After finally sleeping all night and no longer praying to the porcelain Gods, the journey home began. Aaron graduated to three pieces of toast for breakfast with some apple juice and hopped on the first bus to the airport.
On the bus, Dennis Leonard told a story about signing a contract in the mid-70s that paid him $32,000 a year and he couldn't believe what a huge raise he'd just received. :)
The plane ride home was made interesting by one of the fellow campers passing out on his way to the restroom. Yikes! He had caught the flu also and hadn't eaten all day, in hopes to get home without getting sick. Upon landing, the paramedics and fire department were waiting to offer assistance. He ended up being fine - but it was a scary moment for everyone aboard the plane.
I was excited to pick Aaron up from the airport...and even more excited when he walked toward me shoulder to shoulder with none other than Joe Randa. Aaron was telling him about our trip to St. Louis when #16 hit a home run and we were giving him a standing ovation among thousands of Cards fans, several of whom chose to pelt us with beer and peanuts.:) My eyes were probably the size of half dollars and I remember mouthing, "SHUT UP!" when I heard Joe Randa say, "That must be Amy!" I went to shake his hand but he greeted me with a hug and let me know that he enjoyed our phone conversation and wished us the best with the baby. How cool is THAT.
At the baggage claim, it was neat meeting several more Alumni, who Aaron was so star-struck by just six days earlier...but now considers friends and teammates. Les Norman was really cool - told me what a great ballplayer Aaron is, and how he scouted him early on Monday that week and bent the rules a bit in order to get Aaron on his team.
John Mayberry was hilarious - at baggage claim, he smiled at me so I said, "How are you?" He replied, "Fine, just fine. I'm Big John Mayberry." I said "I'm Amy Pennington, Mrs. Penny to you." and he proceeded to tell me how much he enjoyed Aaron throughout the week..."That Penny is a ball player. Damn good ball player." :)
One camper noted on the way home that Reality Camp starts now, and it's 51 weeks long and much more expensive! :)
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