while jan's waiting in line to buy her sausage sandwich, i see four or five men, wearing identical white t-shirts -- says lehigh valley yankees fan club -- hey, my friend christine schiavo recently told me about going to the lehigh valley ironpigs games -- christine and i met, 30 summers ago, in london -- temple university's british mass media program -- me, christine and another temple student, louisa, went to the isle of wight for a weekend -- great trip -- christine found me, last year, on facebook -- told me that louisa works in the district attorney's office in detroit -- i make contact -- try to get together, while i'm there for an opera -- doesn't happen
i tell the men about christine, who works in the allentown newspaper -- they tell me that a member of their group, keith groller, is the sports editor of the newspaper -- where is he -- they don't know -- their party is sitting in section 140 -- they're a group of 47 -- from bethlehem and the lehigh valley -- six-and-a-half-hour drive -- here, all week
i e-mail christine, tell her what happened -- she can't believe it
This is so weird. Are you saying you are with my co-worker Keith Groller? Are you in Pittsburgh? This is crazy.i'd e-mailed christine from pittsburgh, friday night, when her former phillie jimmie rollins lined one off the fence in dead center, to tie the game in the ninth (if i remember right)
i tell her i'm in cleveland -- yes, her keith groller
That's crazy. Keith, as you probably already know, is a sports writer at The Morning Call. But he's really a legend. He works all day, every day. Writes a column, stories, blog, does a radio show, TV, goes to every sports banquet. But we're talking high school sports and local college sports, the grass roots of sports. I hope you get a chance to talk to him.great game -- goes into extras -- in the fourteenth or fifteenth inning, jan and i go quickly down the stairs, so i can meet keith, and so we don't miss anything -- he's pointed out to me -- i introduce myself -- he thinks the world of christine -- he's in the middle -- no cap -- eyeglasses, poking out
he, his wife and their daughter leave before the game's over -- we talk a bit
the yankees' last pitcher in the game is named pinder -- i tell jan about the great sports writer of ancient greece, pindar -- i have to read a book i have, of his odes -- maybe the best sports writer ever
michael brantley lined a shot off of pinder, in the bottom of the sixteenth -- goes off of diving mark texiera's glove -- jose ramirez scores from second -- we win -- players chase brantley into left center -- spray him with water -- corey kluber uses a machine gun -- kids
