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Last time we talked we were in Bowie, Maryland after dropping the final game of that series. We still won the first two games of that series and I hit a grand slam in game number one. A good series for us as a team and me individually. We have since gone home to play six games. Since then I have realized one thing that will surely get annoying. Before we discuss the bad things though I will share a good thing about my life. Me and Riley were able to get an apartment together. It's about a ten minute walk away from the ballpark so we don't even really need a car. We can always walk to the park and there is plenty of food and stuff around that we don't need a car either. On top of that the rent is an awesome deal. It's about $700 a month for a three bedroom and one bathroom place. Both me and him make more than that so we both have a bunch left over. Having money left over is a pretty big surprise. I would have thought we would barely be making any money with what we're getting paid. Now I'l move on to the bad thing. I've been talking about bus rides a lot so far. That's unlikely to change, I'm sure I'll have plenty of things to say and stories to tell about the bus rides. But I just figured out how hard or annoying they can be. We wrapped up the game in Bowie on Wednesday evening. We stayed in town for just a little bit after the game to grab a bite to eat. There was a Subway that was less than 5 minutes away from the stadium and on the way out of town so we decided to stop there. The stop wasn't very long though. It was probably about 8:30 by time we got going. We didn't get home to Erie until about 3:30 in the morning. Around a seven hour bus ride and not to mention we had a game that day. I didn't really get to sleep until about 5am. I got to the ballpark at 11:30 the next morning to take BP and get ready for everything. For a guy who cherishes sleep, I got about 4:30 or 5 hours that night. I need more than that, but likely won't, most travel days anyways. I won't take up too much more of your time complaining about my lack of beauty sleep. But I will point out that next month is a busy one. We have one day off in May. To put that in context, in April we will have had 3 days off and the season didn't start until the 9th. We'll have 30 games in 31 days. I'm not sure what the travel situation looks like right now, I don't care to look. Or I'd rather not know right now I guess is the better way to say it. As for the on field stuff, I'm still doing pretty good. As a team we played 6 games at home and we won five of them. We're now 9-3 on the season. I'm still going good, 11 games into the year and I'm batting .405 with one home run and 8 RBI's. My on-base percentage is .444 and my OPS is 1.063. We're winning, I feel like I'm contributing a lot. It's a great start to the season. Now we have a day off that we're using to travel to Trenton, NJ. That's another seven hour bus ride I'm told, then after that it's off to Binghampton, NY. A three hour ride. After that we have a day off, a likely travel day home before that month of May starts. We're just getting started here.
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What a few days it's been! The season started up on Thursday evening. We took a bus from Erie to Altoona on the day of the game. The bus ride took about three hours and forty-five minutes. Just for those that don't know, Erie is in northwestern Pennsylvania, it's on, obviously, Lake Erie. Altoona is about three and a half hours away by bus, between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.
The bus ride was pretty fun. Everyone on the ride seemed anxious and excited. Everyone was just ready to start playing baseball again. Everyone was chatty, joking around and overall just happy. I've been told this doesn't last very long though. Bus rides get longer and later and it won't take long to get fed up with them. We got to Altoona a couple of hours before the game. We were able to take some batting practice before the game. By the way I should say this. You find out quickly how non luxurious minor league baseball is kind of quickly. The bus we came here on wasn't a nice bus, it was fine. It definitely wasn't a luxury tour bus like you might have thought though. You don't go to big beautiful stadiums either. Altoona does have a nice stadium, I'm not saying their stadium is garbage. But there for sure isn't 10,000 seats in the stadium. Still, a nice stadium. They even have a roller coaster right outside the park. It's right past the right field fence. There really is no clubhouse either, it's just a place to get dressed into your uniform. You don't go to five star hotels either. In Altoona there is a Super 8 motel right down the street, that's where we stayed. Everyone has a roommate, I bunked up with Riley Greene. I don't think I'll be telling you everywhere we stay or what every stadium situation is like but that is kind of what yo expect I guess. The pre-game meal isn't anything to brag about either. Just some sandwiches. Nothing to big before a game but something to hopefully give you some energy. Sandwiches and pizza are apparently this go to options. Now we'll talk about the games. It was an awesome week for me. Overall I started my professional career by hitting .360 in my first 6 games. I hit pretty good in my first series. I had I think 4 hits in my first three games. Still, I