After that, I started hearing side comments from fans, from coaches and some looks from the players. Not enough to eject someone, but enough for me to hear.

I thought to myself, “my zone had changed, it’s too big, top to bottom”. I thought I was good on width though and I also thought I was consistent, but something was up and I wasn’t able to change.

Me, personally, I started to feel bad. Not emotionally bad, not about the game, I couldn’t care less if the fans, players and/or coaches thought every pitch was called wrong, they can all fuck off, but something wasn’t right.

I was short of breath. My chest was tight. I was feeling overheated. I wasn’t dizzy, but I wasn’t good.

In the top of the 7th with 2 out, I called time. I mixed towards 3rd base and called my partner in. I might have stumbled a bit because he came in fast. I was near tears.

I called the coaches in. I apologized, but said I couldn’t continue. I had to step out. They asked what was wrong and I told them.

I’ve got cancer. Stage 4. I can’t breathe properly. My chest feels tight. I’m too hot. I can’t continue. I thought I’d be ok.

Instant recognition. Instant change of attitude, even if I read things wrong earlier. Instant ask if what they can do to help.

I went to the visiting dugout, the players were cleared away, they didn’t know what was wrong. I took my helmet off. Someone got me my water. I sat down and took a long drink. I wanted to be rid of my equipment at it felt that it was crushing me.

The I’ve coach said two moms were nurses and were coming to help. They asked if I wanted an ambulance? No, I don’t want that.

They helped me to the umpire room where I was able to take off the chest protector, the helmet, the legs pads. I felt more comfortable. I drank more water.

My heart rate was high, around 115bpm.

As I sat there, drinking water and cooling off, I started to feel better. My heart rate slowly dropped.  I started feeling like myself.

The game ended. My partner finished it from behind the mound. He came to check in on me. So did the coaches. The nurses said they felt better, my colour had returned. When they first saw me, I was gray, now the pink had returned.

I was asked if I could drive home. Yes, I can. We waited though, 30 minutes. I felt much better.

One of the coordinators stopped by, probably to pick up his son. He wanted me to text him when I got home. I did. He thanked me. I thanked him.

I got home around 1030pm. It’s now 1am. I’m wired. Not tired at all. I should be. I should be very tired, but I’m not.

I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to umpire again. I’m going to take a few games off, at least. I’m getting tired very easily. It’s annoying. I feel like I’m 95.

Maybe I’ll get better in a week, or in two weeks. I’m not sure. Maybe I won’t feel better in a week, or in two weeks. Maybe, last night will be the last game I’ll ever umpire. I just don’t know.

What I do know is this.

If that was my last game, well, it wasn’t that great of a game. But what I also know is this.

I’ve umpired for 30 years and done countless games. Some have been good games, some have been bad games, some have been great games.

What’s not changed is how I feel before, during and after umpiring. I feel great. I feel the love of the game.

If just night was my last game, well, I want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone involved. Thank you to the players who I’ve umpired. Thank you to the coaches who have put in their time. Thank you to the parents who do all they do. Thank you to the umpires that I’ve learned from. Just thank you.

We’ll see what happens in the days, weeks and months ahead. Wish me some luck, if you will. With some luck, I’ll be back behind the plate. Back on the field. Doing what I’ve grown to love. To umpire baseball.

I umpired the Calgary North Baseball Association 22u division again this evening, this time behind the plate.

I wore my new helmet for the first time, I’m quite liking it. It fits tighter than my old mask and is considerably more comfortable.

I was wondering when I’d get hit in the head with a foul ball, well, it was the first or second inning. It was a glancing blow, barely felt it.

It was an excellent game this evening. Great pitching, great defence. The home team pulled ahead early but the visitors caught up and and won the game. We completed 7 innings in just 1:45 or so on a cool and dry evening. I’m glad I wore my jacket, it was about 10C by the end of the game.

I’m back to it Wednesday evening, my first Babe Ruth game of the season, AA at Optimist Park.

I’ve got about 50 games in total scheduled so that’ll keep me busy and out of trouble.