10/5/2011 9:11:30 PM
FORT MYERS, Fla. - It seems almost impossible that it's been three weeks since I've been home here in Fort Myers, the city of great ball fields, real fine restaurants and bars and 3-minute left-turn traffic arrows. I've read the entire sports section of the local News-Press newspaper waiting at just one traffic light. The creases in my forehead got deeper. I could feel my rapidly thinning hair grow, then fall out.
Yes, the PG contingent that had spent the previous two weeks in Phoenix then in Austin arrived back here early Tuesday afternoon. It was a long travel day, losing an hour and all. I woke up in Austin at 4 a.m (CDT) and was in Fort Myers at about 1:30 p.m. (EDT). That's a lot of day left, but a body just doesn't feel like doing a whole lot of anything at that point. Not this body, anyhow.
I'm staying at an Embassy Suites that is very nice - excellent in fact - but it's off the beaten path. In fact, it's 11 miles south of my favorite bar/dinner joint "Cheeseburger in Paradise" and the two or three hotels I normally stay at. I'm probably looking at close to an hour commute Friday morning to the ballfields at Terry Park and the Red Sox Player Development 5-Plex in north Fort Myers, just two of the many venues at which the 10th annual PG WWBA Underclass World Championship is being played. I'm not complaining. These are excellent digs and I'm really looking forward to this tournament. There are 144 teams here this weekend and the tournament promises to be a dandy.
I took today off (although I just got finished writing an advance of the tournament that should get posted Thursday morning) and headed over to Fort Myers Beach to see all my pals. I should begin, however, by talking about a late-night (10:30 p.m.) phone call I received Tuesday from young PG co-worker Ben Collman, informing me that an unsavory group of PG guys were enjoying frosty beverages at a joint called Potts Sports Bar over on Daniels Parkway. Now, in past trips, that wouldn't be a problem. Only about a mile or two from my hotel. But this trip we're talking close to 10 miles. I went ahead and made the trip, only got lost once, and finally met up with the boys for a couple of ice cold LandSharks. It was a great evening.
Today at Fort Myers Beach was wonderful. The weather was perfect (85, sunny) and the beach was beautiful. I visited a couple of my favorite haunts and finally settled on a fried grouper sandwich at the Smokin' Oyster Brewery. The bar-keep told me that son-of-a-gun (the grouper) was swimming in the sea just a couple of hours before I made him my lunch. I don't know what his last meal was like, but mine was awesome.