Cooperstown, New York! Home of the greatest pitchers, catchers, managers, and hitters of the game. Every baseball fan wants to go there, including me. And this was the big day. My daughter, Vicki, and I were finally going to go.
It had been a rough year for me. Both my parents had passed away and my wife had left me. Then I had to move to an apartment in another town. Everything was pretty glum until Vicki called one day and asked me if I wanted to go to Cooperstown. Of course I said yes. We'd go to Cooperstown for a couple of days and then end the trip at a Phillies game. What more could I ask for.
Vicki picked me up and we took the three-hour trip to Cooperstown and got there about 5 in the afternoon. What a nice little village. You could park your car and get a bus pass and take the little buses anywhere in town you wanted to go. We got our room at a rustic hotel that didn't even have internet service. We were a little disappointed in that but we weren't there to get on the internet. We were there to explore baseball history.
We found a little place to get dinner and were quite satisfied both with the food and the friendliness of the staff and customers. I remarked to Vicki that I wouldn't mind living here. She laughed and gave me a hug and a quick kiss on the lips. We had always been close and that hadn't changed since her mother and I separated. She told me that she was surprised at how long it took her mother and I to go our separate ways. She said she could see it coming.
After dinner we went to the Hall Of Fame and explore a little. The major exploration would be tomorrow when we'd have all day.
We returned to the hotel around 9:30 and relaxed. I got comfortable. I raised my kids in a nudist household but from what I knew they did not choose to adopt that lifestyle. Anyway, I got comfy and got under the covers in my bed and listened to the radio. I found out an area of very intense thunderstorms was heading our way and would get here in the middle of the night. I informed Vicki of this and she expressed the hope they woulodn't come. She is very much afraid of thunderstorms. She got under the covers in her bed and started reading a book. I blew her a kiss goodnight and dozed off.
Around 2 in the morning I awoke to the sound of thunder in the distance. Not just a little thunder but tons of it. This was an extremely intense storm and I listened to see if it was moving toward us. Indeed it was. It got closer and closer and soon the wind began to howl.
Vicki stirred in her sleep. Suddenly a booming crash of thunder.
"dad!" she yelled.
