I is for Iguchi Appreciation Society Charter Member

 My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is I so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F was for Father of 3 Adult Children

G was for Giraffe Lover

H was  for Husband of One Amazing Wife

I is for Iguchi Appreciator

This is the 20th anniversarry of the Chicago White Sox winning the 2005 World Series. There were many new players  on the team that became instant White Sox legends: Bobby Jenks, Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski, Scott Podsednik, El Duque Hernandez, and # 15 Tadahito Iguchi

Iguchi was 30 years old when he came to Chicago after playing nine seasons with the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks.

In 2005 I had a partial season ticket package for the White Sox.  The Sox went 8-1 in games in my package and led their division from the beginning to the end of the season.  We know that had a lot to do with me, but it also had a lot to do with their 2nd baseman,

I tool my son Charlie to several games that year.  He was about 3 1/2 when he and I went for our first time that year.  We were sitting in the bleachers and there was a group behind us who were getting animated every time that Tadahit came to the plate.  They even had a cheer for him:

You Say Tada

And I say Hito

Tada

Tada (echos)

Hito

Hito (echos)

Tadahito Iguchi

Iguchi with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan after his 4 years in the Major Leagues

Charlie and I tried to imitate that cheer every game we were at.  He quickly became Charlie's favorite player.  We even called him Charlihito sometimes as a nick name. Some of my fondest memories are of Charlie in his Iguchi shirt. 

By mcclouds on Flickr - From Flickr; description page is (was) here, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

Even though the above pictures were taken in the 2006 season, they communicate what it was like to have Iguchi in the fold in 2005.   

 Tadahito Iguchi , Aaron Rowand. and Paul Konerko hit back to back to back homers against Randy Johnson in 2005

 

 

tadahita was an excellent 2nd baseman.  Here's an amazing play from 2006.

Tadahito helps the White Sox defeat the 2004 World Series Champion Red Sox in the second game of the ALDS

To get back to the A to Z Challenge page click here.  To see the A to Z Master List click here.

Next up: I don't know.  

H is for Husband

My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is H so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F was for Father of 3 Adult Children

G was for Giraffe Lover

H is for Husband of One Amazing Wife

My wife is  amazing and I am married to her. That makes me the husband of one amazing wife.  

We were married 27 years ago this week. Our wedding reception was at a roller rink,  It was the wedding of Dave & Amy Roller, so it seemed like the best venue.

Our wedding was the first wedding we attended as a married couple.  The most recent wedding we went to was Our niece's wedding a few days after Christmas last year.  After the wedding Amy and I hung out at a mall and we did a little goofing around. There was a photo booth kiosk where you could get a comic book style cover with your picture on it.

Not much more to say after that picture.  To get back to the A to Z Challenge page click here.  To see the A to Z Master List click here.

Next up: I don't know.  

G is for Giraffe Lover

My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is G so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F was for Father of 3 Adult Children

G is for Giraffe Lover

Exactly 10 years ago today my A to Z post was about giraffe poop.  My theme was nouns and each entry was about a person, place or a thing.  Giraffe Poop is a thing.  

My favorite animal is the giraffe.  It hasn't always been my favorite animal.  This is because it wasn't until my earl 20's that I had a favorite animal.  Then I started hanging out with Sheryl Ryan.  I met Sheryl when she was a Junior in high school and I was a volunteer for Campus Life, a parachurch youth group.  We got to be friends and I would often hang out with her at her house.  It became obvious that her favorite animal was the giraffe.  She had a whole bunch of giraffe memorabilia in her room.

It was then I discovered that I did not have a favorite animal.  So I just stole hers.  That was the mid 80's now 40 years later my favorite animal is still the giraffe.  Yes, I once was fascinated by how they poop. But there is so much more to them than that.  I love that they don't make noises.  I love that they are majestic and awkward at the same time.  I love that giraffes newborn giraffes are about my size 6 feet.  I like how they eat leaves.  I'm just enamored with them.

I also love that I have visited many zoos over the years with family and friends and I have had many opportunities to share my love for giraffes with my family.  I love discovering what kind of animals my family loves. From wolves, to rabbits from snakes to elephants, from turtles to giraffes, learning about and loving animals is something I'm so glad to continue to share with my family.

For more of the A to Z challenge click here.  To get back to the master list click here.

Up Next: Putting the Huh in Husband

 

F is for Father of 3 Adult Children

 

My A to Z Challenge Theme this year is the ABC's of me.  Each day in the month of April with the exception of Sundays I will be posting about one aspect of my life that begins with the letter of the day.  Today's letter is F so let's get right to it shall we?

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F is for Father of 3 Adult Children

When I started this blog 16 years ago, I was 44 years old and my children were 19.  Well they were nine, seven and three so their total age was 19.  I was approximately 2 and 1/3 times their total age.  Now I am 60 and the youngest is 19 all by her lonesome! Together they are 67 so they are approximately 1.1 times older than me.  

My tendency for posts like this is to talk about them.  But since this is the ABC's of me.  I want to talk about me as a father. Focusing on the challenges I face as I navigate being a father to adult children.

Have you heard of helicopter parents? My Dad was not a helicopter parent. My dad was more of an air traffic control parent. Actually that may be too generous. My Dad was more like the air traffic control guy in the movies when you have some guy or girl who has to land the plane because all the flight crew are too sick or dead to operate the aircraft. The tower takes over has you go on autopilot and walks you down I step by step details. 

The problem with this approach is that in the metaphor I was not some inexperienced warm body filling the Captains chair.  I was a capable pilot able to fly and land my own plane. 

My Dad was forever turning lights out in our house trying to save electricity.  However, I think he never was able to find an off switch when it came to parenting. 

I decided before I was even married that if I had children I’d want to prepare them for flying solo as independent adults. Then I had children and practice is much more complicated than theory. I  understand now how hard that off switch is to find.

Perhaps it's not an off switch at all but a switch like that in a rail yard when you change the tracks.  The first 18 years and sometimes more your children are on the track to adulthood.  They are the passenger and we are the conductor.    Then they all hop into different tracks, my son jumped on the work train upon graduation.  My youngest daughter took the University express.  My oldest daughter's journey has had more detours, track changes and layovers than any of us expected but her train has been moving steadily in the correct direction for a couple years now.  

My wife and I laid a lot of track for our kids in their first 2 decades.  We worked hard to keep them from going off the rails.  Now is the time that we are doing our best to help them make their own connections and ride off on their own steam. 

For more of the A to Z challenge click here.  To get back to the master list click here.

Next Stop: Giraffe Junction.