There is a cocktail I used to make (and drink) in those heady days when I was a bartender at the Sea Gull Restaurant and Cellar Bar in Mendocino: The Sidecar. It consisted, as I made it, of Brandy, Cointreau, and a dash of lemon juice served in a cocktail glass rimmed with sugar. I’m not sure how the Sidecar got its name but I found this on Google:
David A. Embury wrote in his book Fine Art of Mixing Drink in 1948 that the drink was created by his friend. He also notes that the cocktail received its name after the motorcycle sidecar. This is how his friend was driven to and from the restaurant where the cocktail was born. The friend in question was Harry MacElhone. In a 1922 book, Cocktails How to Mix Them,Robert Vermeire says the Sidecar was first introduced by Pat MacGarry.
Whatever the history of the drink, consider this post a sidecar, something I’m allowed to put up on my own site since it’s my site. It’s personal. So, pass if you must, but I hope you bear with me.
Last Saturday, May 2nd, the Fort Bragg High School Timberwolf baseball team was invited by the Justin Siena High School Braves from the Napa Valley to play a game at the San Francisco Giants field in Oracle Park. It wasn’t free. A lot of money had to be raised and a lot of work had to be done to get there, but get there we did. And, our Fort Bragg boys made us proud.
Some younger Fort Bragg players who came to watch their older brothers
The Giants organization did its best to give the team their money’s worth. The scoreboard and all the closed circuit TV screens in the park displayed both team logos. Attendance was exclusive to those who bought tickets and we all sat in the Field Club Level close to our respective teams. There were concessions, announcers, music, the ground crew, and everything set up just as it is for a regular Giants game.
Concessions area
The game unfolded over three exciting hours:
Ready to play
0-0 at the end of the first inning
Justin-Siena pitcher warms up
0-0 at the end of the second inning
An excited crowd
0-1 (Justin Siena Braves leading) at the end of the third inning
A game of kick-ups to calm the nerves before the game
In the fourth inning the Fort Bragg Timberwolves exploded to score four runs with five line drives and one long ball that nearly made it out of the park. The Justin Siena Braves answered with one run of their own, but they left the field with the bases loaded as the Timberwolves defense held strong.
Empty Dugout
4-2 at the end of the fourth inning, Timberwolves take the lead.
McCovey Cove
Starting scoreboard from McCovey Cove
4-2 at the end of the fifth inning.
4-3 at the end of the sixth inning as the Braves rallied for one more run. It would be their last.
4-3 at the end of the seventh and final inning, Timberwolves victorious.
Hitting the long ball
It was the fourth straight win for the Fort Bragg Timberwolves. Fort Bragg’s win bumped their record up to 13-8. As for Justin-Siena, this was their fifth loss in a row dropping them to 13-9. The Timberwolves were dominant in their previous 3 games at Lower Lake (10-1), Upper Lake (17-1) and Upper Lake again (21-0).
This was an incredible opportunity that our boys will never forget. Don’t Stop Believing!