He approached us with a big smile on his face, and a wave. Buff local guy, though he said he'd only been born at Tripler and his wife tells him that doesn't count. Said, "Kansas City Monarchs" for my cap. "You're only the second person ever to get that," I laughed. Cool Papa Bell. Buck O'Neil. The first time we crossed paths I had my Cards cap on. He said "Ozzie Smith" and I responded with "Willie McGee"; he said "Ken Oberkfell" and I said "Tommy Herr." The second time, he said "Jeff Clark" and my retort was "Keith Hernandez."
He wasn't with his companion worker-outer today, so we talked. I said my son was a huge Cards fan. He just moved to Virginia. "How's he like it?" The man had been stationed at Andrews Air Force base in the 80s. Worked for two years on Air Force One. Maybe that explained all the "yes ma'aming" he did. He's going to LA soon to see his grandchildren. His granddaughter is a huge baseball fan.
"What's your dog's name?" Lilith. I noted that Lilith and I have a book coming out about encounters we have on our walks. I told him he didn't really fit the bill. (Too normal, though I now confess I did write something about him on the Cardinals Hui.)
He gazed at Lilith and said, "Lilith has a hare lip." (I didn't catch the verb, to tell the truth.) "No," I said, "I'm the one with the hare [cleft] lip."
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