Reading, PA

This decently sized city of approximately 84,000 Americans resides about an hour and fifteen minutes from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. The main attraction in this wonderful city is not the pagoda built in 1908, but the double-A affiliate to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Reading Phillies. Considering that Arizona is a hotbed for premier baseball players, it was no surprise that 2 Arizona boys were not only listed in our program, but one was pitching to the other when we entered the stadium (picture to the right). J.D. Durbin, who oddly enough was the best man in my sister's wedding a mere 2 years ago, pitched for 6 and 2/3 of an inning in a 6-2 Phils win. On the receiving end of J.D.'s pitches was Lou Marson, a 22-year old catcher that was recently selected to participate in the All-Star Futures Game taking place at Yankee Stadium next week. Lou and myself played Pop Warner football together back in the day, along with my other friends in attendance (Erik Hubl and Nolan Ticer). He dropped a bomb in the 8th inning to right field on a 3-2 pitch. Simply put, he is a badass. Lou was also on the cover of the program for the 4-game series. Coincidence? I don't think so. Definitely American.

After the game, a group of 5 of us went around the town. We stopped at a local Wawa. The store was full of hoagies and shakes. However, on the unfortunate side, convenience stores in PA DO NOT sell beer/liquor. Thus, we were forced to find a place to consume alcohol. We ended up at the All-American Sports Pub (Weird?). The female bartender was psyched that their pub won the best wing contest and felt the need to tell us. We split a pitcher of beer and I meet Rick. Our convo:

Rick(taps my shoulder): Hey man, how you doin'?
Me: Nothing man, how's it going?
Rick: Oh man, I just got outta jail and just hit up some haze? Hey man, you smoke?
Me: No man.
Rick: Okay, you a chill guy bro. Real chill. Man, I am going to fuck this dude up. He took a dime from me and didn't pay. I went up to him and he was sweating. He is going to get it. I called Tony, it's on. He is coming from Philly. I am going to hit him with a Louisville Slugger. Hey, you got one I can borrow?

This convo went on for 45 minutes. No joke. It was ridiculous. Although on probation for a 5-yr. stint for alleged rape (as he told me) and another 9 1/2 month visit for beating up a dude, along with recent release from rehab, Rick felt the need to smoke purple haze and drink excessively. He told me I was a "chill cat" and a "solid dude" so many times I lost count. Thing is, I didn't explain more than about 2 things about my life. But, I was chill enough to be invited to watch Rick smoke a dude with a bat the next day. I was also asked to hide the bat and drive the getaway car. I am having a hard time saying whether or not this is American. Let me know what you think. . .

. . . After the bar closed, we walked to this field about 10 minutes away from our Hampton Inn. Fireworks are legal in PA (just like Missouri). We took advantage. It was also early on the morning of the 4th. AMERICAN!