Swing Batter Batter Swing

We've heard this phrase many times at countless baseball games.

Where did it originate and why do you hear it at ball games?

Online sources indicate the words yelled from the sidelines at a baseball game are "chatter" an attempt to distract the opposing team's batter so he will screw up. Other sideline chatter attempts at distraction include calling the batter "a sissy" or yelling "throw it over, he can't hit."

Years ago, Cincinnati Little League players were prohibited from taunting the opposing team players with "negative" chatter. The exception was unless the chatter was positive and directed at team members. Officials said the ban was a needed response to increased incidents of taunting (mostly from parents).

I don't know if this ban is still in effect there. But chatter is alive and well here in Nashua. We heard it this past Friday night at Holman Stadium, when the Nashua (NH) Silver Knights played their season home opener against the Massachusetts based North Shore Navigators. There was a lot of bat swinging.  

The Silver Knights beat the Navigators in a final 5-4 score that was tied until the Knights scored the game-winning winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning before an opening night crowd of over 2,200. The Silver Knights are now 3-0.

This summer collegiate baseball team is based in Nashua, NH and is a charter member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball (FCBL), a wood-bat league with a 56-game regular season comprising 10 teams from NH to western CT. 

The team is managed by the Lowell Spinners, the Class A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Home games are played at Holman Stadium built in 1937 as a multi-purpose stadium, official seating capacity is 4,000. 

The phrase was popularized in the 1986 classic comedy, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Ferris and

best friend, Cameron Frye, are watching the Chicago Cubs playing at Wrigley Field when

Cameron starts chanting: "Hey batta batta batta swing batter batter." He accentuates the

word swing as Sa-Wing then adds: He can't hit, and he can't hit, and he can't hit, and he can't hit, sa-wing batter! Ferris soon joins in the chant. (Video clips can be found online.)

Swing is the title of a song by an American country music singer and actor Trace Adkins. It's not exactly about striking out in baseball, but rather about striking out with an attractive woman. 

The video is set against a baseball field and, while fun, could be considered a bit perhaps too risqué for many. For that reason, a link is not included; however, the video is readily accessible on youtube. You can search online and watch at your own discretion.

Hey Batta Batta Swing!: The Wild Old Days of Baseball (2007) is the title of a 2007 book by Sally Cook and James Charlton and illustrated by Ross MacDonald. It contains info on baseball trivia: "Discover what it was like before there was a pitching mound or players had numbers on their jerseys. Learn how Babe Ruth got his nickname, why Brooklyn's team was called the Dodgers, and what Roger Clemens gave to keep his lucky number 21 when he switched teams. Sprinkled throughout are definitions of baseball's weird and wacky vocabulary."

Have you ever shouted swing batter batter swing at a ball game ?

Friday Funnies

Shhhhh it's a secret — CVS what?
Pizzeria, grocery store, hardware store, bakery . . .


Wait, Wait — of course, maybe it's Pharmacy !

This new CVS retail store has been under construction for the past year on Main St in downtown Nashua, NH and opens in early June.  It's NO secret as the previous, but smaller store, has remained open during construction.

So, it seemed unusual that the word "pharmacy" remains covered on the front and side of the new building the past couple of weeks. Most folks know WHAT follows the CVS name of the retailer, don't they?
FYI - the building reflection in the lower right window is Nashua (NH) City Hall.

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone

(and, keep looking for oddities all around)

A Grand Time . . .

It didn't exactly start out that way as these scenes taken on May 16 show. yes, this was snow seen as we traveled a 2-hour road trip from Nashua to Whitefield, NH.

That's what we had a couple of weeks ago when we celebrated the 19th anniversary of our 1st date (yes, we do celebrate those odd anniversaries) at one of the grand old (and historic) hotels in the state.

Even its name is grand — The Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa.

A grand hotel is defined as a large and luxurious hotel, especially one built in a traditional architectural style. Other NH grand hotels include the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, The Balsams Wilderness in Dixville Notch, and the Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle. Over a century ago, many grand resort hotels were developed in large part because of the railroad which would transport families from cities in the East Coast and Canada to the cooler mountains for summer, many staying at these hotels for the entire season. There were many hotels, inns and boarding house and about 20 grand hotels that offered guests amenities including fine dining, riding stables, game areas, post and telegraph offices as well as a variety of outdoor activities.