think the thing I will remember most from my professional debut is on my very first play, before I even had my first at bat I muffed a ground ball. Luckily for me I guess it didn't go down as an error. My first hit was a triple, I ended up scoring as well which is cool to say after getting your first career hit. I got my first RBI in the next game. That was an interesting game. We scored 6 runs in the ninth inning to come from behind to win that game. I got my RBI in the ninth inning, also ended up scoring. I got two hits in the series finale, but that was a very disappointing game for the team. We had a 5-1 lead in that game but ended up losing 7-6. We let up 6 runs in the last two innings in that game. Tough way to end the series, but we did take two out of three. We'll take that every time. Then we had a day off on Sunday. We stayed in Altoona after the game and took off for Bowie, Maryland on Sunday afternoon. It was another three and a half hour bus ride. Still not bad. The early season bus rides will be good I guess. Bowie, by the way is about 30 minutes away from D.C. We stayed at a Comfort Inn there. The very first at-bat of that series is one I'll remember for a while. The bases were loaded in the first inning and we were already up 1-0 with two outs. The first pitch Lowther threw me was a hanging curveball I just let go. I thought I missed my pitch to hit. Fortunately, he threw the same pitch the very next time and I leveled it for my first home run. My first pro home run was a grand slam. Not sure it gets much better than that. Except for doing that in the majors. I also remember the first pitch of the next at bat was a slider Lowther left in the middle of the plate that I should have hit out too. But I was just early on it and pulled it foul. I grounded out into a double play that at bat so that probably why I remember it so well. The rest of the series was pretty good as well. I got a couple of more hits and a couple of more RBI's. Six games into the season We're 4-2 as a team and I'm batting .360 with a homer and 7 RBI's. We're going home now to play 6 games in Erie. First up is Altoona again. Talk to you then! Well, here we go. It starts. I was once again drafted by the Detroit Tigers. Apparently, they really wanted me. They interviewed me every year I went into the draft and they were one of the ones who said they really liked me. They liked me so much that they picked me in the draft twice. They have sent me straight to Double A, which is rare. You usually start in lower leagues and have to work your way to Double A. Regardless, here I am. I'm starting my baseball career with the Erie SeaWolves. The Pay isn't very good for people who don't know. I'll be making about $1,200 a month for the season, we don't get paid for the playoffs (if we make them) or during the off-season. I guess we'll figure out what to do for money during the off-season when that time comes, no need to worry about that now. The team has put me up in a hotel for a couple of weeks, just enough time for me to get sorted here. Luckily there is a couple of weeks until the season starts so I should be able get everything done. That being said we start the season on the road going to Altoona, PA to play the Curve. After that we head to Bowie, MA to play the BaySox. After that we come home to play our first home series vs Altoona. We're on the road for 6 games in 7 days then go home for 6 straight. For those curious about the Aubrey situation. She's still in school obviously. She's going to try to come on up during the summer to watch some games and spend as much time with me as possible. Other than that, we'll be doing the long distance thing. Not a lot of people think this will work, but only time will tell I suppose. I haven't got to hang out with a lot of the team yet but I have been able to get to know Riley Greene a bit. He's 19 years old from Florida who plays center field. Not sure if either of us will be the starter at our positions, but we're both young and ready for the competition. There's not much else to say right now. I'll come back a little later and let you know how the start of the season went. It was another tough choice after last years MLB draft. I was taken by the Detroit Tigers and thought long and hard about leaving school after just one year. At the end of the day, I decided to come back to Wake Forest for at least one more year. I got to tell you, going to school is really testing all of us. I've only been here a couple of years and I've seen some guys transfer out because the school work was too much combined with the baseball. Like I said at this time last year, you really don't have much free time...unless you enjoy being exhausted, which I don't. This year was the same for me for the most part. I had classes in the morning all week. Then I ate a quick and light lunch before heading to the facilities for practice. We were there for around 2-4 hours then after that it was dinner time. After that I studied and before you knew it, it was after 10pm. I guess that would be considered early for most college kids but I have to get up early and do a bunch of work throughout the day. Most nights I just go to bed early. Again, this is calling around midnight early. Aubrey usually stays up way later than I do. She likes to stay up late and go out or even just stay in and watch whatever. I guess since we're talking about this. We just had a talk about what would