Young Players By The Busloads Treated To Major League Magic

It’s costing Gary Waters probably $1,000 today to relive the magic of his youth, but he has no complaints.

“Getting to watch a baseball game in person is a big deal,” he says.

It was such a big deal to him 45 years ago that the memory still softens this terse Osburn garbage hauler. He wanted to give other kids the same thrilling memory, so he bought tickets to today’s Seattle Mariners vs. Baltimore Orioles game for 85 Shoshone County Babe Ruth baseball players and their coaches.

“The more the merrier,” Gary says, shrugging at the $510 he spent on tickets.

“He wanted field-area tickets,” says Dan Blackwood, coach of the Wallace Century 21 team. “I said, ‘You’re crazy. Those are 20 bucks apiece.’ I said the kids would rather be in the outfield catching balls for $6 a ticket.”

Gary tried to arrange the trip 15 years ago, but couldn’t figure out the logistics. During a night of nostalgia this year, he told Dan about going to St. Louis with his Little League team back in the early 1950s. He was 10 and baseball was his escape from the dairy farm his parents ran in southern Missouri.

He’d only heard professional baseball on the radio. Seeing the Cardinals play the Boston Braves one year, then the Phillies the next was better than Christmas and birthdays combined.

He wants every kid to feel as good, Gary told Dan.

“I said, ‘Get out your wallet cause it’s going to happen,”’ Dan says.

Dan talked the Wallace and Mullan schools into donating buses for the trip. Drivers Ed White and Kirby Krulitz volunteered their services. Gary donated fuel.

Dan arranged for the kids to arrive at the Kingdome during batting practice. They’ll get to shag balls, then try to catch the home-run balls in the stands right behind Ken Griffey Jr. during the game.

“They were flippin’ up and down when I told them,” Dan says.

Gary extended his game offer to every Babe Ruth player in the county because “Who do you say can’t go?” he says.

He can’t go. He’s tied to a business meeting this morning and might try to catch the game on TV. Just arranging the trip has been enough.

“It makes me think of the St. Louis trip more often,” he says. “I saw Stan Musial. It was a great thrill.”

Do re mi

Sandpoint’s Judy Heraper is tired of driving alone to Spokane for symphony and opera performances. She wants company and is willing to work for it.

Judy arranged a special deal with Spokane’s Uptown Opera. The opera company reserved a block of seats for 44 Sandpoint residents for the Sept. 5 opening night performance of Mozart’s “Cosi Fan Tutte” comic opera at Spokane’s Met.

She even found a deluxe bus for the round trip from Sandpoint. Tickets for the ride and show are $27 and are available at U.S. Bank.

Usually, only kids and clubs get the benefit of such organization. But Judy didn’t know any other way to root out Sandpoint’s opera buffs. Call her at 263-6730 for details.

Where’d it go?

Don’t fret if you’re sick, have no insurance and can’t find Lake City Health Care. Coeur d’Alene’s free clinic finally found a home at 1111 Ironwood Drive and moved in Tuesday.

The Panhandle Health District graciously shared its digs with the evening clinic for eight years. That space came with exam tables, scales, etc. Now, the clinic has to supply all those things.

The clinic’s open Tuesday and Thursday evenings, starting at 5:45. Stop by and check out its new home and bring along a box of cotton balls or sterile gloves as a gift. Or stay as a volunteer. Everyone is welcome.

Who helped you out when life wasn’t cooperating? Sing their praises to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814; FAX to 765-7149; call 765-7128; or e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo