George's La Baguette

It was a rainy day in Fort Wayne, and time to find an indoor activity. I had been looking for a good time to visit George's La Baguette - an authentic Mexican bakery near Broadway and Taylor streets, downtown.

It's casual and comfortable - no white gloves here. Instead, one takes an aluminum tray, a set of tongs, and walks around filling the tray with baked goods. There is a ton of stuff. I choose a big slice of carrot cake, a desert that looks like a Hostess fudge cupcake, complete with icing and a creamy center (only this one was baked here fresh from scratch this morning), and my companion took a doughnut. (I will take some of this home to others). All of this cost $2.60. There are boxes at the counter, because most of the business is taken out, but we sit down at some old-fashioned tables where one can watch the people working hard in the back. Most everyone is speaking Spanish.

The proprietor asked if he could help. I asked him how long the place had been in business, and he said three years. There are ethnic breads featured such as Cuban and Greek ones, and they make tons of specialty cakes for weddings and birthdays. All the ingredients they use are so fresh there isn't even a bakery freezer on the premises.

Everything is extremely cheap here. You could buy cake and treats for a child's birthday party for $10. They have so many different kinds of baked goods - garlic onion cheese bread loaves, fancy fruit flan cakes, cheese cakes. They have French breads and baguettes. There are traditional Mexican cookies baked with corn flour instead of wheat. The cookies are huge. Many different colors, some sprinkled with M&Ms, whoa baby.

I don't eat a lot of these types of carbs anymore, but this place is a kid's dream. Cannoli for $1.50. Carmel apples for the same. Ornate slices of Oreo cake. Frozen treats such as Edy's ice cream. (Made here in Fort Wayne, if you didn't know). Coffee (no free refills - no public bathrooms - this place is low-rent and there are plenty of loiterers, and homeless folks, in this neighborhood).

They make all types of Danish, coconut-covered cakes, pastries - I have to stop before I get diabetes taking about it. Come to Fort Wayne, bring the children with the sweet tooth gene, and I'll set you all up. You'll want to write home about it, and ship a few things for your freezer.

Sheba kills the muskrat

The balance between nature and man's interests is a precarious one; take the case of the mighty muskrat. Not as big as a beaver, but larger than the river rat, a family of muskrats will infiltrate quickly and can compromise the man-made dams on Indiana ponds and lakes.





It's an ongoing battle for water Hoosiers; sometimes trapping, sometimes loading up the ol' shotgun, and for every one taken out, there seems to be a nest of new ones. Pioneers used to predict the severity of upcoming winters by judging the mud thicknesses of muskrat nests.





Muskrats have huge teeth and claws and are absolutely fierce when cornered. I wouldn't want to try and back one into a corner, so maybe you can imagine my surprise when Sheba, a normally mild-mannered neighbor German Shepherd, went after one that ran across our driveway.





What was it doing out of the water, you say? I'm not sure, but I have seen them in the yard many times when there is clover to eat. In any case, Sheba the dog had come down to visit the children and perhaps decided to defend them as she took off after this big muskrat.

All I know is that I heard a tremendous barking as if there was a bear or its equivalent in the yard. I rushed outside to hear fierce scrabbling, vicious fighting, and then silence. I still couldn't see what was happening behind the tall prairie grass and cattails, but pretty soon, to my absolute astonishment, came two little girls hoisting a big fishing net they had used to scoop up the dead muskrat.

My eyes grew huge with amazement. "What happened?" I said.

"Sammy and Sheba killed the muskrat!" the smaller girl said proudly.

"I see, how did that happen?" I asked.

"We were petting Sheba when this huge muskrat ran across the driveway. For some reason, Sheba took off after it and we followed her. She ran up on it and started fighting with it, and it was attacking her wildly, trying to bite her. It was all teeth and claws fighting."

Then Sammy said, "I was so scared for Sheba I grabbed a big rock out of the driveway and I threw it and hit the muskrat. I guess it stunned it or distracted it for a second, because right then Sheba was able to grab it with her jaws and kill it."

"Sammy, you and Sheba killed the muskrat together! I'm so proud of you, you girls are big muskrat hunters!" I couldn't have been more proud of my girls than if they had been Indian maidens, out hunting for dinner. The courage and resourcefulness! It usually takes a man with a shotgun! It makes me grin just thinking and writing about it.