happen if I leave school this year. I would obviously be going pretty far away and she would still be here North Carolina for two more years of school. I guess this is a wait and see situation, that's pretty much where we left it. We might not have to wait very long to find out. I feel readier now than I ever have and I'm definitely considering going into pro ball more this year. I don't really care which team would draft me which is one reason I think I'm ready too. For those of you who don't know me, I am from the Denver area which means I grew up cheering for the Rockies. My favorite player growing up was Todd Helton, the reason I wear number 17. If the Rockies drafted me there would be no question, I'm going to go into pro ball. There may be some teams that if they drafted me I would say no to. But for obvious reasons I think I'll keep that small list to myself. For the most part though I really don't care who I get picked by. It's just about time for the amateur showcase again. I'm hoping I have a good showing and get picked by a good franchise. Wish me luck! My name is J.D. Page. I am 18 years old from Greeley, Colorado. That is just outside Denver for those of you that don't know. I grew up here with my mom and dad and three siblings, an older brother 24, an older sister 22 and a younger sister 15. I am just about the start my professional baseball career and I thought I would keep a journal of my career and life from here on out. Here I will tell you my thoughts and feelings about the game, my game and my life in general. First thing I'll write in here is the showcase for prospects is coming up. I will be there, but odds are I will be going to college anyways with Wake Forest being the school I'm likely to go to. I think the only way I go straight into pro ball is if the Colorado Rockies draft me. Other than that, I'll be going to college for at least one year. Let the work begin! Next Entry - First and last year of College? My name is Jakob Kenna. I'm a fifteen year old soccer player From Elizabeth, New Jersey with dreams of playing professionally somewhere in the world. I have two younger sisters, Alexis who is twelve and Anastasia, or Ana who just turned nine.
My father has worked in construction his whole adult life. Unfortunately I'm not very close with him. He's worked odd hours, getting up very early and going to bed early. My mom is a stay at home mom. That's really thanks to me playing soccer. I've always needed someone to drive me to games or tournaments and she is the one to take care of all that. I've been playing and practicing since I was five, so I've been in the sport for a decade now. I don't want to sound too egotistical but I'm pretty good. Better than all the people my age and it's been like that pretty much my whole life. I know I have a future in this sport. My family knows it, my friends know it, and I've been told by multiple coaches that I can go on and do big things. For a few years now I've been playing in the U.S. Development Academy. Since I was twelve years old to be exact. If I want to turn pro I'm going to have to make a decision. Do I stay in school and go to college? In which case I'm mostly aiming to go to Major League Soccer or do I try to catch the attention of some of the top European clubs by going to camps around the country? Both of my parents would rather I stay at home, finish up high school then go to college. If I do that the only pro option, at least in the short term is MLS. Get drafted out of college and into the league and maybe, if I'm lucky catch the attention of European clubs in one of North America's top leagues. But the top European teams send scouts over to the states every year. This year is no different. AC Milan is having a camp in Newark this year. That's what I want to do. Go to this camp, try my hardest, maybe impress the scouts and who knows what could happen. Option two is a lot less likely. One, I would have to convince my parents which I don't think would be an easy task. Two, if I were to get an offer to go over to Italy to train with Milan what happens If I fail? If my soccer career doesn't work out what kind of life will I have? School and college will more likely help me but I might only have one shot at going to this AC Milan camp? Stay at home and go to college Go to the AC Milan camp 9-5-2207 Cerebau It's been three days on this planet now. Camps have been set up and things have been running pretty smoothly. We've all had to chip in and do some jobs. My job isn't that glamorous. I pick up peoples trash and take it to a site a couple miles away. It's not the best job, but it gives me something to do. My friend Robbie has a cool job. He is a part of the police team here. I imagine that's a fun job and maybe I can get some information from him later. Being here only three days there hasn't been much info or dirt from him yet. The group that came here was bigger than we expected or even wanted to that matter. We were anticipating around fifty people. The number ended up at ninety-three people. There's a lot of faces I've never seen before thanks to that. I just know Robbie, his brother Blake, Landon, and the Howard brothers Jack and Jordan. Hopefully I'll update this diary a little later if I can remember. I guess we'll see. Little Boy Diaries Chapter Two 9-8-2207 Cerebau A few days have passed, not much has happened. I collected the trash around the camp, which still doesn't have