I started the day telecommuting with places like Tbilisi, Georgia and Washington, DC. (I am, after all, only semi-retired.) Mid-morning there was time for a workout on my recumbent bike while listening to Grace play classic rock on Raven Radio. Suzi, our friend Nan and I, were downtown in time to hear the glorious noontime change bell ringing at St. Michael’s cathedral. Just after noon we took the few steps into the Centennial Building to enjoy a brown bag concert by artists from the Sitka Summer Music Festival — Bach, Chopin and Dohnanyi. The glass wall behind the musicians framed mountains, a lighthouse, the MV Amsterdam and diving eagles. Later in the afternoon I found time to read some of a “summer novel” on my deck in the sun. Then I was off to the Backdoor for coffee with friends. Outside the bookstore I stopped to take a picture of someone standing in the middle of Lincoln Street taking a picture of St. Michael’s Cathedral. I am used to seeing tourists stopping traffic to take that picture, but I am not used to seeing someone set up a tripod for the picture. Following coffee I took a stroll along the Sitka Sea Walk, watching the Amsterdam weigh anchor and sail towards Cape Edgecumbe. Along the way I stopped at Stratton Library on the Sheldon Jackson campus and picked up a spy thriller and a couple of depression era books on Madison and Jefferson from their book giveaway. Stratton has been closed for several years and I enjoyed the view through the Library’s window. I complete my stroll along the Sea Walk and out the jetty, stopping to chat with a friend. The tide was out revealing some of the old equipment abandoned from the hatchery covered in green. Suzi and I had a light supper, she had her “ladies night out” at Rio’s and I was off to the State Baseball Tournament at Moller Park; Sitka against Eagle River was to start at 7. But when I got there Juneau was still playing Anchorage South. High School games usually last 7 innings. This game went 15 innings so the Sitka game started two and a half hours late. In the 15th inning Anchorage South scored 4 runs. In the bottom of the 15th, two down and one on, Juneau came back with three and almost tied it. Good Game. Anchorage South played a style of ball where players get on base, bunt, sacrifice, and steal bases. Sitka beat Eagle River in a 10-4 blowout. There were lots of friends there to talk baseball. But one of the highlights was when the PA system played the wrong cut between innings and, during a rap number the phrase “Mother F#@ker” came out.” Everyone let out a cheer as the PA faded quickly. I turned to a retired judge sitting next to me with the comment “Note the time and place. If I ever need to defend a radio slipup I can site that everyone laughed at ‘Mother F#@ker.’ It fits with ‘Contemporary Community Standards.’ ”
