Feeling Betta.

Salut les gars. I really appreciate the comments you guys have left. Chris, thanks for the support and for the words. Really means a lot my brother. I still laugh about the "I think I heard sumpin.." comment. Eric, it was awesome to see you and hang out with you the other day. Someone upstairs knew that I needed to see a familiar face. Spending the day with your family was godsent. Mom and Dad, I love you guys and thank you for making sure I'm ok since I have hit my little slump. Alex, I got your message today and it meant a lot. Don't ever think that you can't tell me those things...I still need to hear that from you. Ian, it was good to talk to you the other day man. I hope you, Emily, lil Jo, and Steph have a good time when you meet up. To everyone else who reads, I hope you enjoy what I write. I love and miss you guys so much.

I will start by telling you about my day with Eric. Eric Coutu is a guy played with when I was in Bois Guillaume, France. Before I came to France, I doubt Eric used his english much. So I bring it out of him. He is better than he thinks. He is a great guy with a great family. A guy who does things not for himself. He is happy when other people around him are. Just a great friend. So I get an email from him saying that he is in Quebec because that is where he grew up. I can't tell you how happy I was to see his face when I met him at our stadium. He brought his three adorable kids, wife, and mother-in-law. Big hugs were shared by all. I then took him on a lil tour of the clubhouse and the stadium. His wife, Virginie, said something when she came out of the tunnel, onto the field,

"Well Tony, this is no Bois Guillaume."

But I would not trade my memories of Bois Guillaume's field for anything. Yes, it is a considerable step-up from where I was at, but....
I loved cutting the grass, adding dirt, and teaching my kids on that field. I took pride in that field. I still have dirt from the mound on my dresser at home. Ok enough reminiscing.

So my day off started with a tour of Quebec. We went to a beautiful waterfall just outside of town. Chute Montmorency. Chute meaning "waterfall" in english. It was massive. Eric and I were chuckling with the "Holy Chute" comments. I lead his kids right up to the fall and the mist just drenched us all. Laughing the whole time. I needed this time with them. After that, we took a tour of Old Quebec. I haven't really seen the city at all until this day. You guys would love it. It perfectly reminds me of a town in France. Just beautiful. So we walked around and said our goodbyes. Eric is going to make another trip to see me before he leaves for France to see one of my games. Thanks Eric for that day. J'ai eu besoin d'un jour comme ça.

We just got done wrapping up an 8 day homestand vs Sussex and Worcester. I did fairly well during the week. Couple multi hit games and a couple 0'fers. Hit a lil slump though to be honest. The only way I am going to get out of it is not to think. And to fucking swing as hard as I can. So that is that.

I will now tell you about the time that I spent with Josh's mom and grandma. They came to visit Josh for a couple of days. I have to say that they could have been my family members as well. The grandma always demanded that I hug her when I see her and she would always give me a kiss on the cheek. Always saying,

"I worry about you kiddo(Referring to my tore up knee). I love you."

They treated me to dinner the nights that they were there. They don't know how much it meant to me to have them there. They will always be in my heart.

Just really is amazing how things work. When I was completely down, being homsick and all, I was picked up by Eric and Josh's family. The time that I spent with them really subsided the negative water that was drowning me.

Thank you.

I will now share a funny story after our last homegame. After the game, there was going to be a party on our "Beer Concourse" with live music, free beer, and free food. When you are a poor baseball player, this is something you take advantage of. So after showering up, I headed to the party. I was greeted with hello's, signed autographs and had a couple beers. So I was talking to Steph on the phone when I heard everyone calling my name.

"Yeah Tony can play guitar! TONY?! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE."

Oh shit.

So Gagne took the phone from me and told Steph he was taking it from here. So after a couple of stiff shots and a chugged beer, I found myself with a guitar in my hands and a mic in my face. I was immediately reminded of the only other time I played "live" before in France. That was great because everyone was completely sauced and didn't understand a damn word I sang. One thing that I have learned when playing guitar is this...
You have to have atleast three songs, not only that you can play without thinking, but sing to as well. I happen to have a couple in my repetoire. So I started with Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight."

In my mind, I sounded great. In reality, probably not.

I had the attention and laughter from all the guys on the team. It was great. I ended with Backstreet Boys "I want it that way." You might be thinking, "What the fuck.." but it is good one to play where people love to chime in. I then put the guitar down and thanked the crowd for their dispersed applause. Fun night, funny story, but more importantly, a good memory.

I am in Little Falls, New Jersey right now playing the NJ Jackals. Got rained out today and went to go see Harry Potter tonight. Harry is such a pussy btw. When is he going to grow a set?

Well, I love you guys and I will talk to you soon. Miss you.