Happiness Is Red And White

We spent a good part of the day in Peddler’s Village in Lahaska, Pa. yesterday, arriving for brunch at the Cock N’ Bull, then wandering around some of the clothing stores, specialty shops, and various other exhibits (the Halloween/scarecrow contest winners had been named – one witch with a broom that was modeled after a Lockheed L10 Electra aircraft called “Amelia Scareheart” was particularly clever, we thought).

For anyone who has never visited Peddler’s Village, by the way, I should not that it is a very walkable place largely modeled after farmhouses tucked away amidst the scenery of Bucks County between New Hope and Upper Black Eddy not far from the Delaware River.

(By the way, as a public service, I should also ask that anyone visiting not throw coins into the fish ponds, but only into the stream where the waterwheel is located. The water corrodes the coins to the point where the metals seep into the water, poisoning the fish when they try to drink.)

Anyway, we took a break and ended up in a men’s clothing store between “Turn Me Loose,” which sold lots of American-flavored knick knacks (junk?) involving iconic symbols of our culture (and much of the world’s also, I guess) and “French Accents,” a store which sold soap, powders, perfume, table linens, etc. As we settled into some patio chairs, we watched the ball game on the wide screen TV mounted on the wall near the camping equipment and noticed that the Phillies were leading Washington 3-1.

Oh yeah, I remembered, they could wrap up the National League East division today. But how were the Mets doing (the team they were tied with) I wondered?

Well, we quickly found out that the Mets were losing at home (Shea Stadium) to the Florida Marlins 8-1 by about the fourth inning.

Oh mah gawd…

Well, from that point, we were hooked into the game, listening to it all the way home. And just after we got back and turned on the TV once more, the Phils had scored another run to make it 4-1, with one of the two baserunners scoring (both the Phils and Mets games were in the sixth inning at this point).

And I should add that, like most other sports fans everywhere I would guess, you truly have to be a fatalist to support the teams in this area. You must EXPECT that something will go wrong somehow, someway (though, fortunately, that didn’t happen for a change).

Next, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins (pictured) stepped up to the plate. He worked the count to 3-2 against Nats pitcher Luis Ayala, until Ayala came in with what appeared to be a fastball, and Rollins smoked the pitch into the right field corner for a triple, scoring the other baserunner (catcher Chris Coste). Rollins made it all the way to third base, becoming the fourth player in MLB history to accumulate 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season.

God, that was exciting. And from that point on, we somehow knew the Phils would pull this off. And in the seventh, Ryan Howard stepped up to the plate against Nats pitcher Mike Bacsik. Bacsik threw Howard two big, sloppy curveballs, one that fell in for a strike and one that Howard fouled off. If he comes in with another one, I know what will happen, I thought.

He did. And Howard powdered it into the upper right-field deck. And Citizens Bank Park, which had been in a fan frenzy all day long, erupted.

From that point on, it all seemed to be a blur into the ninth inning. When the Nats came up to bat, I summoned the young one over to the T.V. “You may never see this again,” I told him.

And when Phils’ pitcher Brett Myers struck out the Nats’ Willy Mo Pena, Pena’s fourth strikeout of the day, we all screamed, hugged, and acted like idiots.

It was a positively joyous moment from a team that fought relentlessly, particularly over the second half of the season, aided by the unbelievable collapse of the New York Mets.

Who knows what will happen next as the team awaits the winner of the San Diego/Colorado playoff game (with the winner coming to town on Wednesday). All I know, though, is that our team managed to win the National League East, something I thought that, despite their fortitude and talent, they could never do (serves me right, I guess).

Thanks, Phils, for giving me a wonderful birthday present.