The MVG majestically overlooks the White Mountains. It was originally called The Mountain View House by its owners, William and Mary Jane Dodge.

The story told at a history tour of the MVG is that two weary travelers were taken in for the night when their stagecoach overturned on the way from Montreal to Boston. The driver directed them to a nearby farmhouse where the Dodges offered them lodgings. The travelers haste to reach Boston faded when they saw the views of the White Mountains and received a home-cooked breakfast. They decided to stay an entire week.

The Dodges, recognizing this business opportunity, accepted their first boarders in 1865 and the next year officially opened The Mountain View House inn. Additions were put on over the next few years and by 1884, the inn could hold over 100 guests. By 1911, facilities were expanded to accommodate over 200 guests. The iconic tower was added in 1912 to take advantage of the scenic view.

The inn became known as "The View" and the Dodges expanded to double capacity to 300 guests and dining for 450. The property remained in the family and claimed to be the oldest U.S. resort owned and operated by the same family living on the same property until it was sold in 1979. 

Sadly, the new owners weren't successful; the inn closed in 1986 after 22 seasons and went into foreclosure, the furnishings were auctioned in 1989. The golf course remained in use, but the hotel never reopened and fell into disrepair. In 1998, it was purchased by a Massachusetts contractor who got the entire complex for $1.3 M. A $20 million restoration added a new hotel kitchen, tower spa, tennis courts, landscaping and scaled down the guest rooms to 145. The hotel reopened in May 2002 under its current name.

The MVG was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. The hotel and 4,000 nearby acres were purchased in 2005 by American Financial Group which owns and operates historic luxury hotels in four other U.S. states.

The MVG has a formal dining room, restored ballroom, exercise room, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, Jacuzzis, a tower spa with panoramic views, 17-seat theater and wine cellar. Seasonal activities include golf, tennis, riding, dogsled adventures, evening campfires and axe throwing (no kidding)  — Grenville captured 3rd place! 

The hotel features the oldest operating elevator in the state of NH; operated by one of the hotel staff (no self service due to its age). There's a "working" farm with sheep, goats, chickens, Scottish Highland cattle, Angora rabbits, and llamas; fine dining in an actual wine cellar — dress nicely and bring extra $ for this experience (we passed this up). You can also play chess on this oversize lawn set. During the onsite history tour, we learned that U.S. President Eisenhower was a frequent guest who visited the reading room so often that it's now named for him. 

During our 3-day trip, we visited another "grand" NH hotel, The Mount Washington Hotel where we had lunch and enjoyed spectacular views (more on this visit in a future post).


Did we have a GREAT trip?
In a single word —Yes!
Hands down, this was one of the best anniversary trips we've taken in recent years. Our stay was during the "off" season, which we would highly recommend when folks consider traveling if time isn't a factor. Why?  rates are usually lower, there's fewer guests, and more attentive service. And, there's no jostling for the comfiest seat on the front porch or in the lounge.

That said, we're already planning a return visit for the next "off" season which we were told would be late October to early November (right before the holiday rush).

If You Love Freedom

Remember to say a prayer for those you can't thank today.
Comments are off. Enjoy your FREDOM!!!

Day of Remembrance

To many, Memorial Day is just a three-day weekend. It’s known as the day that marks start of summer and a day for great shopping deals. 

The significance of Memorial Day goes far beyond these things. Celebration of the holiday began after the Civil War, when it was known as “Decoration Day.” It was originally founded to honor the soldiers who died in the Civil War. 

Today, Memorial Day honors all Americans who have died in military service. It is a federal U.S. holiday that is observed annually on the last Monday in May — that's today. 

So in between the cookouts, get-togethers and/or shopping excursions, take time to thank someone for his/her service. It will be appreciated and a good thing to do today.

(Comments are off. Enjoy the holiday)

Friday Funnies

It's that time of year — cookouts and get-togethers.

But, this is NOT the place to grill, even if you're cooking "shrimp on the barbie". . .
  

Enjoy your Weekend, Everyone.

It's Memorial Day here in the U.S. on Monday — the unofficial start of summer

Got YOUR Red Nose?

No, this doesn't refer to Rudolph the Reindeer (more on that famous reindeer below).

