Happy Cinco de Allison to me

Sure, the final score was 13-0 in favor of the not-so-mighty 'Stros, but that doesn't mean there wasn't pleasure to be found in warm breezes, and good company, and a decent margarita, and a free sixth-row-edge-of-the-dugout view of a Saturday afternoon ballgame. It would have been nice for there to have been more to the home-team baseball than lousy pitching and lousy at-bats, so rare is such a vantage point, but given the wide aisles and padded seats unknown in our usual locales, at least we were comfortable. And still ready, by the time the meek Cardinal line-up wandered up to the clubhouse to inherit the earth, to watch some actual baseball. So much so that when a crowd of young players in black and white uniforms emerged through the wagon gates onto right field, we were intrigued. Joe Jackson, that you? I'm pretty sure this isn't Iowa; I think I could tell.

Turns out that two high school teams were playing an annual game as soon as the major league grass was mowed. So, unwilling to abandon our spot in the sunny stadium just yet, we stayed, though we may have been the only neutral parties left in the stands. Most of the so-called "best fans in baseball" had cleared out at least an hour before game's end. While my presence at the bottom of the 9th has everything to do with how much I was enjoying my day and nothing to do with any dedication to a team, everyone who left early today did miss the best baseball of the day. We watched 3 or 4 innings of hustle and hits and, be still my heart, stolen bases. We cheered for every sharp play and good pitch, smiled at the focus of young kids going about their business on the big field, and hoped that all those foul balls were being returned to the home team. We only left when we started to get hungry and the restaurants on the Hill were likely to have opened for dinner. Birthday girl can't live on ballpark nachos alone.

But she can live on a day like today and good Italian food and a tres leches cake made with as much love as cream, 'least for a while.