So, it was with some reservation that I left Chicago's O'Hare airport this past Monday and found myself landing at Newark's Liberty International. I grabbed my checked luggage from the carousel, hopped the air train to the P4 lot and purchased my rental car. I drove the car onto Route 78 then turned onto the New Jersey Turnpike and finished this leg of my journey in Hasbrouck Heights where my hotel stood. I booked a hotel close to Boop's town so she could easily drive to see me on her day off work. My hotel was very close to "The City," as everyone calls it who live in the area, but I had no desire to head over there; who wants to pay forty or fifty dollars to park after paying a twelve dollar toll to get into the city? Who wants to wait in line and get crammed into a train or bus to take mass transit to 41st Street, then be forced to file into a sardine can, aka the subway, to pay for overpriced food and items? Not this guy! I ordered food from the hotel restaurant, ate and turned in for the evening. Boop called to tell me she would see me Wednesday night; this was perfect, as I wouldn't have to travel into the city at all, nor would I have to spend a lot of time in traffic other than driving to/from my class!
Tuesday came, and after an insomnia filled night, I found myself sitting in my training class in East Hanover, New Jersey (if you've ever watched The Sopranos, you'll be excited to know the vast majority of the show was filmed in this town). Jeff, a guy I work with in Chicago, was in class with me, announced later in the day that he had scored a couple of tickets to the night's Yankee's game and wanted me to go with him. By going with him, he wanted me to drive because he knew I was familiar with the area. Ugh. The Bronx, home of violence, attitude and a massive amount of traffic. The upside--Yankee's Stadium. I weighed the pros and cons and agreed to drive into the city for an evening of baseball bliss and obnoxious Yankee's fans. And oh, I was not disappointed!
We found our seats in the bleachers--that's right, we were Bleacher Creatures for a night. The one thing I knew about Yankee's Stadium and the bleachers was I better be representing the home team. As a result, I purchased a Yankee's hat and put it on my head (it burned a little bit). The hardcore fans behind us wanted to know who we were, so Jeff explained to them he had gotten the tickets from a work colleague. These fans are lifetime ticket holders much like the Red Sox fans portrayed in the Jimmy Fallon movie Fever Pitch, which, ironically, was funny because Jimmy Fallon was present at the game Tuesday night cheering on the Yanks. Our conversation wafted from how much they hated Red Sox fans to how much they wanted the current president out of office. I laughed whole heartedly in agreement with them. They told me about the good times they had at the old Yankees Stadium and how fights would break out between fan bases. This brought on hearty laughs by the Yankees fans. I laughed when they added sound effects to the punches being levied on the "other guys." We talked about gun control and I told them about being able to walk out in my back yard in Alabama and shoot a gun if I wanted to because I didn't live in the city limits. His response? "Thank God for the Alabama's of this country."
Nick Swisher hit a two run home run against the Texas Rangers pitcher but I missed it because I was engaged in conversation. I didn't care, I was having a great time talking to these folks.
The Yankee's wound up winning the game 3-0, but more importantly, I walked away with a few new friends and a new appreciation for New Yorkers (a few of them anyway).
I've learned over the years that there are great people in EVERY crowd, and there are also knotheads. You have to have the perseverance to sort them out!
ReplyDelete