CONGRATULATIONS to Dr. Ruth Ann Orr of Cape Girardeau, MO, the winner of our contest to win 4 Redbird Club tickets to this Sunday’s game against the Cubs. (Her prize-winning entry follows.) Thank you to all who participated. GO CARDINALS!

We go to a church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where our minister is a die-hard Cardinals fan. In fact, there is hardly ever a service where he doesn’t manage to work in a Cardinals reference…or a jab at the Cubs. One of his greatest coups was having the great Lou Brock come to our church and speak. Because my husband, Kevin, is a police officer (and also a fellow die-hard Cardinals fan), our minister asked my husband if he would stand by Mr. Brock after the service to make that people kept moving as they greeted him. Kevin was all too happy to do this as Lou Brock was certainly one of his childhood heroes. After first service, he allowed our youngest daughter, Elizabeth, to stand by him. She was about five years old at the time. The church was filled with people in red and/or Cardinals gear. Elizabeth is watching all the people go by Mr. Brock and thank him for coming, tell him how much they enjoyed watching him play, how they were sure the Cards would take the Series this year, etc. etc. Elizabeth watches all this for quite some time. Finally, her dad asked her if she wanted to shake Mr. Brock’s hand, too. Elizabeth said sure and walks right up to Lou Brock and says, “I know you’re a Cardinal…but this year, I’m cheering for the Cubs.” Our minister and my husband just stopped dead…and Lou Brock threw back his head and laughed and thanked her for her honesty.

I thought we were going to be excommunicated.