A short snort ...

Oink, oink, oink!

That's just a sampling of the profound team cheers and encouragement shouts flashing on the jumbo screen on the big scoreboard at last night's IronPigs vs. Indians game. "Let's go pigs!" was another. (I was slightly disappointed at the absence of "suey, suey" though.)

I am certain many of your are eager to hear more about the lowbrow news I shared on my last post. Here goes:

After being sucked in by the "news" of gaming urinals in the mens restrooms at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA, yesterday H.A. Penner and I took a trip to see an IronPigs baseball game and see if we were maybe duped by the circa April 1 (April fools day) story of video games played using a stream of pee to "test ones knowledge and skill".

I will not dwell on the urinal game, except to say we confirmed they do exist and function. As I am uncomfortable using a camera in a restroom, the only picture I offer is this from the website:

Of the seven or eight urinals along the wall only one had the video game. Not sure why. Maybe in a "testing" introductory time. Briefly, the urinal has three targets: 'start', 'yes' and 'no'. After "hitting" the 'start' target true and false questions appear on the screen.

It was interesting to observe first time users, like me, so conditioned to use fingers on a touch screen trying to start the game with touching the screen for a while until figuring out touching the screen does not work. Hence, they advertise "hands free". Hands should be elsewhere.

I missed this question "Is it true the Titanic was built in Dublin?" I guessed 'yes' and scored a 0. It was built in Belfast.

This response from a blog reader and friend to my last post sums it up best: "What! 
are 11-year old boys running the marketing departments these days???" Methinks they are. I ask your understanding and forgiveness in allowing me to be an 11-year-old and succumbing to this marketing ploy. I admit I would not have gone to the game, if not for my curiosity.

In fact, it was a beautiful sunny day and an excellent well-played game with the IronPigs victorious over the Indianapolis Indians 3-2 in 13 innings. Both are Triple-A minor league farm teams which means they are the team a major league team uses to "bring up" and "send down" players depending on their performance. The IronPigs are the Philadelphia Phillies farm team and the Indians are the Pittsburgh Pirates farm team. The Lehigh Valley IronPigs have greater credibility as a "farm" team, don't you think? (pigs, farm. Get it?)

Notice the ticket price was $10. Very reasonable for these seats:

Also, I bought a Corona for $3. I was blown away by beer that cheap at a baseball game. The food I had was typical and nothing outstanding but also quite reasonable.

Allentown is one of a three-city metropolitan area which includes Bethlehem and Easton, Penn — 90 miles from New York City. Allentown is PA's third largest city behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The team name stems from the industrial era when the steel industry was huge there. Pig iron is a term for iron which is in an intermediate state in the smelting process. But what is interesting/ironic is that all the whoopla at the game was about pigs, hogs, swine and not iron which is what the region was noted for. One of the players is dubbed "the Sultan of Swine". I suspect most of those attending don't know much about pigs and have probably never held one.

The caliber of the players is very high. Almost half the IronPigs have played for the Phillies. Pitching was outstanding. It is a great venue and we had alot of fun.

On the drive home H.A. and I enjoyed reminiscing about what it was like on the farm during haying time: hay mows, slings, dump rakes, hay racks, elevating bales into a barn, balers, knotters and what it was like to work alongside our fathers and siblings inside haylofts, on the tractors, etc.

H.A. Penner and I enjoying the game

This gave impetus to add a new local museum to my bucket list: The New Holland Area Historical Society Museum. The New Holland Machine Company was started by a Mennonite man in 1895 and became known around the world for its hay equipment.

Nothing new to report on the cancer. I am in the middle of an oral chemo round and my side effects issues are the same — no worse, and no better. I have been enjoying the lovely spring days and flora and fauna that Barb and my home states' have yet to experience, at least with any frequency. Barb's brother was ice-fishing on Cass Lake yesterday and says the ice is still 20 inches thick!!! Summer solstice is only a little over a month away. That's all for now. I hope each of you feels as blessed as I feel blessed.