I guess I feel sorry in a way for the loss of the sweet life of the muskrat on his happy pond, but maybe he'll go to a land full of more clover and willow fronds. Peace be to the cycle of life, and its amazing variety and diversity. And 'yeah' to mild-mannered, non-aggressive Sheba, the smart German Shepherd, who earned her stripes and her dog food for her first musky kill. She deserved a big, cool jump off the dock and a few hugs after that.

Tin Caps Baseball for High Summer Fun

As a starter team for the San Diego Padres, the Fort Wayne Tin Caps have to hedge for their lack of celebrity players with a lot of fun and a great ball field experience. And with their new and beautifully designed Parkview Field, they do not disappoint. This is baseball play at it's best.

Tired, old buildings in downtown Fort Wayne were razed to make way for this low-profile, very modern and friendly ball park. We began our family evening, in which we joined friends from the workplace, with a buffet line that had no waiting. Hot dogs, burgers, potato salad and cooked apples were served to us (help-yourself style). Fresh food, vegetable condiments, serve-yourself fountain drinks - the planners and cooks did a nice job.

The Tin Caps (the name is a nod to Johnny Appleseed, a.k.a. John Chapman, who is buried here) were the 2009 Midwest League champions, beating teams from places such as Beloit, WI and Cedar Rapids, IA (393 miles away). To play the Lansing, MI team, for example, the travel is only 130 miles. The playing field in Fort Wayne is great, but I guess sometimes I'm more excited about the atmosphere than the actual ball playing here - there is so much to see. For example, all the replays on the Jumbotron, break dancing bat boys - you name it.

There are so many different venues and seating options at this park - we ate with our friends at this table section and then watched the game from there. There is also a plush suite-level lounge and boxes for the upscale parties.

There is a different seating section that has bar-height tables for folks that prefer those - probably fewer kids are in that section. It's as if the architects and designers were playing with different ideas - there are even two types of lawn seating - one gradual, grassy slope for families and their blankets, and one grass bank with tiered concrete steps.

And after all that and more, there are the regular stadium seats with backs - so many choices! So much great food and ice cream! It's fun for all.

Between plays, there all lots of games for the fans such as musical chairs, dancing groundskeepers, Jumbotron marriage proposals, etc. The summer games usually end with big fireworks. This July night The Tin Caps beat The South Bend Silver Hawks respectably, and there were some exciting plays - no home runs that night but scoring into the double digits and several great grounders and triple plays. It's a happy, satiated atmosphere, with less tension and crowd issues than some of the bigger, big urban, major league parks. If you're in Fort Wayne, I think this is a best bet for evening summer fun. Please, take me out to the ol' ball game.

Fireworks on the River

Hoosiers are crazy about their fireworks. Whether they buy them to set off themselves, or spread blankets on lawns to watch big displays, summer means lots of pyrotechnics.

I've seen firework displays from boats, and that is wonderful - but then someone has to put the boat away. That's ok - but we have stumbled upon our own bit of magic - fireworks dockside in Leo-Cedarville, Indiana.

One used to have to drive to Fort Wayne to see a big show, but for the last ten years Leo has made a concerted effort, including raising volunteered funds, to put on a firework festival. Riverside Gardens Park has a perfect viewing area, and an afternoon of events including live bands, dance acts, and line dancing. We took the crew over for some ice cream, hot dogs, and cold drinks. The younger kids got to try the bounce hut and mini-carousel rides.

They also had pony rides and some other fun stuff, but we decided to avoid any more of the 90 degree heat and headed back to our own dock. Lots of pontoon boats, etc., move out on to the water and park for the fireworks to come.

A neighbor offers one of the kids a ride on a jet ski, and we carry chairs out on to the dock.
Having drinks handy and a dose of mosquito spray is a good idea before it gets dark. Some of the other neighbors show up at the dock at the last minute and are given seating for the display.

Pyrotechnics begin around 10 p.m., and are fabulous across the water - it amplifies the sound and makes a better stage than the lawn. If the water is calm enough it reflects the show, providing a mirror view at twice the height. It's truly spectacular, something a person can always remember. And then for us, we're fortunate enough to have no drive home. Fireworks made in China - and loved all over the U.S.A., in every small town and backyard. Fireworks everywhere, all at once. Amazing.