A Matter of Priorities

A matter of priorities?

"Is this section twenty-seven?"

"Yes, it is, and I should know I have had these seats for nearly thirty years now."

"This is my first game. My husband, Adam, is a fan and comes often; but you may say I am a novice. Oh, my name is Cathy."

"Glad to meet you both; I'm David."

"David, did I hear you say you have been coming to Fenway for thirty years? You must have seen quite a bit. Care to do me a favor?"

"Adam, why are you whispering? The cathedral that is Fenway does not include a confessional!"

"Sorry. I just wanted to ask if you can help me convince Cathy that season tickets would be a good investment. I'm about to retire and want to see 81 home games a year; maybe more if we are lucky and the Saux make the playoffs again."

"Cathy, listen to your husband; season tickets would be the best thing you could ever get before or after retirement."

"See, honey, I told you! I also like coming early for batting practice. So many empty seats before the national anthem and so few after the umps say play ball. So David, what is your best Fenway story?"

"Call me Dave. Let's see, once in the early 1970's I came to Fenway for a doubleheader against of all teams, the Seattle Mariners. Back then, the game was not as popular as it is now, and there were plenty of seats. It was about a week before I got married. The first game was delayed for 90 minutes, and the second game was delayed two or three times. Combined, I think the rain delays far exceeded the actual time of the two games. Well, the second game finished at three thirty in the morning. I believe that when the second game finished, more players were on the field than fans in the stands."

"I thought they suspended games after midnight?"

"Normally, they do, but this was a Sunday doubleheader in September near the end of the season. Seattle would not be making another trip that year to Boston, so there was pressure to complete the games. At any rate, I missed calling my future bride due to the lateness of the second game. She was furious the next day because she believed I was out drinking with the guys. I will admit back then; I had a drinking problem."

"Adam did too when he was younger. What did your girlfriend say, and were you able to prove that you were not out on the town drinking?"

"That is the funny part of the story; she would not believe me no matter what I said. I showed her the ticket stub and the morning Boston Globe sports page to prove the game went into the early morning hours."

"She must have forgiven you at some point; after all, you got married, right?"

"Yeah, all was right in the world when her father pointed out a photo in the newspaper of the last few drenched fans that included me in the front row."

"Oh, my Dave, that is very funny. Does your wife come to the games with you now?"

"This is the first Sunday in about 15 years she has not come to the game with me. You see, she recently passed away. This would have been her seat. I have her ticket right here in my coat pocket."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Dave. Could you not have found someone to use her ticket, perhaps a friend, relative, or neighbor?"

" I did offer the ticket to everyone we knew, but no one wanted the ticket. I guess they all wanted to go to the funeral?"