It's a very strange thing to go to a baseball game and not root, root, root for the home team. But there I was, Yankee fan sitting in the Grandstand at Fenway Park, watching the hated Boston Red Sox play the Arizona Diamondbacks.
I felt like Charlie, the General Manager of the Cleveland Indians in the movie
Major League when he would be secretly clapping for his team. That was me every time the Red Sox hit into a double play or struck out. A tiny fist pump out of sight of Red Sox Nation... and I made it out of the stadium alive.
It was a long overdue weekend to visit my beautiful niece who moved up to Boston when her too-smart-for-his-own-good husband got the job of his dreams and they left the Great State of New Jersey. Since the two of them have always made each other's dreams come true, Boston it is for the foreseeable future.
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| Sprockets |
So we drove up Saturday morning, got together and caught up on life. Went to the game and by a weird coincidence, one of my fellow writers at
Sprocketink.com, also not from the area, was going to his first game at Fenway... the same night. Honestly, what are the odds? Put that in the books as an added treat for the weekend, as it was great fun to meet him, if only for a short amount of time. As our Sprocket Ink crew are scattered all over the world, this was a big deal in the Sprocket Ink Universe.
Next morning we left at 9 am for the 250 mile ride home.... it took ten hours. Not so much the traffic as the way we travel. You've heard of the road less traveled, well we tend to make our own roads. If something looks interesting to the left, we go left. It lets you see things that are not listed in the travel guides. It also requires many more hours to get to where you were going. But along the way there is beautiful scenery and odd things. Did you know we have our own mini Easter Island right in Narrangansett, Rhode Island?
It had been a while since we had been up north, and in that time windmills have been sprouting up along the coast. About damn time America. They look ever so much nicer on the coastline than nuclear power plants. Also, I really believe there is nothing in the world that will soothe your soul more than looking out into the ocean. Maybe music, but the ocean has her own voice.
Now my inner voice tells me it's time for work... and some music.
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That's great. I followed Damon's pictures of the gram of instant, wondering what kind of beer y'all were drinking and what kind of jokes y'all were telling.
ReplyDeleteI saw the Red Sox play the Angels and then later the Blue Jays in 1985 when my mom was in the hospital up there. Fenway's cool but cheering against the Red Sox was even cooler.
Weird Lance, I had been to Boston several times, but the last time I was that close to Fenway was when my uncle was in the hospital up there in 1969.
DeleteDamon and I didn't have too much time together, but really... it was like we already knew each other. I liked him very much, you would too.
Aw, that makes me wanna cry a little.
DeleteOkay, as a Yankee fan, I was a bit apprehensive about going to a Red Sox game. As a baseball fan, I took it in stride and politely clapped (though not vigorously) along with the fans. Really, the kids and I spent more time tooling around the stadium than we did in our seats. That's how enthused I was about the actual game... I was very impressed with Fenway though, and I would go back in a heartbeat.
As for meeting my fellow Sprocket? Gosh, I wish we had more time... That place was so frantic. I loved meeting you and Freddie though. Such genuine and fun people. I picked up on that almost immediately. It is also important to note that Kath is even tinier and cuter than she is in that picture up there - Please thank Freddie for cutting my mid-section out of that picture!
We were impressed with Fenway as well. Nothing can beat the old ballparks for their history. HUGS to you and btw, I did the photoshopping... wasn't crazy about my lower half either. LOL
DeleteFenway is on old,decrepit,beautiful ballpark.just like i pictured it.love the place(not the team).Im a Mets fan&still like to tease my Sox buddies about 86.like Kath i also did the discreet fist thing.It was nice meeting Damon but nicer to see where my beautiful niece lives&hang with her(sorry Damon she is cuter).Spending sunday driving around our old stomping grounds was great fun.Miss the coast up there.overall good food,good people,great time.Damon,love your boys,good kids
ReplyDeletewhat he said.
DeleteThanks Freddie! I hope we meet again someday!
DeleteStill think it is kind of unnatural... though way cool and unprecedented ... for us Sprockets to meet in real life (assuming off line is real life)....
ReplyDeleteIt was a kind of an other worldly experience, but one I would recommend.
ReplyDelete