a name, and took the trash to the dumpsite like I do every few days. We might come up with a name tonight. There is a meeting that all the adults here are required to attend. We'll be electing a "leader" as well as eight other people to help him or her. It'll be hard to vote, how should any of us know who to vote for? James Brady will probably get elected since he was the guy who arranged this whole thing. He got us here and picked where the camp would be. Maybe he's a natural leader anyways. I suppose I'll throw a vote his way. I'll likely vote for Robbie as well. I think he'd be a good person to have in a leadership group. He's always been into police work and will probably be in tune with what needs to get done and what the people want. I guess we'll see what happens. This is sure to be boring as hell. There's going to be way more people for my liking too. Wish me luck! Little Boy Diaries Chapter Three 9-9-2207 Cerebau
So the first "city council" was last night. It was an incredibly long night, we were there for hours. All for it to end up like most of us thought. James Brady was elected "Mayor", again, I'm not sure anyone knew who else to vote into that position. We also had to vote in eight council members. This turned into a popularity contest mostly. Some people ended up taking the position because they were voted in, others saw an opportunity for power and tried to get people to vote for them. Two girls particularly did that and did get voted in. You can already tell they're going to be a problem. They'll remain nameless...for now. Robbie did get voted in though. That's awesome. Now maybe I can get even more dirt on what's going on around here. I really think he will be good at this. He's a smart guy, he cares about others more than himself. A good politician, the way that job is supposed to be. There will be another meeting tomorrow. I think it will be mostly trying to organize a little better. There will probably be discussions on what buildings do we need to build first. Hopefully this one doesn't take as long. I hope these things stop being mandatory too. Jonas Simmons was living the perfect life. Newly married to the love of his life, a career that was headed in a good direction, and the best two brothers a guy could ask for. Seemingly nothing could get in the way of Jonas and his families happiness.
Unfortunately, even the best of times has to end sometime. When a virus breaks out that threatens humanity and tears families apart what will Jonas and his brothers do to keep themselves and the ones they love safe? It seems like forever ago now. The best days of my life. Good friends, Great family. I had a good paying job working in road construction. That job allowed me to buy a nice house in North Carolina not far away from Raleigh. My whole family had been in that area for the longest time, I don't even know how long.
My two brothers were still in the area as well. The youngest of us, Christian, was twenty-two. He was still in college. Enrolled at NC State. Go Wolfpack! My older brother, Isaah, was twenty-nine. He worked with me in construction. Our parents, well, I guess they had had enough of us. They moved to Florida a few years earlier. Down near the Tampa area. I never made it down there, to this day I'm not really sure why. One more reason life was so good back then, I had just gotten married. I had met Ashley nearly a year before we tied the knot. We met outside the Boys and Girls club where she volunteered and where we were working on the roads. When she wasn't volunteering she was working an office job. I'm sorry to say I still don't really know what she did. Half the time she said she was writing short stories or other forms of writing while at work to kill the time. That was what she enjoyed doing anyways. We got married in the summer of 2012. We ended up going to two quick honeymoons. We had to leave the first early because Ashley promised to be back to help one of the boys write a short story. She really wanted to help and who was I to say no. When they were done we went on another trip, this time a longer one to Jamaica. We went to Montego Bay. Beautiful place, even if beaches and tropical places aren't really my thing. Nonetheless, we had a good time. We were only back for a couple days. Ashley had gotten back into volunteering but I still had a few more days off. It was early August. Unbearably hot as you might imagine. Thank god we had the day off. Both Isaah and Christian were over at my house. This was the time time we were together after I had gotten married so they were both congratulating me and making fun of me at the same time. Christian now insisting I was just an old married man and it was a matter of time before I lost all my hair and grew a beer belly. That was half funny, half terrifying. That day seemed normal. It was just like any other day. Ashley woke up early in the morning to go have a morning walk and would then go help some of the kids at the club. She also told me she was going to got shopping when she was done, specifically to go get some ice cream because she wanted to make some kind of chocolate banana smoothies. My brothers came over late in the morning. The plan was to do, well, nothing. Hang around the house, maybe play some video games, drink some beers and overall not really give a damn about anything. That's exactly what we did. We spent at least half the day arguing over what to play and inbetween