For this year's AtoZ Challenge, I am featuring Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twain's boyhood hometown.
Everyday is an adventure raising two teenage boys. People ask me where I get my ideas for my books. I don't have to look very far. So, yesterday on our way to church, I swung by Clemens (baseball) Field to snap a few pics. My oldest son said, "Mom, I've got this." My response: "That wall is way too high...okay, never mind." He quickly scaled the wall to take a panoramic of the ballpark. (It was too far away to get a good shot of the field.) So while dressed in my Sunday finery, I kept an eye out for the cops and prayed we wouldn't get arrested. We didn't. But there might have been security cameras. What small hometown would be complete without baseball? Clemens Field was built in 1938 and even detained German POWs on the field. It hosted a professional team in the fifties but since fell in disrepair. A few years ago, it went through extensive repairs and renovations, restoring it to its former glory and elevating the field about eight feet due to its close proximity to the Mississippi River. The Hannibal Cavemen, a prospect league, will begin another season on May 30th.You can catch the Hannibal La-Grange University's baseball team playing several games here in the spring.
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| My pic of my son taking a pic |
Clemens Field was the pivotal point of inspiration for my first novel Free Runner. Several years ago, after watching my oldest son climb the concession stand (he has an obsession with climbing), he jumped, flipped and landed flawlessly. I almost had a heart attack. Then I asked him what on earth he was doing. He said, "Free running." Technically, he was performing parkour. Free running involves, well, running. And, yes, he does that too. But not running from the cops, because he's a good kid.
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| The Grandstand |
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| Outside view |
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What's your ideal "adventure"? Do you enjoy baseball? What's your favorite team? Do you ever go on adventures with your kids?
