A Day At The Ballpark
Take me out the ball game ... take me out to the crowd! Buy me some peanuts and crackerjack ...
Monday for Labor Day I went to the ball game; it was my first trip to Yankee stadium. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I think as most of you who read this blog know David and I have been going to a new church as of March. How we stumbled across it is a long and complicated story, but the short and sweet version is, we found it and we love it. It's not a particularly large church, but it is the size where you can slip in and out Sunday after Sunday if you wanted to without ever really knowing anyone.
And I think as most of you who read this blog know, meeting new people and large gatherings are not my strong suit. David and I were graciously invited to a few events. I got involved with the children's ministry and we joined a home group. So we're slowly getting to know more and more people.
Back in June, David got four tickets to the Yankee game for Labor Day Monday. "Do you think we should invite Mike and Rachel?" David asked. (Mike is our pastor and Rachel is his wife. We have talked to them here and there for a brief amount of time, but never really had time to sit and talk with them one on one.) "No!" I said, "They are too busy. Plus they don't know us. And they have three kids. And it's Labor Day. " "I'm asking them," David said. "Okay," I snipped back, "but they will never say yes."
(I suppose that I should also mention that there has only been one Sunday we can remember when Mike did not mention the Yankees in his sermon. On the car ride home we surmised that he must have been feeling ill. I think Mike's love of all things Yankees (oh and Apple) was one of the reasons David liked the church so much in the beginning.)
And with more shortening of even longer stories, I'll just say that they indeed agreed to go with us even though they were busy, had three kids, it was Labor Day weekend, AND it was their 13th anniversary.
Monday morning we met them at their house at 9:30 (ish) to make the train in New Haven at 10:20. We rode the direct train right to the stadium. It was so easy - you get off and go over a walkway and you are there. (I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that we didn't take the connecting train instead. Evidently you get out in Harlem and walk to the next train. So, I could have said I saw part of Harlem - but I'll get there. I have always wanted to have chicken and waffles one Sunday while listening to a gospel choir! One day...)
Here are a few photos from the stadium. The stadium was gorgeous. Everything was clean. Our seats were comfortable. We had a great view. The people were nice - lots of families. I was really surprised. From television I thought there would mainly be drunk men yelling obscenities in thick NY accents, but I was wrong.
We arrived at the stadium about 12:30, so first thing on the agenda: lunch. I knew what I wanted: a real Nathan's footlong. We scanned the signs and decided to get in line where there seem to be the shortest wait and the most options. Basically it was hotdogs, fries, sliders, a chicken & a steak sandwich. I walked up to scan to the menu board ... and much to my dismay next to every item was the CALORIE COUNT! Talk about buzz kill!
I understand that America has an obesity problem. I understand that we eat more junk food than we should and education and knowledge are key. I watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. I could stand to lose some weight myself, but COME ON! At the ball park? Shouldn't some places be off limits on account of the fact that they are just "for fun"? It's not right.
I mean, if you are a swimsuit model and you have to fit in that bikini the next day, chew some gum! But if you are like the rest of us, we want to eat our "we know it's not so good for you, but it tastes great stadium hotdog" in peace!
David changed from beef sliders to chicken sandwich, but I was taking a stand for vendor food everywhere ... I came for a hot dog and 500 calories or not, I was going to get it.
(Can you imagine if they did this in Texas? The State Fair with fried food hall of fame - calorie count? Deep fried butter - fruit topped sugared funnel cakes - corny dogs and chicken fried bacon?? I would never want to know!)
But upon some googling this morning, they must have passed a law that any chain with at least 15 outlets nationwide would have to display calorie counts on menu boards, menus or food tags. The rules would apply to roughly 2,000 restaurants, or about 10 percent of the 23,000 in the city of New York. Some how, the stadium counted as a "chain". Are stadium foods across the country provided by similar vendors? I guess so.
My lunch:
Even the roaming vendors in the stand wore buttons: Lite Beer $9.00 110 Calories. I would think it would cut down on sales of just about everything, but as we watched vendor after vendor walk by with stacks of bills, I changed my mind.
The game was a lot of fun. Mostly because we had time to sit and talk and talk. Hanging out, talking, being outside, watching a game AT YANKEE STADIUM.... what could be better? Well, a lot of things I could think of - especially if it was my 13th anniversary! If I apologized once, I apologized a half a dozen times that we were taking up their special day. I couldn't believe that Rachel would have agreed to do that ... that is until she (probably growing tired of my apologies) said, "Well, think of it this way ... If we invited you to a Cowboy game for your anniversary, would you want to go?" And then the light bulbs came on. Of course I would!
Here's a few more photos from the day:
My sweet husband was having a great day. Baseball (more than any other sport I think) is for grown men to get in touch with their inner seven year-old. So, in that state, what could be better than ice cream in a little plastic ball cap? One with chocolate sprinkles, that's what!
At one point, a team came out and "cleaned the dirt". I have no idea why. But it was hysterical ... they were cleaning to YMCA and as the chorus started, they dropped their equipment and sang along ...
"It's fun to stay the Y-M-C-A ... It's fun to stay at the ...."
We had a fun time.
Here's Mike and Rachel. A very sweet photo. (Rachel reminds me of Amy Poe. For those of you who know her, that says a lot.) David and I were so glad to get a chance to get to know them a little better. I'm glad I was wrong and they agreed to go with us.
For anyone who reads this in the area, if you ever want to check out Catalyst, it's a great place. You are welcome to go with us anytime. It's not your typical New England church (ask anyone who's been there). It's a church for people who "don't like church", haven't been in a while or ever, or, as Mike would say, for people who are scared the place will burst into flames if they walk in ... You can show up in jeans or shorts, grab a coffee on the way in, and no one is going to embarrass you or make you feel uncomfortable. You will probably have to say good morning a few dozen times though as everyone is SO friendly!
(On a different note, check out the 10-year-olds in the top right in deep dialogue. Hilarious! They have the body language of 40 year olds!) I can't really tell you about the game because I don't really know what happened. Here's what I got:
1. There was a lot of scoring.
2. One guy got his first homerun and came out and took a wave.
3. There was a really good pitcher at the end that everyone wanted to see.
4. They won.
And we were back on the train and back in the car and back to Middletown by the time it was starting to get dark. We stopped for Mexican food (NO CALORIES ON THAT MENU) and then we were on our way back home to Hebron to start the week. It was a nice day. I couldn't have enjoyed my first trip to Yankee stadium anymore.
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