Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

Have you ever hit an animal with your car? Have you ever hit a CAT with your car? Have you ever hit your friends MOM'S cat with a car?

I did, and she never knew it was me.

I feel better now that I got that off my chest.

Back in the 70's my Dad used to take us to Detroit Tiger games at Tiger Stadium. It was cool that I was able to see all of the old Tigers play there. Al Kaline, Gates Brown, Willie Horton and several others. We also got to see newcomers Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker in their first seasons. I used to love rolling into Southeast Michigan and picking up the Motown stations on the radio. This is one of the reasons I LOVE the music to this day. Then when we came around the corner and saw the stadium before us was so awesome. But NOTHING compared to the moment you walked out of the tunnel into the open air of Tiger Stadium. It was a cathedral. The Church Of Baseball. Batting practice was always a bonus. I remember watching Willie Horton crank balls over the roof 4 times in a row when the Tigers were taking their swings before the game one year. My dad even caught a foul ball off the bat of Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers one year. The seats we wanted to get were not available, so we sat down the third base line by the foul pole. He smacked a line drive, and it curved towards us in foul territory. My dad grabbed my glove, and reached down and caught it right in the webbing, actually saving a woman from getting hit in the face with the ball, as she wasn't even paying attention.

Sadly years later, our dog Rory got ahold of the ball and chewed it up. Oh well.

We would always go out to dinner after the game. Usually Big Boy, but every once and awhile we would go to a place called Nickerson Farms. It sat right off the highway, and had the BEST food. I always got the farm burger, and it came with the biggest french fries. Years later it closed. Never to be opened again.

Tiger Stadium? Gone. Nickerson Farms? Gone too. I miss being a kid. I mean, I REALLY miss being a kid.

And I miss Tiger Stadium.