Batter Up!

I don't know if any of you have been checking out the packages and assortments section of the website, but if you do or have, you'll notice that there's a "Batter Up" package to celebrate Baseball Playoffs. If you watched that Twins/Tigers game last night, then like me, you may be hoping that we're in for some exciting games this post season.

So why the "Batter Up" package rather than "Kick Off" or "Puck Off" package? Okay, that last one didn't come out right. Well, growing up in St. Louis lead to the inevitable fact that baseball has a special place in my heart. Many of you may be familiar with this fact, that St. Louis is a baseball town, bleeds Cardinal Red, and stands by their team through thick and thin. But in reality, it's not just about a team or a game, it's about an organization and game that actually unites us as a community.

When I was growing up, I was lucky enough to get to live with both my parents AND grandparents. Grandma was a huge baseball fan. She had two favorite stories. One was the time she played hooky from work to watch a day game between the Browns and the Cardinals during the 1944 World Series. The next day she was caught by her boss when she showed up with a sunburn.



Her other favorite story was about her father, my great-grandfather, Stanley Galczynski and pitcher for the Polish Falcons. Apparently at one point he was approached by the Browns and offered a try out, but my great-grandmother, Helen, refused to let him take the risk. Then after one passionate argument my great-grandmother burned my great-grandfather's scrapbooks containing all of the newspaper clippings and photos regarding his career. It's a sad story, but baseball was something over which my great-grandfather and grandmother really connected. Her love of the game was, in my opinion, a reflection of her love for her father.

My own experiences with baseball growing up revolved around Whitey-ball, Ozzie Smith, and of course, the great, Willie McGee. Somewhere buried in a drawer there may even be a "Mets are Pond Scum" T-shirt left over from the days when the Cardinals and Mets were rivals in the East. In the evenings in the Summer we would sit out on the front porch and talk to neighbors (crazy concept, I know) with the Cardinals game on in the background. Jack Buck's voice and inflection would alert us to good plays, home runs and stolen bases. Then after dark, we'd take the radio inside and go sit at the kitchen table to play some solitaire and listen to the Cardinals wrap up another game. Grandma used to get so riled up and yell at the radio when the Cardinals made a bad play. It was kind of funny to watch this old woman yell at a radio, but for some reason, it made sense.

As we age, there's this tendency to idealize the past. I'm sure that there were many nights when I was actually bored out of my mind listening to another baseball game and thinking "do we always have to play solitaire!" But now that Grandma's gone, I'm so thankful to have those memories to look back upon. Baseball, especially Cardinals baseball, always brings those memories to the top of my mind.

Hence, I guess I can thank Grandma for introducing me to two things that I've become passionate about, baking cookies and baseball. And what better way to honor her memory than to offer the "Batter Up" special? So as this post season gets underway, and no matter who you're rooting for, we'd be delighted if you'd allow Silver Lining Cookies to share in your team spirit! While we'll of course be rooting for the Cardinals, we'd also like to wish the Rockies, Twins, Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and, even the Dodgers, luck. As they say in Bull Durham, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes it rains."