Sun Shines Every Day in Pittsburgh

Sipping my cappuccino outside the Espresso a Mano on Butler Street this evening I paused, took in the smell of the Bradford Pears lining this stretch of hipster restaurants and bars, soaked what was left of the day's very welcomed sunshine, and gloated a bit that I was with the prettiest girl in Pittsburgh. Life is, indeed, quite good.

It's been a little over 5 months since I crammed Chad Eldridge's car full of stuff and moved into our apartment in Pittsburgh.  Lots has changed for us since then; we've sold our house and find ourselves completely debt free for the first time in our lives, started new jobs at UPMC (which are going swimmingly, thanks), celebrated Caleb's engagement to his wonderful girlfriend, been reunited with Em and had a front row seat to her first year at Pitt - close enough to be a shoulder for her, far enough away that she can enjoy some independence. That's the reader's digest version.

One motive for returning to the 'Burgh is the wide range of things to do and see here. For instance, most Fridays Denise and I try out a new restaurant. The variety of gluten free, organic eats is a bit broader than in Georgetown. :)

We've also gotten to attend a few Pirates games, which brings me to this posts real topic - Friday's Brewers' 5-3 win over the Bucs was one of the oddest experiences we've ever had at a ball game. Three items to consider:

1) In the bottom of the 1st, Pirates' left fielder Starling Marte hit a routine infield pop-up that turned into an adventure for Milwaukee's 1st & 3rd basemen (Mark Reynolds and Aramis Ramirez) who smashed into each other leaving the ball to plop innocently on the grass. Marte was at first awarded a single for some reason. Marte scored later in the inning on a Russell Martin (my favorite Pirate) ground out to short.

2) In the top of the 6th, Brewers' catcher Martin Maldonado tapped a ground ball to Pirates' 3B Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez fielded it and threw to 1st. The ball never made it. From our seats in the left field bleachers we couldn't really make out what happened until watching the replay. I thought maybe the it had slipped out of Alvarez' hand. But what Alvarez threw wasn't actually a ball any longer. The ball had come apart on it's way off Maldonado's bat, and further dissolved on the throw. Gotta wonder where that ball was made, because it wasn't hit all that hard. The look on Martin's face as he examines the ball is priceless. Strange days for sure.

3) Some time around the 8th inning the crazies in the left field bleachers were feeling good enough to lift up the 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' chant when something good anything happened. One of these upstanding young men stood on his seat dressed in a homemade t-shirt, bright orange mullet wig, and fire engine red WWE wrestling shorts to direct the cheers. He was more than a bit amusing. Unfortunately, the section's security guard didn't agree and came, assisted by one of Pittsburgh's finest who appeared to have borrowed Ryan Braun's stash, and escorted the bewildered and suddenly modest young man into the Pittsburgh night - serenaded by hearty chants of 'No! No! No!' He was permitted to retrieve his pants, phone, etc. I can say with great certainty, I've never seen anything quite like that at a baseball game.

We are loving life in the Burgh.