Take me out to the Ballgame

Things have definitely improved. The last of the virus seems to have worked its way through the system and I am back to a normal diet. Did lose six pounds, though, so that wasn’t too bad.Meantime, on Thursday, Peter David called and posed an interesting hypothetical question: if I were free did I want to tentatively want to attend Saturday’s Mets game with him and Kathleen. Everything was contingent on plans that would either allow Ariel to join them or not. After checking with Deb, I said, “sure.”Saturday at 8 a.m., Peter called. “Kiss your wife goodbye and meet us at Shea,” he said.Neither one of us had trouble getting to the stadium or parking near by – for a gorgeous, warm, Saturday afternoon that in itself was a miracle. The Mets are building a new stadium in the parking lot of the current building so 2100 spaces have vanished which will make parking this season and next a challenge.Peter was waiting for me at Gate B and we strolled right in, collected out souvenir luggage tags and took our seats. OK, they weren’t our seats, they were really Joe Quesada’s box seats. Joe had proposed his darling daughter Carly that the family could be a part of the Mets’ annual Dog Parade. Families and their pets strolled along the perimeter of the field, entering from the Center Field wall, and were then invited to enjoy the game, pets in tow, in the picnic section. He passed the box seats to Peter and well, here we were.During the parade Joe, Nansi and Carly looked our way, so we waved and got to see a typical American family doing something fun.Now, the game was a delight. Oliver Perez had his good stuff and excellent concentration so mowed through the Atlanta Braves for 6 2/3 innings. Nine strikeouts, no walks. Carlos Beltran had four hits, Jose Reyes, Damion Easley and Ramon Castro all homered. The Mets won 7-2 on the perfect spring afternoon. During the ninth, I turned to Peter and commented, “For a team known for making double plays, I’d like to see one today.” Two batters later, the game ends on the only double play of the day.I love being at the park and these seats afforded us an excellent view. It’s great being a part of the atmosphere, to cheer lustily when things go right, to keep score as a private souvenir of the day, to eat all manner of food I don’t normally eat and to be with good people. Yesterday, I managed all of that.