arguments would exchange stories of when we were kids. One of our favorites was when our parents took us to the river for the day. Isaah and myself convinced Christian to throw Dad's cell phone into the river because he spent too much time talking on it and if he talked on it much more it would become stuck to his head. He being younger than us of course believed what we were saying and at first opportunity chucked the phone into the water. I'll just say we were all in trouble after that one. After more debates on what to play and other funny or sometimes weird or sad stories we finally landed on playing Call of Duty. None of us were that good at the game or those kinds of games but that was just part of the fun. We played for a couple of hours before we decided to head out to get something to eat. Ashley was out a lot longer than I expected, but she would be out late occasionally so I didn't think much of it. While on the drive to the local McDonald's Christian started talking about where he wanted his life to be in the next few years. He would do this from time to time, we'd just sit back and listen. "When I get out of college I want to start my own video game company. I've tried making a couple of games by myself, nothing to brag about and it's not anything I want to show off to anyone, but it was really fun. Hopefully I can find a girlfriend, someone I can get married to and start a family sometime soon too. We'll get a nice house, nothing too big but something nice." He would rant on about wanting to have enough money to not have to worry about it while still having enough to buy things to have fun and not work a nine to five job for his entire life. "I'd like an RV. Take the wife and kids on trips while in between projects, writing and gathering new ideas. That'd be awesome." Christian was always more ambitious than Isaah and me. He would always look at life in the bigger picture while we kind of took things as they came. He is the only one of us to actually go to college. He always wanted to make things happen and make something of his life. Me and Isaah always were content to just live an average life. Still, I think when Christian would talk about stuff like that it would make Isaah uncomfortable. I think the thought of his baby brother being a big success and him being an "average Joe" didn't really appeal to him. Yet he didn't have any big dreams and even if he did he didn't really have the motivation to go hard after them. As for now, I guess he was happy being a single twenty-nine year old working in construction. I was kind of in the middle of the two extreme's. I wasn't like Christian who shot for the stars and I wasn't like Isaah who kind of settled. What I was hoping for was to work hard at my job and maybe climb the ladder to one day help run the company. I was already married to a great girl and for us starting a family was just a matter of time. I was well on my way to living a great life. After Christian was done talking about his future there was always an awkward silence. You had Christian who thoroughly believed what he was saying and you had Isaah who very much doubted any of what he said would actually happen. No one wanted to start that argument though so it was always best to stay quiet for a bit. To break the tension I turned on the car radio. Instead of hearing some of our favorites songs a news report was in progress. The reporter was talking about the Kubalik illness that was down in Georgia. We had all heard about it but didn't care enough to look into it at all. It was just a mystery illness, doctors didn't know what it was or what it really did. The only thing I knew about this illness was that it was named after Steve Kubalik. A dentist in southeastern Georgia. "Hey turn that up for a second." Christian demanded from the back seat. A little surprised as well as confused I turned the volume knob high enough for him to hear the report. "Since when have you cared about the news?" Isaah apparently as confused as me asked. Christian took a minute to respond. While we were waiting for his answer we heard that the Kubalik illness had now made its way into North Carolina. That caught both my and Isaah's attention but nothing to freak out over. There have been many illnesses over the years that have started then doctors found ways to heal them and the fear of them went down. "I was talking to this guy from school yesterday and he said that Steve Kubalik guy went insane. He ended up killing his dog and eating it." Christian said. You can imagine the look between Isaah and myself. "This guy isn't a very reliable source for news though," Christian continued. "He's one of those guys who either hears a stupid rumor and spreads it or makes something up to make himself sound smarter." That awkward silence fell over the car again. No one really sure what to say next we all just listened to the radio. While in the drive-though of the McDonald's we heard the name Kubalik again. In confusion and surprise what Christian had said moments ago was also being said on the report. Steve Kubalik reportedly killed his German Sheppard dog and began to eat it. His next door neighbor saw the whole event and called police. When the police arrived they saw him in the backyard over the dog blood all over his face and his eyes rolled back in his head. He then attacked the policemen before they were forced to shoot and kill him. We were now on our way