5/10/17 20:53
This was one of those events which took years to
accomplish. Three years ago, we were at
church. I was with Bella and we were
walking to hall where there’s coffee and snacks after service. I helped Ruth, an old woman retrieve her
walker and she thanked me. She looked at Bella and me. I’m not sure what triggered her memory but
she said, “I remember my father taking me out of school to see the Brooklyn
Dodgers play.” That memory triggered
Bella. And on our way home, she asked if
I can do the same for her. Like I said
it was years in the making. Major League
Baseball does not play many games during the game and barely any during the
school year. But I remembered. I didn’t need to be reminded by Bella. The child does not let anything go. I called Ali and let her know what I wanted
to do. I put in for a day off which was
approved. She slept in that morning and
we left the house around 11:00. Before
we left the house, she wanted to know who we were seeing. The Mets. Oh, she said, I thought we were seeing the
Long Island Ducks. I explained that R.A
Dickey was pitching, and he was a special pitcher since he throws a knuckle
ball. The ball floats in the air and is
hard for a batter to pick up and make contact with. I don’t think she cared. She was off from school. On the way in, I asked her what a full count
was. This is a question I ask her each
time we are at a game. We discussed
baseball in general, the rules and the teams we were going to see. As luck would have it, there were discount
tickets in Group On, we paid $20.00 to sit at field level, but we were far back
from any action, way back in the right field.
Paid $25.00 to park and I explained how The Mets use to play in Shea
Stadium. We found the bases which are
marked in the parking lot. Took pictures
around the stadium and discussed Jackie Robinson. I was at Shea when President Clinton and the commissioner
retired number 42 from all teams. She
may have been off from school, but there’s always time to learn. I bought a sausage and pepper and a Stella
beer, $19.00. She didn’t want anything
to eat. We took our seats, the sun was
slightly breaking through the clouds. It
was a good day for baseball, but not for the Mets. Matt Harvey had a great first inning and let
the air out after that. He served a
three run dinger to the Brave’s catcher who was batting 166. RA pitched well. I saw him the day he won his 20th
on September, 27th 2012 when he pitched for the Mets and won the Cy
Young award that year. Yes, I took that
day off as well. I read his
autobiography, which is a great book.
You can say I am a fan of his, so I was happy to hear he was pitching,
and it was his first start at Citi Field since he was traded five years
ago. The Mets were getting blown out of
the water and we left. We picked up Ali
at work and were home in time to make it to confirmation class. The
next Sunday, I saw Ruth take her seat before service began and I made my way
down to speak to her. I have to let you
know, you inspired me to take my daughter out of school to see a baseball
game. She held my hands with in her
fragile grasp and remembered telling me about the Brooklyn Dodgers. Now it’s your turn.
Thank you for reading this.
