I was catching up with a wonderful mom of one of the University baseball boys. What the devil, I'm telling a true story and she's precious, so I'll use her name - Shoko. She resides in Tokyo, Japan. Yes, as amazing as it sounds, there is a young man who traveled from Tokyo, Japan to play baseball and attend school at Rockhurst University, smack dab in the middle of the great US of A. I got acquainted with Shoko about this same time last year. Her son is her only child and her pride and joy. He got the baseball bug at a young age and he contaminated his mother with his baseball infection. Shoko loves everything baseball.
She said she was so excited that our second son started the sports media for the university. Instead of only being able to watch game stats on the computer, she has been able to listen to play-by-play and color commentary. And as a bonus, depending on where they are playing, sometimes they have a video feed of the game in realtime too.
Sadly, I was out of town when Shoko arrived to Kansas City. And as Murphy's Law would have it, nothing worked out as she had planned. She learned the night before she was leaving Tokyo that her son (a sophomore) was finally asked by Coach to travel with team on an out of towner. This trip was to Kenosha, WI. She found out it was about an hour plus from Chicago. After unsuccessfully attempting to change her flight to arrive in Chicago instead of KC, she looked into renting a car and driving to Kansas City. When she found out the distance was 8+ hours she decided against that as well. She confided that she was worried that she would take a wrong turn and there was no telling where she might end up.
She is one of the most positive people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. She was sad not to be able to change her plans but was excited that she was soon to depart for her week in KC. She said that she was going to see all the exciting things KC had to offer while her son was gone on the baseball trip.
She had prepaid and planned to stay at a "very nice" hotel for the beginning of her trip and then later in the week she was moving to a very cut rate, clean but no extras hotel. Thinking that as she was arriving right before the weekend, her son could come and stay at the hotel with her and they could enjoy the indoor pool and all the incredible amenities. But baseball changed those plans too. Shoko was determined to make the most of her time alone.
I wish I had video so you could see the excitement on her face when she told me of her weekends adventures. She visited: 1) the P & L District, 2) Aquarium, 3) Union Station, 4) The Kauffman Center, 5) The Nelson-Adkins Museum, 6) The Kansas City Zoo, and 7) the shopping mecca of KC - The Plaza. She said she really didn't feel like shopping while she walked through the Plaza. I would think that living in Tokyo, you would have lots of opportunities to shop Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and their rest of their expensive hoity-toity cousins.
She said that the greatest place she visited, and the one she spent the most time at was - (the anticipation should be building right now) - TARGET! She said, "Oh Michelle, it is amazing. You wouldn't believe all the things they have and the prices are incredible!" She said that the shampoo she spends $19 dollars on in Japan for a tiny bottle they sell at Target for $2.49 for a HUGE bottle. She was in awe that you could buy cans of olive oil that sprayed. She was so enthralled she bought three cans to take back with her. She said she spent hours walking up and down every isle, mesmerized by every product and price.
I couldn't help it, I laughed my behind off right there in front of her. She was so very sincere and serious about how incredible Target was. Of all the incredible sights she had visited, Target was the MOST favorite of her KC destinations.
She said her son took her out for a regular American breakfast. I'm thinking something along the lines of: IHOP, Corner Cafe, or one of the little dives down in the hood. But once again, you could have knocked me over with a feather. She said, "Michelle, he took me for a wonderful meal at Quick Trip". (For readers outside the Midwest area, Quick Trip would be along the lines of 7-Eleven.) She said she had the most wonderful hotdog. She couldn't believe all the vegetables they had available to go on the hotdogs too. She giggled and said, "I have to admit the jalapeno and cheese hotdog was my favorite".
I am now falling out of my stadium seat laughing. I made her promise that next year she'll 1) stay at our house instead of a hotel; 2) let me to take her out for a REAL authentic American breakfast; and 3) allow me to take her to SUPER TARGET. I'm figuring it could be an all day affair. It's a good thing that they have a little "cafe" there, we'll probably be there for a meal too!
Target......... Who would have thought?
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