Rally Squirrel and Happy Flights

In August of 2011, I had moved back to Joplin to start my junior year at OCC. On August 22, 2011, the college had a convocation banquet, like they do at the beginning of every school year. Unfortunately, the banquet meant I was going to miss most of the Cardinals game that night. Which for a girl who had spent all summer watching or reading every detail of all 100+ games from April until August, I was devastated. As soon as the banquet finished, I bee-lined it for Goodman Hall, room 307. Since dorm rooms do not have TV’s, I had brought my trusty radio so I could listen to the baseball games. I rushed into my room and before I did anything else I turned my radio dial to 1230 AM. Mike Shannon’s deep, raspy voice was soon booming down the halls of Goodman 3rd.

Bri and I celebrated the WS win at Panera with a game 6
rally towel, chirping rally squirrel, and a rally squirrel cookie.

As I listened to the baseball game, I started to unpack the rest of my belongings. I had left the banquet so quickly that the rest of the girls in my dorm were just now returning. Soon, I saw a freshman girl passing my room. As she passed, she said hi and kept walking. A split second later, she was back in my door way, asking if it was Mike Shannon’s voice she heard. My eyes lit up like a wildfire, I was stunned to find another girl at Ozark who knew the voice of Mike Shannon. “Of course it is!” I told her. She told me her name was Brianna, she gave me her phone number, asked me to let her know the outcome of the game, and went on down the hall to her room.

The Cardinals ended up losing the game that night, but I met Brianna Davis, the girl who would become my best friend. To our surprise, the Cards went on to make up their 10.5 game deficit in September, and proved resilient in the postseason going on to win the World Series. Brianna and I, much like the Cardinals that 2011 season, formed a friendship that has also proven to be resilient. A friendship that has stuck together through ups and downs, stood strong no matter what continents we live on, and one that challenges me to be a better person.

Happy 24th Birthday, Brianna!