Rodger’s Diary - Salt Lake City Bees and Pacific Coast League - Go West Young Folks, Go West!
If I were a younger person starting all over, I’d consider making that long trek west to raise my young family in Salt Lake City, Utah.
While not a Mormon as many in that city, I have to respect people, who against all odds, went west to a then desolate area to practice their religion and strong family values, which still characterize the area over 100 years later.
You can eat off the streets there, they are so clean and get lost in the solitude of surrounding mountains if you want some spiritual comfort.
Money is not the driving force behind everything. You don’t have to check your back pocket for your wallet every time someone says help “hello” to you.
People talk to you there because they are genuinely interested in you as an individual and still enjoy people gatherings just to be with each other.
You can suck the air deep into your lungs and drink the water without fear of poisoning yourself.
And you can go to Franklin Covey Stadium to enjoy the family environment at a Salt Lake Bees ball game and not have to cope with the belligerent folks and drunks who frequent Thirsty Thursdays back East and are found elsewhere in droves at many other major sporting events.
While there in July, I saw three Pacific Coast League ball games, enjoying the home team Salt Lake Bees, who are the Triple A Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim affiliate play three games, Tacoma Rainiers, the Seattle Mariners AAA, two games, and Oakland A’s Sacramento River Cats, one game..
I saw my adopted cousin, Salt Lake SS, Brandon Wood, Sacramento 1B, Casey Rogowski, who graduated from Detroit Catholic Central, the same High School I did many moons ago, and many other of my favorite ball players.
Brandon promised to hit and did hit a homerun so I could get a photo of his perfect swing in action, and Casey assured me he was behaving himself so I didn‘t have to turn my head next time I saw the priests and brothers who taught us at our old alumnae and whom I had promised to keep an eye on this youngster so he wouldn’t succumb when confronted with the rigorous challenges of professional baseball.