Opa had a chance to take grandson Sean to a ball game, continuing a family tradition of three generations.

In this case four generations attended the game between the Frisco Rough Riders (a Texas Rangers AA farm team) and the Springfield Cardinals – Great-Grandpa, Opa & Oma, son Ted and daughter Rachel (in photo with her mom and dad) and her husband Eric, and Rachel and Eric's children Sean and Adrian. Since Great-Grandpa walks with the help of walker, we had good seats at entry level right behind home plate.

For grandson Sean it was quite an adventure. For a while he sat with his mom and dad in the grassy outfield section and got a big kick out of the fireworks that went off when the home team hit a home run. He also got to shake hands with the team mascot, a big furry creature who wandered around the various seating sections entertaining the children.

During the 7th inning Opa noticed that he has his work cut out for him. Sean looked somewhat amazed at his Opa and other true baseball fans who stood up during the 7th inning stretch to sing "Take me out to the ball game". Sean knows the words to a number of songs, but not to that one. For an Opa who was in old Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri on the last day of the 1964 MLB season when the Cardinals won the pennant after the Phillies blew a 6 game lead in the last week of the season, that lack of knowledge needs to be alleviated with some diligent instruction from Opa!

Sean will have his next chance to show what he has learned in July or August, the next time Opa will be back in the USA to take him out to the ball game.

Comment from Ewin Barnett:

"Where in STL did you live? I lived in Webster Groves from 1957 to 1967, then moved to near Corning, NY when my dad changed jobs to Corning Glass."

Answer from Paul Kieffer:

From 1951 to 1964 I lived in St. Louis on Marquette Street. My older brothers attended Southwest High. In 1964 we moved to Crestwood, and I graduated from Lindbergh High. I left St. Louis in 1970.