This article was originally published on January 28, 2012 on the
old blog
Occasionally through life, we are granted the gift of meeting extraordinary people.
- Smokey's Baseball Game 2010
As
we sail through life, it's easy to forget some of those people who made
an impression on our lives in a small way. Like an amazing stranger
that you never see again. Life gets busy, booked up, full of working
hours, too many things on our "to-do" lists, people go home (busy) each
evening and watch TV for several hours...until they retire for the
night. We simply just do not have the time to think about someone we met
briefly many years ago that made a tiny impression on our day. I am
guilty of this as well as others are. So, this morning I have thanked
God for several chance encounters I've had with people over the years.
(I've
been working on my memory since July of last year and recovering those
lost memories has been progressing as I sift through pictures. I take
pictures so often, there are many to remind me about specific days.
Especially if there was an emotion attached to a photograph...and, I'm a
chick...so their's ALWAYS an emotion.)
- In the "Fan" section directly above the players.
I
remember the first baseball game we attended. I didn't know the real
rules of the game, so I kept asking a friend (who sat 4 seats away with 2
empty seats in-between us) why different things were happening. He was
frustrated, frowned a lot, and finally said, "Look, I came here to WATCH
a game. Okay"? I smirked and thought to myself, "Fine, I'll ask someone
else :-P ". I looked around, observed most of the women were
melting in multiple layers of make up, stumbling up and down the stadium
steps in high heels, and only talking to other women. The men that sat
near or next to them were holding a beer, hot dog, or pop and staring
straight ahead at the game. The men were focused and the ladies were
socializing in the sweltering heat. The men occasionally gave a head nod
or fake smile to the women. This seemed to make those women very happy
(or at least they smiled big and chuckled loudly).
So, I turned to
my oldest son & told him I'd be back in a few minutes, stay put. He
nodded. You see, both of my boys had asked me questions about the game,
trying to learn it as well & I couldn't answer their questions!
:-(
My dad never really watched sports or played any, so my
brother wasn't into any sports either. My mom... Are you kidding? I had
to learn them on my own. I squeezed out of the row of seats and
went up the steps to the vending areas. I walked around for a few
minutes, watching people interact with each other. Most of the men were
in their own world's. As they walked, went in & out-of-doors,
ordered food, or were going up & down the steps... their minds were
on the game - I mean like total game zombies.
That's
not a bad thing either, but I needed to find someone who was into the
game enough that they could answer some simple questions, yet, I
wouldn't be dangerously snapping them out of another reality into mine
so sudden it resulted in brain damage or a scream at me! :-) From
observation, I could already tell the other women had already scarred
the men's mindset: "Will she ever shut up? I just wanna watch this game.
Why does she come with me? I'm not flirting with any one. Geez!!"
I
found one!! A very slender older man wearing a green shirt was standing
in the 2ft X 3ft smoking section. He was staring at the field, but
there was nothing going on down there. The game had like, paused. I lit a
cigarette and stirred up the courage to say, "Hi, would you mind if I
asked you some really dumb questions before the game gets started back?"
He looked at me oddly and answered, "I guess." I said, "Great! Thank
you. Can you keep up with me if I go really fast- so you can watch the
game?" He looked at his shoes, took a deep breath & said "Sure."
So, off I went:
Me: "Why is that guy on the mound throwing the balls away from the guy with the bat? Doesn't he want the guy to hit the ball?"
My Amazing Stranger: "Strikeout. Pitcher wants to only barely stay within boundries...wants batter to swing & miss."
Me:
"Oh... Why Are the guys waaay out in the field running so far &
hard to catch balls that going to land near their own players closer up
the field? Why doesn't the other player just get or catch it?"
My Amazing Stranger: "guard the base. don't leave it" ...taps finger on chin... "Or lazy player and over compensating player."
Me: "hmm, okay...why so many intermissions?
My Amazing Stranger: "Drink Beer, gotta pee"
Me: "Thank you! Am I bothering you?"
My Amazing Stranger: "No"
Me: 'Why are there so many people over on that bank past the outfield?"
My Amazing Stranger: "It's free. You can't see the game."
Me: "What's an inning?"
My Amazing Stranger: "the # of times a team is in the field/at bat"
Me: "How many are there?"
My Amazing Stranger: "9"
Me: "Tired of the questions yet?"
My Amazing Stranger: "No, but the game will start soon."
Me: "Okay, Who are the good guys?"
My Amazing Stranger: a got a chuckle out of him.."There are no good or bad guys. The
Smokies are in white shirts and pants."
Me: "hm, yeah that's what I meant to say."
***Queue the Awkward silence***
Me: "Will you be back to smoke soon?"
My Amazing Stranger: "In 2 more Innings."
Me: "Could I come ask you more questions as my kids ask me?"
My Amazing Stranger: "Yes"
And
with that, he put out his cigarette and went away. We met two more
times and I asked probably 30 more questions about the game, players,
and things they did on the field. Each time he didn't seem aggravated or
bothered by my questions. I think that he understood that I really
wanted to learn the game we were watching and that the questions he
answered, I told my boys when we parted. That was when I added the Reds
to my bucket list. My Amazing Stranger was from Cincinnati :-)
