Lil Ron Washington and Southwest Airlines

About three weeks ago, a producer called and asked if Lil Wash could help make a commercial for Southwest Airlines with the Rangers.
We agreed to pull him out of school for the afternoon in exchange for some tickets.

Only one parent was allowed to follow Liam around for the commercial, and I think Rick realized that I would never, ever forgive him if he took our son out onto the field again, so he gave me the honors. It was another moment where I needed to pinch myself, as I watched my little boy walk around the field and perform for strangers with cameras.

One of the producers walked him around to show him what he wanted Liam to do. Basically, they wanted him to be Ron Washington in his pregame mentality. So Liam put his finger over his mouth and looked deep in thought.
He's very good at looking pensive.

The producer said, "He's a natural, and he takes direction so well. I think you should put him in acting classes soon!"

I think we'll stick to baseball and Halloween costumes.
Part of Liam's role was to "interview" Nolan Ryan, but we had some time before he came down. While we waited, we sat on Wash's bench and enjoyed the view.
Liam also found the stash of sunflower seeds, so he picked a packet for himself. One of the security men noticed that Liam chose Ranch flavor and said, "That's Ron Washington's favorite flavor." Who knew?!
It was about this time that we noticed where Rick and Garrett were sitting. (Jackson chose to go home with his grandmother instead.) We waved at Daddy and G.
If you close one eye and maybe stick out your tongue and then look to the left of the ESPN sign, you might see two blue spots. Those would be our people.
Our waiting continued, but I got this fun pic. He's sitting in Ron Washington's spot, chewing Ranch sunflower seeds, watching the players warm up. Classic.
We were also able to get some fun autographs. Jackie Moore here:
Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, David Murphy to name a few others.

Mr. Ryan came down, and Liam talked to him quite a while. I have no idea what they said to each other, since I couldn't hear them. And when we ask Liam what he and Mr. Ryan talked about, he shrugs his shoulders.
It's all in a day's work, and he just can't seem to remember all of the details.

Meanwhile, I was busy taking pictures of Michael Young, who stood 5 feet away from me and practiced his swing.
He pretended to not notice me.

But Captain did notice us.
And so did THE Wash.
Once again, he was most gracious to us. He signed the boys' balls and took time to really talk to us. He seems genuinely interested in Liam.

As we were leaving the dugout, I told Wash, "We're so pleased with the Rangers' start to the season." He said, "Oh, thank you. I hope we can keep it up." Me too, me too.

(By the way, Liam's mustache is horribly off. Do you know how hard it is to find a variety of mustaches around Easter?)

If you fly Southwest Airlines, look for Liam's commercial. He's helping them to promote their new in-flight WiFi program.