End of the World (Series)

 

Home is this way

The idea was hatched sometime earlier in the week.

What happened if I went on the air on Robcasting using only my AirPods?

It meant I could only broadcast whatever my AirPods would allow. There would be no adjusting of levels and no theme music or other audio elements. It would not be a "produced" broadcast.

But, other than that, how would it sound?

I guess there was only one way to find out.

With no promotion of any kind, I called last night's quarterfinal game between Eagle Pass, TX and Trumbull.

Too many people asked if I would try. Parents wanted to hear it. Grandparents. Etc. They wanted a familiar voice. I thought it was worth a try, although it was a very last-minute decision.

I know a thing or two about creating makeshift broadcast booths
and ad-hoc broadcasts.

So I picked a quiet spot and, with no fuss, I went live.

And no one could hear me.

Mixlr said I was live and was recording the audio. But I couldn't be heard. I tried to see if my website was active and it was not.

I tried a few times. To be honest, I was getting annoyed and ready to give up. Still, ever the prepared completist, I decided to call the game and record it. I could post it later.

Then it occurred to me: was the wifi at Virginia Credit Union Stadium not strong enough?

I turned off the wifi and worked off the subpar cell phone signal I had.

Suddenly, I was live.

Oh, and as this was completely ad-hoc, I had nothing more than a scorecard. Yet to prove my preparation was solid, I bought a battery pack with me to keep my phone charged. Otherwise, I was about as minimalistic as I've ever been for a broadcast.

I sat alone down the left field line in a highback chair with a counter that suited me just fine.

I scratched the Eagle Pass lineup as the game went along. I already had the Trumbull lineup.

The team huddle after the game

Alas, the story didn't end well for our friends from New England. Eagle Pass took advantage of any opportunity they received and their pitching settled down enough to win the game, 11-7.

Trumbull gathered down the left field line and talked as a group. Their sadness resonated but the pride of their families rang out as applause sounded right around midnight in the stadium, which had been silenced due to a city-wide ordinance that shut off the public address system.

Eagle Pass played Tallahassee, FL today and beat them as well so they'll play Orcutt, CA for the championship tomorrow at 2 p.m.

I won't be there. 

I'm home as I write these words. In my position as "Renaissance Man," I turned into a travel agent today, helping to play human Tetris as we figured out who was going in which car to get back to Connecticut.

We had too many bodies and too few vehicles. At one point, I was going to have upwards of four passengers with me.

Then a parent suggested renting a car to take from Fredericksburg to Connecticut. That plan seemed great until calls to two rental car agencies came up empty.

Then along came R. Adams, travel agent, who with the support of his trusty Priceline app, discovered that an Avis location in Stafford had a mid-size SUV that could hold five people.

Having dined on hotel pancakes and a breakfast burrito from Wawa, I shuttled assistant coach Bob Gerbert to the rental location 15 minutes away.

Incidentally, as if looking to be symbolic, the Wawa in Fredericksburg next to our hotel was serving pumpkin spice coffee. Nothing says "baseball season is over" like that.

Shockingly, the rental car plan went off without a hitch, and suddenly, I was bound for Greenwich alone.

And so began the over eight hours that it took to return. I wasn't surprised given that it was a Friday in the middle of summer. Traffic in both Delaware and New Jersey was horrific.

In a week in which there were myriad hiccups (and everyone is fine), nobody needed to know that the broadcaster or whatever I am had a slight, er, panic attack (I still don't know what it was) at the top of the Commodore Barry Bridge between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

I'm fine. Truly, but as things got a bit foggy I was certain that I had to get off that bleeping bridge. It felt like the walls were closing in on me. It was weird and momentarily scary.

I decided food was needed and I soon procured a sandwich from Wawa in New Jersey.

That seemed to work and, again, I'm fine.

With that, all of the fun and frivolity of the various (and sundry) road trips is over. I'm heading back to the Renegades tomorrow night to handle public address duties for them for the first time in a month.

Sadly, we departed Virginia before any of us wanted to, and the Trumbull families were certainly pretty sad about that fact. A long night of talking in the hotel led to a late bedtime.

At that late-night chat, I also edited all of the pieces of our renegade (see what I did there?) broadcast together and uploaded it to the usual archives.

I also missed out on the chance to have Jon come up from Richmond and join us. Additionally, I didn't get to Richmond. Missed opportunities, unfortunately.

But this is a stretch -- and a summer -- that I won't forget. From North Providence to Buffalo to Pittsburgh and West Virginia and Fayetteville and Ocean City (for an hour) and Fredericksburg I lived the life of a traveler and loved almost all of it.

I'm so grateful to every person who made it possible and supported the insanity. Incidentally, Sean will return to New York tomorrow from his extended vacation and I'll likely see him on Sunday.

Thank you so many times to Mike Buswell and the remarkable Trumbull families. If there's any magic in social media, it's there that people can and should stay in touch. I hope that continues given the indelible memories that came from these experiences.

It's back to reality now, along with one last night of games -- next Friday, from Staten Island University Hospital Community Park as I'll call softball. I'll pass along more details as we get closer.

For now, it's time to settle down. A long day and a long stretch of travel have me a bit weary. Sleep will restore things as the weekend unwinds.

I'll also be able to read my copy of Susan's book, Broken Places. Get yours!

Waiting for me at the door when I got home