Casinotes 55.6- One For My Baby

[chicoruiz]

It was a couple of hours after the game had ended, and Ed Villalobos, the Gamblers trainer, was just about to close up and head home. He was used to being the last one to leave, but as he walked past the locker room door, he could swear he heard soft music playing…

Was that Frank Sinatra’s classic album “Only The Lonely”?

“It’s quarter to three, there’s no one in the joint… just you and me…”

Entering the room, he saw, by the dimmed lights, the Gamblers pitcher Jimmy Huggins, sitting alone on the bench in front of his locker, looking as though he’d lost his last friend.

“Uh, hi Jimmy”, Ed said awkwardly, approaching the pitcher. “How’s it going?”

“Not so good”, said Huggins quietly. “I guess you can tell from my choice of music…I’m going through kind of a rough patch.”

“We’re drinking, my friend, to the end of as brief episode…”

“Yeah, Jimbo… I know you’ve had a few tough outings lately, but you’ve still got the talent. You’ll get it turned around.”

“It’s not that, Ed. I mean, that’s part of it, but the main thing…the thing that’s causing everything to go bad, is… she’s gone. Louanne’s gone… and I don’t know how I’m ever going to get her back.”

“Oh, I see. Yeah, that can really mess up your whole world. Would it help you to talk about it?”

“Maybe. I mean… there are a lot of girls, but none of them quite like Louann. I could always turn to her, and just looking at her made me feel better. Long brown hair, big eyes, perfect figure… I thought she’d always be with me. And then, the other day, she just vanished.”

“You think she’s with some other guy?”

“She’d have to be. The Louanns of the world don’t just get tossed away. Man, it just seems like yesterday she was sitting right here in my locker.”

“Ummm… She was sitting here??? In your locker???”

“Yeah, let me show you.” He pulled out a cardboard banker’s box from the floor of his locker. “Look… That’s a complete run of Playboy magazine from 1978 through 1982. Vintage stuff that took me years to collect. And now Miss June, 1979, Louann Fernald, is missing, My absolute favorite Playmate. My whole collection is ruined.” He sat down again, shoulders slumped, on the bench, looking as though he might break down and weep any second.

“Ohhhhkay, Jimmy”, said Ed, backing away slowly. “I think the best thing for the time being is for you to just focus a bit more on your pitching… These things have a way of sorting themselves out.”

Ed returned to the trainer’s room and finished closing down. Before he turned off the light, he reached into his bottom desk drawer and removed one issue of Playboy, dated June 1979. He slipped it into his briefcase and left quietly. I’m just going to read it for the articles, he said to himself. The music was still playing softly as he left.

“So make it one for my baby, and one more for the road…”

[Jwalk100]

Jimmy Huggins's grip just got too tight.It made him yank everything.

[chicoruiz]

Louann Fernald is the real Playmate for that month. I had to do lots and lots of research to find just the right one. It was a tough job, but it needed to be done...

[trmmilwwi]

Yep, googled it. True.

[chicoruiz]

Actually, in researching her, I found out that she turned out to be a pretty cool person. She moved out to L.A. from Florida and did the typical Playmate thing- small roles in bad movies, etc.- then got bored and enrolled in grad school. She worked as a stockbroker, then went to law school and ended up as a family law attorney specializing in helping the disadvantaged.

Just goes to show… nobody is just one thing. Here’s to,you, Louann… I’m glad I know more about you.

Okay, back to baseball now…

[Dington]

Man, this makes me want to research all the Playmates now to see what other great things these young women have accomplished...

[trmmilwwi]

"Hi hon, what are you doing?"

"Nothing much, just some research for my baseball sim league..."

[Dington]