SITTING WITH SCOUTS

Forewarned is forearmed: this blog entry has nothing to do with baseball per se. It’s just a brief paean to the wonderful 24 hours I got to spend with my daughter, Dana, and sister, Stephanie, wrapped around a wonderful evening at Clipper Magazine Stadium enjoying a game between the Lancaster Barnstormers and Bridgeport Bluefish on Cancer Survivor Night, June 24.

Coming soon (as in within the next few days) I’ll be posting a vlog (video blog) featuring Barnstormers utilityman extraordinaire Jed Morris talking about the event, his foundation You and Me On A Comeback, and the game and its goosebump-inducing pre-game ceremonies … but for now, I just wanted to take the opportunity to share some photos and visuals from what was truly a wonderful two days/one night.

My amazing sister Steph lives right outside Ithaca, N.Y., and I live in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., so we don’t get to see each other as much as we might like to. And the last time she saw her niece (my daughter) was at Dana’s high school graduation in June 2008. This actually, I think, marked the first time that the three of us spent quality “girl time” together, just the three of us (even if some of the late-evening reminiscences post-game back at the hotel veered into a little TMI for Dana).

At age 39, Stephanie got a few bombshells dropped on her. Within a span of about 48 hours (correct me if I am misremembering, Steph), she found out she had lupus and breast cancer. She dealt with the lupus, braved the cancer, underwent a double mastectomy (I am not outing her, she is the proudest survivor I know), and somehow came away from everything stronger and healthier and more gorgeous than ever. And somewhere along the way in the last five years she also developed some bizarre mutation that made her a NASCAR fanatic (BOBBY LABONTE, PLEASE HIRE HER FOR SOME GREAT PR JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), as evidenced by the very cool tattoo on her back that combines her pink ribbon and NASCAR flag.

Sooooooooooooo … on Thursday, Dana and I drove the two-plus hours north to Lancaster and Steph drove the five hours south (in her hippie car with the Quadrophenia licence plates) and met up at the downtown Marriott. The near-tornado-like downbursts passed, not without a few scares, and the three of us enjoyed the game in beautiful clear weather with great seats behind first base.

Many a concession stand was patronized (the hot dogs, the french fries, the fresh-squeezed lemonade and the Auntie Anne all saw our hard-earned dollars that night), and thanks to Steph answering a question about farming right, we even got some Barnstormers Bucks which went right back into the Turkey Hill ice cream stand.

The next day, with the Barnstormers hitting the road, we decided to take advantage of our hotel’s wonderful “heart of downtown” location and wander around what we’d heard was a wonderful city. We weren’t disappointed.

A stroll up and down North Queen Street made us immediate fans of Lancaster. We’re all planning trips back to shop and wander as soon as possible, and dragging our husbands with us (well, me and Steph … Dana, at 19 and with a year left of college, is still unmarried). Among our favorite stores so far — Mommalicious/My Aunt Debbie (for amazing jewelry, vintage hilarity and great one-of-a-kind goodies — I bought an amazing tote bag based on a 50’s-era matchbook from an old beach motel); Zap & Co, an extraordinary vintage store so well known up and down the east coast that many a film has utilized it for its costuming; Bon Appetit/Bonbonniere, a combination cheese and candy boutique where Dana and I realized we could easily gain 10 pounds each way too easily (Provence fig jam? Lavender goat cheese? Kill me now); and Details, which greeted us at the door with Barnstormers schedules and tempted me madly with all sorts of starfish/shell-shaped goodies (I don’t think I’ll hold out after our kitchen remodeling is finished so hopefully they still have the cobalt blue shell-shaped chip-and-dip dish in about two months).

I know there are many more stores worth mentioning that I’ll get to know in the coming months. And I can’t wait to return to the Central Market and visit the Eastern Market as well for delicious fresh goodies ranging from cheeses to veggies to candies.

And to add to the charm, the loveliness and the warmth of the area, may I add that we were all blown away by how incredibly NICE everyone we met was … maybe Steph and I are jaded because we both grew up in midtown Manhattan. But there is just an inherent kindness and friendliness in this region that made us want to plan our next trip back immediately.

Basically, point being … I totally understand why so many of the folks I know who have had the option to choose where they want to settle down have chosen the Lancaster/York area to make their home.

If this makes you want to plan a day trip or a weekend getaway to the area, just click on the link “Why To Come To Lancaster” over on the right and start making your travel plans now!

For anyone who has had the pleasure of getting to know York Revolution right-hander Corey Thurman during his last 15 years in pro baseball, it probably won’t be surprising to know that he was plucked out of a massive casting call for potential “major league baseball players” to appear in an upcoming silver screen blockbuster scheduled for a December release.

And that what was originally supposed to be just a scene or two with him in uniform as a background player grew, bit by bit, until he was upgraded to “featured extra,” given a contract and used extensively throughout the making of the movie.

For now, the film is being called “Everything You’ve Got.” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1341188/ Until last week, it was using the working title “How Do You Know.” The title may change once again before the slated Dec. 17 release date but this much is certain: It was directed by Oscar winner James L. Brooks (“Terms of Endearment”) and stars Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon (“Walk the Line”) as a professional softball player, Owen Wilson (“Zoolander,” “Marley and Me,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “Wedding Crashers”), three-time Oscar winner Jack Nicholson (pretty much every good movie ever made) and Paul Rudd (aka my daughter Dana’s future husband as evidence from this entry in her own Tumblr blog, Science Versus Romance at http://scienceversusromance.tumblr.com/post/173100046/true-love-thinking-hes-gorgeous-and-amazing).

Thurman’s involvement with the film came about last summer when a group of York players were called upon to audition for background roles. He was chosen from among the crew to portray — big stretch — an MLB pitcher. Thurman was the lone Major League veteran (and in fact the only professional ballplayer) involved in the many scenes shot in 2009, at Washington’s Nationals Stadium, at Drexel University in Philadelphia and other local spots.

He got that MLB veteran status after being taken by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2001 Rule 5 Draft from Kansas City and being one of the few to “stick” all year, spending all of ‘02 and some of 2003 with the Jays for a total of 49 games in the bigs (in this shot, he’s looking all tough for the camera with teammate Homer Bush and some kid I know/gave birth to).

During the making of the scenes with the ballplayers, both at the park and at parties, he was turned to frequently by the folks on set to get his take on what would add extra realism to some of the scenes (especially the off-field events).

Now 31, with shoulder surgery, a blood clot in his hand, and 14 teams in 15 years behind him, Thurman knows his days on the mound may be coming to an end sooner or later, but the qualities that have made him such a popular teammate and fan favorite have never been more in evidence: his charisma, his outgoing personality, his good looks.

So it’s probably no surprise that the experience he had on the set last summer has sparked an interest in perhaps pursuing acting (or modeling link) when his playing days end. Living in York with his bride Angela (who, may I add, could easily go the same route if she chose to with her looks and personality), he’s in easy driving distance of several east-coast markets such as Philadelphia, Baltimore (don’t laugh, there happens to be a thriving film and casting industry there), Washington D.C. and, oh yeah, New York.

In the meantime, he’s continuing to take the mound for the Freedom Division’s tied-for-first-place Revs, with whom he’s 4-3 with a 4.74 ERA so far this season.

But hopefully when it comes time to start thinking about Plan B, the thousands of baseball fans whose lives have been touched by “Thurm” will still be able to watch him on a bigger screen.