Red Nose Day is Thursday, May 26, when NBC will host a live TV event which will include stars of comedy, film, TV, and music. The 2016 Red Nose Fund is a program sponsored by Comic Relief. Monies raised will go to charities working to deliver basic needs to children living in poverty in the U.S. and some of the poorest communities worldwide.

Where to get your Red Nose . . .
At Walgreens, since this chain is is the exclusive U.S. retailer of red noses and related materials to raise funds that go to the Red Nose Day Fund which will distribute funds raised. 

It's not a "new" event in the UK . . .

In the United Kingdom, Red Nose Day has been a popular fundraiser for 30 years and is held every 2 years. Since its 1988 launch, it's nearly become a British institution since it was co-founded in 1985 by writer-director Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary). Comic Relief UK is built on the premise that media and celebrities can raise money and awareness of poverty to save and change millions of lives.

But relatively "new" in the U.S.
Unlike its British counterpart, Red Nose Day in the U.S. started in 2015. The inaugural event special raised over $23 million split among 12 domestic and international charities. 

The U.S. and UK Comic Relief are independent sister organizations sharing a goal to effect positive change through the power of entertainment. 

Find more information at rednoseday.org


What are you waiting for? — Get your own red nose — there's still time!

Now, about that Rudolph, the reindeer . . .
In 1939, Robert Lewis May created Rudolph, the young red-nosed reindeer buck as a copywriting assignment for the Chicago-based retailer Montgomery Ward. He was said to have considered "other" names (Rollo or Reginald) before deciding on Rudolph originally a moose, but later changed as a reindeer was deemed "friendlier".

May's project happened as MW had been buying and giving away coloring books at Christmas annually. MW executives decided that creating an in-house book would save money and be a good-will gesture to customers. Rudolph almost didn't get that signature red nose as this trait was closely associated with drunks. The story idea was rejected until Denver Gillen, May's illustrator friend at MW, draw reindeer similar to those that May's 4-year old daughter enjoyed at the Chicago Zoo. The bouncy red-nosed animal character that Gillen created overcame management objections. 

The book was a give-away during the 1939 holiday season at MW and proved very popular with shoppers; 2.4 million copies were given out. Then, WW II restrictions on paper use prohibited a re-issue until 1946, when 3.6 million copies were given to MW shoppers. 
In 1948, Johnny Marks, May's brother-in-law, adapted Rudolph into a song that was turned down by popular vocalists like Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore. Big Huge whoops since in 1949 the "singing cowboy" Gene Autry recorded Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and it hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop singles charts that Christmas selling over 2.5 million copies the first year and 25 million copies overall. It remained the second best-selling record until the 1960s and has sold more records than that "other" Christmas song, coincidentally Crosby's White Christmas.

NOW you know more about red noses than before reading this post.

RI Beach Springfest

It's a month or so early, but the summer beach season kicked off last weekend in RI at Misquamicut Beach State Park in Westerly. And, we were there along with grandkids, their mom, and CT family.

This 6th (now) annual event, called Misquamicut Springfest, drew over 12,000 visitors from several New England states. 

Our little group represented 3 of these states, NH, RI and CT. There was no shortage of activity with music, rides, petting zoo, arts, crafts, magic and music shows, and food vendors selling typical beach fare: french fries, fried oysters, sausage sandwiches, fried dough, funnel cakes, lemonade, definitely not the healthiest food, but when at the beach, you eat there and that meant an order of "loaded" fries (sour cream, bacon, chives were added). They were really good!

The rides were the biggest attraction for the younger ones in our group. Although their mom and grandpa did bump into challenge them on this ride. It was ridden a couple of times.

Springiest ran the entire weekend, Friday evening through Sunday and we spent most of Saturday afternoon there. It was a fun day with family, even though we are not especially fond of the rides.

How about You — do you enjoy amusement rides? 

If so, any favorite one?

Friday Funnies

Signs can be found everywhere . . .

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone.

19 Years Ago Today

What happened?
We'll give you a few minutes seconds to think about this, while we have a short getaway and head to the hills mountains of NH.

Give Up?
It's the anniversary of our first date May 16, 1997.
Yes, we do celebrate — it's one of our favorite dates.

We'll be back in a few days.

(Blogger was acting up this morning and I wasn't able to add a photo of where we're staying — a majestic, historic and VERY large hotel, The Mountain View Grand.)