[Nepeta]

Listening to the Cincinnati Reds on the radio in with Dad in his garage, while stealing nips of his beer while he pretended not to look.

Pete Rose was King, I was 7 & Mom was horrified - which made it even more enjoyable for Dad & me.

Good times, miss my old man.

My Dad knew a guy who had season tickets right next to the Reds dugout at Crosley Field. Sometimes he'd give tickets to my Dad. You could look right into the dugout and see Rose et al spit.

Before everybody had air conditioning, the whole neighborhood sat outside on their porches in the evening, usually listening to Reds games. We knew all of our neighbors.

[LadyBuck]

We were too far away to actually attend a game (Indy). Must have been something to see Sparky Anderson, Johnny Bench & the boys!

Still, I wouldn’t trade a moment with the crackly old radio and Dad in the overheated garage, while mom tore her hair out in the air-conditioned house.

Those times with Dad & the Reds made me the baseball fan I am today (alas, they also made me the beer drinker I am, too. LOL)

As for Dad, he passed away in 08 - our last time together alone as father and daughter was in the hospital, watching the Indians beat Boston (he wasn’t a Cleveland fan, but he loved seeing the BoSox lose). Glad the last game he watched made him smile (and I snuck him his last ever beer).

Somehow, it just seemed right.