GET TO THE POINT

Photo by S. Auberle - "The Point" - Pittsburgh

"The Golden Triangle" or "The Point"--the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers where they join to form the mighty Ohio. PNC Park, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates sits on the banks of the Allegheny. The night before the Blue Moon of June (as in once in a) I was there for a great night of baseball.

Perfect temperature...city lights coming up...a full moon rising as the western sky glows rose and pink...people strolling slowly across Roberto Clemente Bridge...hot dogs, beer, peanuts...the river filling with boats for viewing the after-game fireworks...

A line drive foul ball arcs toward us and the guy in front of me grabs it, and kindly hands it to a little boy named Joe in front of him. Little Joe's Pirates' cap falls down over his ears and he is so cute you could just slather mustard on him and eat him up. Joe grins, takes the ball, and starts to throw it back onto the field. Little Joe's dad, Big Joe, nearly has a heart attack, shouts NO! at little Joe, scaring his small daughter snuggled on his lap, who begins wailing loudly and long. Frank Sinatra croons Fly Me to the Moon over the loudspeakers, above the commotion in front of us.

At the seventh inning stretch we all rise and sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

In the bottom of the ninth, Jose Bautista hits a sacrifice fly to bring in the winning run and no baseball movie ever came up with a better ending than this.

And then the fireworks--walking back across the bridge to our hotel--red stars and white ones and starbursts and butterflies and great, booming riffs...this is summer in the city and as the commercial goes, it just doesn't get any better than this.

- mimi