Softball, softball, softball....

Gerry started Friday morning in Mexico, but managed to catch a plane out of Houston to Nashville, TN, where he rented a car and was home in time for Geri Ann's first game in the regional junior high girls softball tourney at West Franklfort. We arrived at the park just after Carterville had beaten Benton. The game we saw Johnston City play against Herrin was impressive. Both teams were good, and we were pleased to win 5-3 and be able to play against Carterville on Monday.

Before we left the park, granddaughter Tara, who coaches junior high softball, had called her mom to let her know that Pinckneyville had just won the regional up there by winning against Christopher. (Their region had started a day earlier, so she was playing in the championship game.) We left the park laughing at the image of Tara being dashed with a bucket of water for winning.

After a trip to the bank, showers, feeding the dogs and such, Gerry and Vickie and Geri Ann headed to meet up with Tara at Mt. Vernon, and they drove onto South Bend, where they were to see Erin play her first two practice games for Notre Dame yesterday. She was designated hitter in the first game and catcher in the second game. And Notre Dame won both games, one against Detroit Mercy and one against Wayne State.

Gerald was terribly tempted to go to Notre Dame also, but he stayed home and ended up getting all of the dirt work he's done on west side of the lake strawed thanks to our neighbor Scott. And with today's rain, he is glad it is completed. He also picked the okra, which we had for dinner today and did a number of other tasks.

Brian and Trent were down for the weekend in their camper. Now Brian is meeting Mary Ellen and Brianna to let Trent be back for school tomorrow while Brian stays down to work on their farming. Trent and Samuel got in quite a bit of play time. Something about electricity, lemons, paper clips, and something they'd found of Uncle David's came up when they re-entered the room after they had excused themselves from the Sunday dinner table to go play. I suspect they were wondering themselves how safe it was, for David immediately left the table saying, "I know what you are planning on doing, and you aren't going to do it." Ha. Gerald says it is always interesting when there are a couple of boys here--this time it was a little pile of rocks on the front porch. (Katherine explained they all came out of one of Trent's pockets--she saw him pulling them out.)

Ruby Jung and I had spent some time at Ernestine Brasher's on Thursday folding and assembling enough copies of our new Southern Illinois Writers Guild anthology to sell at the Hunting Fishing Days at John A. Logan College. Ernestine makes wonderful coffee and peach cobbler, by the way. I didn't get to stay as long as I wanted, for I needed to pick up Samuel from his school, which was nearby.

Then I spent Saturday at our Guild table at the Hunting Fishing event.And this year I not only got to sell the Guild anthologies, but I had my own book to sell. That was exciting. It was fun seeing so many people including David and Samuel and my nephew DuWayne and wife Vickie. I didn't have any former student come up this week, but one of my daddy's students did. Rita Kirby had been reading Dixie Terry's plugs for my book, and she came intending to buy one. It meant a great deal to me to get to autograph a book for one of my late father's students.

When I got home I had a phone message that I can have a book signing at Carbondale's Bookworm on November 5th and then later in the evening my friend Joyce called from Denver, Colorado. That was icing on the cake.