ok…I’ve been…persuaded…to participate in this social exercise… so, here’s a quick recap of the first Sunday of Summer 2008 (!)..first of all, lemme preface this by saying that I have 4 sons (Mike-25, lead singer in Simplelife & going back to OCC, Dan-22, heading into his Junior year at Coastal Carolina University/Myrtle Beach,Dylan-20, also heading into his Junior year at St. John’s University/Queens & Mark-18, graduating from Henninger this weekend,heading to OCC) and so along the way you can check back for reference…alrighty then…since Dan is going back to Coastal in 2 weeks for a mandatory Summer Session, time was running short to get him to Yankee Stadium during it’s Final Season..(& it’s on his “list of things to do..”)
Luckily, last week, I contacted a friend at Caz Limo’s and found out they had a bustrip alrady heading down to the Stadium (but they were outta tix)..next call to a record company buddy that works for Sony, and he was able to find a ‘friend’ who scored a coupla seats in the loge (3d base line)…then it was just a matter of getting to the bus pick-up, across from the State Fair at 6am..load-in & take off…btw, most buses are NOT made for anyone over 6′1″, (which I am) & leg room is at a premium… sure enough, 2 ‘older’ women (all of about 5′ tall) settled in right in front of me and put their seats in lay-back position…jamming my knees into my chest…being half-asleep & a gentleman, I dealt with it…
We get to the Stadium an hour before the 1:05 gametime and had a chance to wander around a bit,checking out BP from left field, before securing our seats…there’s really nothing like leaving the outside streets behind and taking in the majestic view of Yankee Stadium, and then Andy Pettitte hit the mound to open the game…without recapping the entire contest (which might be in violation of MLB policies,according to the really small text on the back of my ticket), Andy pitched 6 shut-out innings, then there was an hour-long rain delay (our seats were in a position to stay dry throughout), after which the Yankee bat’s lit up and they pulled away. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 601st for Cincy’s only run and Mariano came out to “Enter Sandman” and wrapped it up.
The bustrip home was similar, however when ‘Betty” in front of me attempted a full-body lunge back to set her seat to wayback mode, I had to politely, and directly, advise her against it (by showing her the screw-bump on my knee from a previous ACL surgery). She relented and even offered me a brownie. We actually got to be distracted thru the entire ride by movies provided by the bus driver, Mike. “The Client”,”Larry the Cable Guy”(on the ride down), “Juno” and “The Kingdom”(on the ride back) were our featured presentations.
All in all..with price of roundtrip to the Stadium, two nice tickets to a Yankee game, beers (that go for $8.50 a pop) and other assorted concessions…it was a bunch of money…but spending it with my son Dan, who had really been looking forward to it…it was one of those ‘priceless’ moments…and the bottom line is that those moments will always far outweigh the temporary debt you dip into to make them happen…
*as additional proof, my first game at the Stadium was with my Dad on Saturday, September 18,1965..Section 18,Box 286F,Seat 5…(I don’t have great memory, but I DO have my ticket….along with a 1967 Mickey Mantle baseball card)….and Dan has already made plans to save HIS ticket…
btw…during the game, I got a text message from my wife Jenn..it read….”Sharon is taking me to the hospital :-( hope u r having fun”…
… another story for another time….