home with the food we all didn't care to eat now. The three of us remained quiet listening for more information. Kubalik's wife when questioned by authorities commented how Steve's appetite had grown eating almost everything in their refrigerator and freezer. He also complained of sudden eye problems and she soon noticing him having to squint to see. All this just days after going to the doctors. This wasn't only happening to Kubalik in Georgia either. There were hundreds of similar instances all across the southeastern U.S. and it had quickly made its way up to North Carolina. We finally got back home and ate our food. The mood very different than it had been all day. I had never experienced a situation where no one really knew what to say for this long. What do you say or talk about after you hear something like this on the news? Instead of continuing the fun at home we turned on the TV and flipped on the news to new reports and new reports on top of those. More alarming a lot of these cases were coming up in NC and even scarier Raleigh just minutes away from home. Becoming increasingly worried I text Ashley to see if she had heard any of the news. I mostly just wanted to talk to her because I hadn't heard from her since early in the morning and it was getting later and later. As I said earlier, it wasn't odd for her to be late, if she got into something with a kid she was helping she could be late, but to not hear from her at all was a little alarming. The woman on the news would soon say that hospitals are getting crowded with possible cases of the new illness. With every passing minute and no response from Ashley I got more worried and worried. Texts turned into calls but both got the same result. Nothing. "Guys, I think I need to go see if Ashley is still at the Boys and Girls club in the city." I said trying to remain as cool as possible. "Don't worry, I'll drive you there" Isaah responded quickly. Christian hopped to his feet "I'll tag along as well." We all hopped in Isaah's truck and he drove quickly to Raleigh. It didn't take long to get there and it took even less time at the speed he was driving but I remember that drive taking forever. "One of my friends just text me. He said the city is getting chaotic." Christian mumbled. "What's that mean?" I nervously asked. "I don't know he hasn't answered yet." The answer didn't come in time. Once we hit the city we could see with our own two eyes. People running. Screams. Gunshots. Fire. How can something get out of control this fast? Merely hours. While still driving, all three of us dumbfounded, we heard the man on the radio saying the same thing was happening down in Atlanta. Scenes straight from a movie, or maybe a video game like the one we played earlier in the day. The Police were trying to get control of the situation but had very little chance. Fire fighters and EMT's trying to help people but becoming victims themselves. A sight I can't forget for some reason is of a kid, maybe in her mid teens running, clearly tired stopping at a stop light leaning against the post to catch a breath thinking she was safe. Then out of nowhere one of the ill coming from behind and tackling her. Almost like I was watching a football game and watching the Quarterback get hit from behind. Her head snapped back then smacked against the asphalt. The attacker then started biting her on the back of the neck and upper back. She couldn't do anything about it. Exhausted and now injured. There was so many sounds happening all around us yet the only thing I heard was her yelling and screaming. I have no idea who she was, never met her or seen her once in my life. But her face and that moment have been burned into my memory forever. The farther you got into the city the worse traffic was and you soon could not drive anymore. You had to go on foot. The Boys and Girls club wasn't that far away luckily so we ran for it. Once we got to the club it was clear no one was there, and if they were they weren't safe. The glass front doors were smashed and broken. We got inside and got no greeting. Not one person was inside. We searched all the rooms and found nobody. One of the backrooms had caught fire, the sprinkler system had gone off. Paintings and drawing that hung on the walls were ruined. That would have been sad at a different time. All we could do was run. Run to a different spot that Ashley could be, search for her and find no trace of her. The following days everything looked similar. More people panicking trying to get safe, people searching for loved ones only finding heartbreak. We searched the whole state of North Carolina for years. As civilization fell and populations dropped even lower thanks to attacks from the ill it became clear that we'd never find Ashley. That wasn't just the realization for me, that was the case for everyone. Parents couldn't find their kids. Brothers couldn't find their brothers or sisters. The only loved ones you had were the ones you were lucky enough to be around at the time the ill took over your city. Friends and Families were torn apart. Homes were ruined. After that day you no longer had a home. Traveling between towns and cities became normal. Staying in one city for a long period of time wasn't normal. You'd move on to another city for one reason or another. We were the same. The three Simmons brothers, Isaah, Jonas and Christian. |
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