On opening day, we were excited about the start of baseball season. I don’t know why, but life does get in the way of pleasure. Unfortunately it took us to the middle of July before getting ourselves to a Trenton Thunder game.
From a baseball perspective, we couldn’t complain about our third baseline seats, but from an entertainment perspective, they weren’t that great. As we all know, the sun sets in the west which meant we had sun glare till the stadium blocked the light. Second, the games are known for filling every moment with entertainment. I didn’t appreciate how much the announcer holds the spectators attention and our seats were just out of ear shot. For the not serious spectator, I suggest sitting in the upper seats.
Beggars can’t be choosers. Jess and I were “invited” to this game by my husband’s church small group. He isn’t amused when I refer to them as the “small man group”, oh well, a play on words is a play on words and that is how I entertain myself!
We parked in the farthest lot from the stadium, at least a half mile. It was a pleasant evening to be out. The weather is what I call delicious. A gentle breeze, not too hot and the air had the sweet smell of summer.
Tonight’s game was between the Yankee and Mets farm teams. The beauty of Double-A ball is it’s an affordable family night. Tickets are $12, $3 for parking and a beer is $2. Husband was in charge of dinner. The food was just as reasonable.
We arrived as the teams were warming up. Trenton Thunder player #25 gently tossed a foul ball to the family behind us. The father must have been a ball player at one time because he kept warning the wife to be prepared for the lefties at bat. We were in the direct line of foul ball fire. The setting sun was blinding us all so it would have been difficult to see balls coming. I was hoping he would yell “duck” if one came our way.
Before husband left to get dinner (I love a man that can get dinner), I asked Jess what she wanted to drink, she replied “fuzzy navel”. I said “kid, you’ve been watching too many movies, what do you really want?” and she vacillated between a Pepsi and Sprite. While we were waiting for our meal, we were taking the stadium in. This was Irish night. The Thunder team’s names all began with “O” and the visitors with “Mac”.
There were the obligatory, die-hard hecklers sitting in front of us. They were griefing the players. When they tired of this, they focused on the young ump to turn around acknowledge them. These three stooges seemed to think they were very funny. Not so much, they weren’t “deep in the bench” with regards to insults.
The jumbo-tron did close ups of the fans. The kids loved to be seen and waived and danced. Of course, this reminded me of a couple that had once been featured at a Celtics game. With regard to that link, I hope she dumped him.
There were two young ladies that sang. A double threat, young and talented!
After the first few innings, Jess spocked (that’s Hawaiian slang for she “saw”) the cotton candy vendor the next aisle over. I’m not sure if it was the assorted six foot high display of the old fashioned yet decadent candy, or his carnival like sales banter that caught her attention. I asked her if she wanted some, “Yes”. I asked if she could be more specific and she said “pink cotton candy” on her talker.
Whenever we get out of our regular routine and do something different, she finds new things to tell me through her AAC. I know this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but she’s been building her vocabulary on her talker for only a couple of years. This cumulative effect is very satisfying. She began with 20 words and now has around 1,000 words. With every new word, her world gets bigger. It is so important to be able to express exactly what you want to say.
Because we couldn’t hear the announcer, we were left to our own devices for entertainment.
By the seventh inning stretch, we had enough fun and headed home. Tomorrows another day. Our mornings begin early. Regardless if we stayed to the bottom of the ninth, we had a fun night out at the Trenton Thunder ball park.
Leave a Reply